Home Safe and Sound

To bring closure to my 4 weeks in India....

The DB Implementation team took myself, Brian, and Sheila out to ZK's on Tuesday night. That is the restaurant of the famed Indian Cricket Bowler Z Khan. Unfortunately Deepanita and Anku both bailed on the group so Sheila was the lone female representative. I decided I would drink some Indian wine my last night in the country so I inquired about the wines. Now, wine in India is not big like in the US or Europe. Most people (if they drink) stick to beer and liquor. On the menu it only gave me the 3 brand names of the Indian wines and not the actual type of wine. So through help of translators, I tried to find out what sort of wine it was. Nobody was understanding and it finally resulted in the waiter bringing out a sample of all 3 wines. It turns out the first wine I chose they did not have in bottle. The 2nd wine wasn't any good so I settled on the 3rd wine I tried. When the bottle came out, right underneath the brand it said cabernet - shiraz which is exactly what I wanted to know. No worries though as I got wine and the bottle was consumed.

Wednesday was my final day in the office and I spent it putting together a few assignments for the group to work on the next couple of days. Additionally, I brought in my jars of peanutbutter and jelly. I purchased pseudo ritz crackers from the cafeteria and then had my group (db implementation) and DB QA eat peanutbutter and jelly crackers. I told everyone that I have been eating their food for 4 weeks and now they will try mine. I did make them aware that not all americans will eat this but I do. Indians have a very sweet tooth so I was confident they would like it and they did. I had tried several of the Indian sweets and couldn't handle them they were so sweet.

My group also purchased me a little gift. It is an elephant with an elephant inside made our of wood. It now sits on my desk in Philly. It is the first thing that I own that is not only made in india but also purchased in india.

After work on Wednesday Brian, Rizvi, and I went to Yokos, which is a sizzler place. No not the chain of sizzlers in the US but a type of food. Basically everything is cooked together on a sizzling plate and then served to you on the plate. It was good. Shortly after dinner, I began my trek back to beautiful philadephia.

This is probably a good time to mention that on Wednesday, the airports went on strike. Earlier in the day there was an announcement of the winning firms for the privatization of the airports. So the workers who potentially would lose their jobs went on strike. Fortunately for me, it did not affect international flights. We just had to walk to the plane as the union workers that operate the moving walkway to the plane went on strike.

So the actual trip home took about 29 hours.

8:15 left the hotel for the airport. Checked in at 11:30. Plane left at 3:30 am. Flight was 8.5 hours getting me into Frankfurt at 8ish local time. The layover was til 1:30. During the layover, I thoroughly enjoyed a McDonalds cheesburger. Another 8.5 hour flight, customs, baggage claim, 20 minute cab ride and I was in my apartment.

Upon getting in the cab to my apartment, which was during rush hour, I was amazed at how quiet and orderly traffic was. Nothing like the driving in Pune. I fell asleep by 8pm on Thursday and then woke up at 4am. I watched Wedding Crashers dvd and a glorious hour of sportscenter before I decided to go to work. Walking to the office was an0ther great thing. It was while walking that I realized I had done almost no walking in India. A driver took me everywhere. In the US I walk to and from the office everday. Additionally, if I go to the supermarket or anywhere else I usually walk. When I'm in NYC, I walk most places. So it was great to walk again. On one of the weekends in India, I walked around the neighborhood of the hotel. When I told my driver what I did, he got mad at me and told me I should have called him and he would have driven me. He didn't understand that I wanted to walk and chose to walk.

The walk also made me realize how clean and quiet philadelphia is.

Here are a few pics from my classes. I should have all my pics posted to webshots in a few days.

On the road again...

Well the end is near. I have confirmation that my flight will depart Mumbai airport Thursday morning at 3:25 am. So tomorrow will be my last day in the office. I am guessing I will begin the trek to the airport around 10pm but who knows for sure.

In my first entry, I mentioned that with a hotel name like the Sun n Sand, you would expect to see it down the Jersey shore. After 4 weeks at the place it sort of became even more like that then I realized. Breakfast buffet comes with the room so I am down there ever day before breakfast. Well every monday I would see a new set of faces like they were the week long renters and Monday mornings were like Saturdays. Old faces checking out after their 1 week tour and new ones checking in.

For this post, I thought I would put some of the various observations I have made and some different things I have seen. I will try and make it like a Letterman or Leno skit where they review news headlines from around the US. Yes I am making an attempt at humor here...

