The Global Fellowship for me is primarily about understanding why the Indian market is growing so rapidly and what people back in the UK need to know about India since they hold 1/5th of the population within their borders and thus have the potential to be the most powerful economy in the world. Interactions with both Indian companies and Indian customers differ significantly from the interactions had in the United Kingdom. So far through the programme we have seen this displayed through several mediums. I will talk about a few of these in this blog entry so that the people reading this can get a better understanding about what I see to be the most important aspect of this trip. Back in New Delhi we had a talk about the close links between culture and globalisation. This conversation turned into a more general discussion about business roles within India as philanthropic organisations. The whole idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been repeated time and time again to us, each time with a slightly vague explanation of why companies are interested in helping a poor community. Is this pursued simply because of pure altruism or does it present the companies with fantastic PR opportunities in order to promote their business globally? Of course there is no single answer to that question as the motivation behind each business varies. But to give one example of a company who pursues CSR (seemingly) selflessly I will suggest Infosys, who we visited today. What made Infosys’s CSR programme stand out from some of the others I have seen is that it is not advertised. Some other companies which I will not name have incredibly public CSR programmes which are entered annually for various competitions in the name of CSR. Now this does not mean that the work they are doing should stop, since I believe that although the intentions may be tainted we sometimes have to ignore the intent and focus on the outcome. At Infosys they focus on keeping their business within India. 90% of their employees are based in India, whilst only 99% of their business is done abroad. This ethos of promoting business in India extends to their philanthropic ventures which spread out across the entire sub-continent. We were told that they believed that India needed education, so they tried their best to provide free education for those who did not have access to it. In an offhanded manner they mentioned that this is because there is often limited funding from the government for state run schools, therefore it became the responsibility of private institutions to take on some of the burden. This single example of an Indian company focussing so much on the good of an entire nation works well in representing how many Indians approach business. As we were told today, in America they focus on ‘I’ whilst in India they focus on ‘we’. This makes the business dynamic much more inclusive, and the success of another is seen less as competition and more as a success for everyone. There seems to be a deeper understanding by individuals about the impact of each industry on another, and as a result they recognise that by slowing others down they are potentially just removing business opportunities for themselves. This coupled with a patriotic desire for India to become a member of the G8 and have a stronger say in world affairs has created a dedicated and resourceful base within a population of 1.2 billion people that has the potential to completely change the way in which Britain and America are viewed as world leaders. Going to be an interesting one to follow. More on the economy and other things later...

Blog the Fourth

Firstly, I am in Bangalore yay! Secondly, that means blog catch up time. The last post was primarily about Amar Jyoti and the experience there. Quite a lot has happened since/before then that I am yet to talk about, therefore the next few blogs are going to be about the different experiences I have had since earlier in the week.

To be chronological, thereby make things more clear, I will begin with our visit to an enclosed primarily Muslim community in Old Delhi. The area is completely walled off, and when you go inside it seems to be a fully functioning town which dwells within a city. There are street vendors, a great deal of shops and restaurants, residential buildings, and a number of mosques. The community is, by our standards, very poor. The streets were filled with rubbish and there was a constant mildly unpleasant smell which made it hard to concentrate on looking around at some of the ancient buildings which lived in hidden corners of the [basti]. We were already used to the strange looks we were given by native Delhians but here it felt different. There was a level of subtle but very real hostility which seemed to come from a number of the people within the community. This initial gut feeling was confirmed by the tour guides request that we ask him before taking a picture since ‘the people blame him for bringing us there’ and later the passing comment of a local to a couple guys in the group; ‘Don’t come back here’. This was said not aggressively but almost as a calm direct order which implied, ‘This is our home, we are people too, we have to put up with tourists sticking cameras in our faces every day as they gaze in wonderment at our way of life so please make this your only visit’. 

This set my mind on the idea of having my life under constant scrutiny by those who saw me as ‘less fortunate’ than them. It would be like having some member of an advanced civilisation sitting in my bedroom taking pictures of me as I dared do the unreasonable tasks of dressing myself and sleeping. The sheer frustration generated by this would make me say a lot more than do not come back here. Already many of us have gotten frustrated by having countless people ask to take pictures of us so after visiting the basti I think that this frustration might be drawn back ever so slightly.

 Something I did notice was the involvement of corporations in helping the community. Tata, a corporate partner of the Global Fellowship programme, helped sponsor the building of a school for the local children. Seeing this made me realise how vital the involvement of the private sector in welfare projects is. It seems that there has always been a largely negative view held towards vast international businesses which deal in countries such as India, China, and Brazil because of alleged (at least in the manufacturing industry) use of children for labour and under paying workers. For companies like Tata, CSC, HSBC, and the other corporate partners which are held in such high regard globally to fund public projects which actually help the people who aren’t being helped enough by their government then that negativity will hopefully turn into something more optimistic. Additionally this kind of development helps not only the people of the country but also potentially in the long term generates a greater number of highly educated persons who will hold companies who do have strong CSR programmes and therefore flock to work for them. Symbiotic relationship.

Those were my thoughts on the basti. Next one will be up shortly; the topics shall be climate change, entrepreneurs, and a cultural revival.  

Up until this point the trip has been relatively touristy. We saw some sights and ran around Delhi learning little about the depths of the country's culture and more about the various modes of transport we would be using to navigate the city. Despite this being incredibly entertaining, it failed to help us understand the real reason we are in India (although the real reason is unique for each of us, and it is likely we will not really know until we return to England). Today we were given the chance to see something a bit more tangible. After some hilarious if mildly frightening laughter yoga (Hasyayoga) we made our way to Amar Jyoti, a school which aims to (and succeeds in) provide 'equal opportunity and full participation to persons with disabilities so that they can be on the same platform as the non-disabled'. I had heard a lot of stories from previous fellows saying how much they were changed by the experience and admittedly I was sceptical, doubting that 6 weeks could affect any significant change in the way I lead my life. However after spending time at Amar Jyoti I saw for the first time that there was a lot more to be found in this country than just the busy streets and the impressive history. When you look a little deeper the ambitious spirit of Indian people shines through and the reason for their emergence as a leading economic power becomes more evident. 

 

 

The school ensures that every student there get put on the right path, be it academic or vocational. In order to accommodate the variety