Traffic Signs

Here are the english traffic signs on the expressway that don't quite translate to American English... can probably blame the British for most...

"Observe Lane Discipline" - sounds like a training mantra of some sort

"Overspeeding and Tyre Bursting will cause accidents. Obey traffic laws" - not sure the difference between speeding and overspeeding. I looked up tyre and that is the british word for tire.

"Caution look for wrong entrants" - not sure if this is telling you are going the wrong way or if you should be on the lookout for somebody coming the wrong way.

"Take Diversion" - polite way of informing you of a detour

Observations

Indians do not say anything when somebody sneezes. It is pretty much just ignored

Everyone has a cell phone and everyone gets calls during the day... even managers who are speaking to a group of people.

Interesting Signs I have seen...

Yep, smoking, alcohol, and meat are all dangerous to the survival of the fort. And in India, veg means no animal products so things made with eggs (french toast) are labeled pork product.

Nothing wrong... just differnt... and there is a rotary club






In case you wanted to see a veg menu in english...


Coming soon to a strip mall near you... globalization



Honking is encouraged by the truck drivers


A local tailor

Why haven't I posted in so long?

Well, it has been almost a week since my last post and a lot has happened since then. Between the internet at the hotel not working and me being away all weekend, I was not able to get any posts out. Well enough of the excuses...

Last Wednesday night I went to dinner with Brian and about 6 guys from work... all of the women bailed on us. Vasan, Shailesh, Paresh, Seshu, Rizvi, Sandeep, Kuldip, Rajendiran, Brian, and myself went to an area in Koregan Park called ABC Farms. This little street has 4 or 5 bars that are really interesting with live music and various indian fare. One of the funniest things is this little strip is right off the unpaved dirt road we take to work. And it is next to a place called "Burger King" but it is not part of the chain. The bar/restaurant we went to had a lounge feel to it because there are tables and couches. The big thing to do at this bar is smoke tobacco from a giant water bong. I did not partake but apparently it was a very smooth strawberry tobacco. We stayed there for a few hours and then went to the Den. Same place I went a few weeks back. At the Den we were told last call when it was 11:50. This is probably a good time to mention that last Thursday was Republic Day. On Republic Day, no alcohol is served. Which is why we had last call at 11:50. It was a fun night out and the early ending was probably best for all of us.

Thursday was pretty uneventful as I did several hours of work. I caught a little bit of the parade on TV which was interesting. In addition to having a big military presence in the parade like you would see in a military event, there were a couple of floats and different animals like elephants. I also finished up my 4th or 5th book on Thursday (The Winner, David Baldacci).

Friday turned into a long day at work with a conference call which started at 6pm. Additionally Brian got some sort of flu like bug which knocked him out. So for dinner, Sheila and I went to Mainland China for dinner. We ate outside on the patio because it was a pretty nice night. The food was ok but it didn't taste quite like Chinese that I am used too. This is the 2nd different Chinese restaurant I have been to and I still have not seen a chinese person working in either spot. I think this confirms that Pune is not a true tourist spot yet. When I was at the Taj I saw many asians walking around with there electronic equipment which I think is a sure sign of a tourist spot. Haven't seen it in Pune yet.

Saturday we went to Fort Singhagad (means fort of the lion). There isn't much of a fort left but it was good to get out and see some sights. The fort is way up on top of a mountain so it also had good views. It was similar to being in Colorado (although not nearly as elevated, 1290 meters) with lots of hills/mountains and brown in the area.




Prior to getting to the fort, we stopped at a "beach" area. In the distance is a damn as this is the water source for all of Pune. And camel rides ready to happen for any youngsters... or whities.

Our tour guide for the day was Vasan




I opted not to ride the camel




Sunday we got up early and left for Mumbai at 7am. We arrived at The Gateway to India around 10pm.



The Gateway is the main entrance from which the British built the port. Mumbai itself is made up of 7 islands and was renamed Bombay by the British Empire which had difficulty saying the name. Then in 1995 or 1996, Bombay was renamed Mumbai. From the gateway we boarded a boat to Elephanta Caves which is about 10 km off the coast. Our guides for this trip were Pankaj a coworker from the office and his wife Sonal.




Here is website about the caves...
http://www.tourtravelworld.com/hot_spots/mumbai/elephanta_caves:/

The caves were something you would see in Indiana Jones movies. Carved into the side of a mountain are a wall of pillars. Then within the mountain are rows of pillars with various chambers representing different scenes for the god Shiva.



They were built around 450 - 750 AD. The caves and sculptures are dedicated to Shiva.




Shiva is a hindi god known for destruction (Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver are the other 2 main hindi gods).



Legend has it that the Ganges came out of the head of Shiva. Additionally, Shiva held bulls (and thus cows) sacred which is why cows are not really eaten in India. Shiva is also the father of Ganesh the hindi god with an elephant head. Ganesh is the bringer of all good things. So every house in India will have a statue of Ganesh. The catch being that you can not buy a good luck statue for yourself. Elephanta caves meets the tourist spot definition listed above as I did see a few asians. It is also an obvious destination because locals would balance a pot or bowl on there head and demand a $1 for the picture. They could speak enough english to convey this message to us.

After the caves we returned to Mumbai where Pankaj and his wife Sonal took us to fashion road. This resembles a flea market except everything is in a single line. I wanted to buy Short Kurtas as gifts so this is where we went. With Sonal as my guide and negotiator, I was confident in my deals. The proprietor of the shop saw the whitey with his camera, how quickly I picked out 3 kurtas and saw an easy mark. When we inquired about the price, he said 900 rupees. An outrageous opening bid but I read that the shop owners will be mad if you take the initial price (means they could have gone higher) and wasn't sure how easy this would be. Sonal became furious at the offer and tried low balling him at 400 ruppees. As the negotiation took place in Hindi, I merely watched the facial reactions. When it appeared the guy wasn't going to go low enough, I put my 3 kurtas on the rack and walked out. Leaving Sonal to close the deal. She got him down to 500 rupees for the all 3. Came out of the stand and asked me for the 500. So I gave my 500 bill and the sale was closed. Just as an fyi, 500 rupees is about $11 or $12. With the sale complete, I was hungry and we went to a pizza place right on marine drive in Mumbai. I went with a thin crust pizza which was almost as thin and crunchy as a Bayonne bar pie but not quite. This area is the closest I have seen since being here of an international city (rio, buenos aires, etc). And of course the area has a major Cricket stadium nearby.

If I get off standby and depart on Thursday, I will try and write one more entry before I leave.

Cults in Pune

I have nothing really new to report today but perhaps a little tidbit of info you might find interesting...

For the past few weeks I have noticed many whities in a specific area en route to work. It is in the suburb of Pune called Koregaon Park. Many of the white folks are dressed in red robes. Today we saw a man in just red underwear walking the street. So I decided to find out what is going on there. It is the location of a cult, the Osho Commune. The Osho community was founded by Bhagwan Rajneesh who later changed his name to Osho. Much to my surprise, this cult actually exists in the US as they had a compound in Oregon. At its peak there were 200,000 members and 600 centers. Here is what I found on the internet to describe the techniques of the cult

Rajneesh used a curious blend of Californian pop psychology and Indian mysticism to motivate his followers. His last technique , tagged The Mystic Rose, involved following a regime of laughing for three hours a day for one week, crying for three hours a day the next week, followed by becoming a ' watcher on the hill ' (i.e. sitting ) for three hours a day for another week.

Based on talking to locals around here, one can safely assume that California pop psychology is a polite way to refer to free love and mind altering substances. And if there is any doubt, just look at the entry requirements to the commune...

Those wishing to meditate at the commune must fill out an application form( complete with two passport size photographs), prove HIV - negative to an on -the -spot test given at the center (Rs 125) and purchase three tunics (two maroon and one white). Meditation is then Rs 100 per day (Rs 35 for Indians) and you can come and go as you please. You must also arrange your own accommodation outside the Ashram

Yep, an HIV negative test. Apperently that is key to spiritual enlightenment. I might have to see what this is all about this weekend. Visitors are welcome to view the commune and the price is less than $2. Similar to many other cults I have read about, this one has a do as I say not as I do philosophy. The cult leader lived in luxury while his followers lived through humble means. Everyone in India refers to this Oshu guy as crazy and the guy who owned 99 Rolls Royces. Which of course were purchased by the members of his community. And if you dig in a little, of course only those in the community are wealthy and mostly westerners. I have enclosed a web site if anyone is interested on the history.

http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/rajneesh.html

And for those of you who were interested in the 2nd 5 day test match between India and Pakistan, it ended in a draw again today.

Tomorrow is a holiday in India so there is no work. A group of us from the office are going to dinner and then to see Wedding Crashers. Movies get here a little later than the US. Rumor has it that 10 - 15 minutes were cut from the movie to get it from an R rating to PG. Last time I saw this i nearly pee'd my pants so hopefully that is still in there.

Start of week 4

Well, I have been here since January 4th and I am definitely ready to head home. Living out of a hotel for so long wears you down. And to be honest the food is starting to get to me. Everyday for lunch the cafeteria serves plain rice and a flavored rice. Additionally, 2 or 3 soupy sauces which can be put on the rice is also served. Always veg. I have gone across the street several times and ordered food but I have tried almost everything on the menu. Here are the dishes I like so far

Chicken Tandoori
Chicken Biryani
Katti kabob
all kinds of bread

The problem is not the food itself but having it so much. Even when I go to places that have western style food, it still is done in Indian fashion. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it but you get to a point where you want what you are comfortable with. Needless to say, bread will be purchased today and Peanut Butter and Jelly will begin making a significant appearance in my food rotation. For those wondering, my jar of peanut butter is half gone and jelly is almost full. I purchased some pseudo ritz crackers at work today and might try pb&j crackers

Smarda sent me a link from the Conan Obrien show it is absolutely hilarious. It is titled Indian Call Center. Here is the link, just scroll down until you see Indian Call center.
http://www.milkandcookies.com/keywords/conanobrien/
Some of the scenes in the street are spot on for where I am. You will see one of the 3 wheeler taxis that I have ridden in as well. The sketch itself is more making fun of tech support but it is worth watching. Even though the towers perrin help desk is located in the US, ours follows the same protocal as seen in the sketch.

So you are all wondering about my visit to Taj Mahal (translates to Crown of the Palace). It was awesome. We left work a little early on Friday to catch a flight up to Delhi. There we met up with the folks in gurgaon. Everyone was tired friday night and we knew we were getting up at 5:30 the next morning so we just went to the hotel restaurant until they asked us to leave because they were closing. Actually they didn't ask us to leave but they stopped serving beer and wine so we left. It was good to hang out with the entire group (kip, brian, brian, sheila, and dolly) so we could exchange war stories about our experiences. Lavnish was not around so we never saw him.

On Saturday at 6am we left the hotel for the train station. Our train departed around 7am and got us up to Agra around 11. We then had a private tour take us to the Taj. The Taj was amazing

It was built as a tribute to the Shah Jehan's favorite wife. He had 3 wives, christian, hindu, and muslim. The other 2 were only for political reasons. All of his documented children (14 in total) came from his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. However, he did still have a harem of 2000+ ladies. And despite his mourning after Mumtaz's death, his appetites were still fulfilled.

The taj itself is tremendous to look at and hard to capture on film. Everything about it is perfectly symetrical. The only thing in the entire complex that is not symetrical is the tomb of Shah Jehan inside the mausoleum. Originally, there was supposed to be another Taj across the river for himself but after his son placed him under house arrest, the project never started. Between the marble and gems, it reflects lights of different color so depending on the time of day will determine what it looks like:

From Chinese Turkestan in Central Asia came Nephrite jade and crystal; from Tibet, turquoise; from upper Burma, yellow amber; from Badakhshan in the high mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, lapis garnets, sapphires, bloodstone, forty three types of gems in all - ranging in depth from Himalayan quartz to Golconda diamonds - were ultimately to be used in embellishing the Taj Mahal

here is some of the marble work on the main gate




We saw it in the middle of the day so it was very white.




But apparently at sunrise and sunset the colors reflected are different. Additionally, the park is open 3 days a month at night around the full moon which gives it an additional color. There is a lot of haze and pollution in the air which hinders the brightness. Apparently laws are being passed to reduce the pollution. But this time of year the haze is there. It really became apparent in some of my pictures from the fort which had a view of the Taj

After seeing the Taj, we went to a place that showed us how the actual gems were put into the marble. It was interesting. I picked up a sample from the gift shop there. Then we went to the Fort of Agra. This was the palace where the emperor lived. It wasn't like a medieval fort where the townspeople enter when under attack. This one was almost exclusively for the emperor. There were 3 different types of temples in there for each wife. There was a special market place where the king could select those lucky few to be added to his harem.

After the fort we saw how carpets are made. The hand made carpets were really expensive. Nobody picked up any of them because the cheapest one was about $400 (for a door mat). Some of the larger ones were about 2000 or 3000.

Then we went home on the train where food was provided

off to the Taj today

Well, I am off to the Taj today and it should be a fun time. I will get to see more of the country that doesn't involve my hotel, office or the drive between the two. As I have indicated previously with so much time spent at the office and traveling between the office and hotel, I have not really seen or experienced that much here. We will be meeting up with the group up north and it sounds like partying pretty hard tonight. Then get up early to catch a train to the Taj. Flying back to Pune on Sunday.

Since I do not do much other than work, sleep, and eat, I will talk about meals (not food specifically). People are taught here to not leave any food behind as it is gift from god. Same philosophy exists in the Martingale family although not because it is a gift from god but because Martingales are ravenous animals around food (those not familiar, the martingales are my mom, her 8 brothers and sisters, their spouses, and children). Everyone here is also fanatical about washing their hands which is something that could be practiced a little more in the us. Before every meal people wash their hands. Immediatley following the meal in the office, everyone washes their hands. They have a room with 6 sinks next to the tray drop off in the cafeteria. So you drop the tray off and then wash your hands. In restaurants, each person is given a bowl of water with lemon in it to wash your hands immediatley following the meal. This is essential since hands are used with most meals. Many of the Indians will actually only wash their right hand becuase that is the only hand they use to eat. This is related to the all good things come from the right I mentioned in another post. Only using one hand to break/tear bread is tough. I have attempted it a few times but I usually resort to two hands because I don't have the patience.

One thing that I have enjoyed is that one of the drivers (he doesn't come every day as there are several) likes to practice his English with me. He always asks me to sit in the front seat so we can talk. He works from 6am - 11pm driving people around and has 2 young kids. He has also been informing me on some of the cultural differences in India. Like at 29 (for 3 more months), I would be married if I lived here. Outside of the major cities he says that girls get married between 18 and 23. Guys 23- 30, so I am still in the range.

Cricket is terrible

So everyone is probably wondering how the 5 day test match between India and Pakistan turned out right? It was a draw. Apparently if the match is not complete after 5 days it is a draw. Just to give you an idea of how this ridiculous event came about lets start from the begining. These 5 day test matches consist of 2 innings. An inning being when each team loses all 10 of its batters. Pakistan was first up and lost all of their batters somewhere around day 2. They somehow scored 600+ runs in that one inning. On day 3 india came to bat and the first 2 batters batted the entire 3rd day and part of either the 4th day. With just the 2 batters, India amassed 400+ runs. However, lighting was poor (which i think means clouds) on the 5th day and the match stopped. So without even 1 inning being complete the match is over with no winner. This seals the deal that the sport is silly.

I caugt a little bit of the golden globes yesterday. They were broadcast live on one of the channels here which means it started at 6:30 am Tuesday morning. So as I was getting ready for work, I had them on. I still can't believe that this would be on live and I can't watch a playoff football game.

Today was the first day where training was specific to the groups. Prior to this, I was training everyone on background info. Being able to focus on 10-15 students and narrow the scope to actual work is making it go a little smoother. I found out at dinner tonight that those not in my group told their new instructor that I was tough.

Friday we are flying up to the Taj. Well we will fly up north and then take a 3 or 4 train ride to the Taj. Should be a good little side trip. I have sort of fallen into a routine here where I get up, eat, go to work, back to the hotel, eat, read a little and go to sleep. So this trip should make things a little more interesting and hopefully provide some material for future blogs.

I don't think I can put into words the lack of rules on the roads in this country. Basically anything is legal. And if somehow you get caught or in an accident, you can buy your way out. As an example, red lights (when you actually come across lights at all) are merely a suggestion. 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers go right through. Even cars will go through. If there is a divider in the road so you can only drive on one side, that apparently is only meant for cars. 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers drive on any side of the road they want and in any direction they want. The Crazy Trucks (similar to paraguay buses, the trucks here have funky colors and decorations) have no real power. So a slight incline means they crawl to a stop. And on the back of the trucks it actually says honk horn. If you honk they will move to the side and let you pass. Cars will also honk constantly to move 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, and pedestrians out of the way. A comical thing that I see is there are stickers on the back of cabs that say "If I drive rash, report me." Not only is the wording funny, but if they didn't drive rash, you could be killed

That is all for now.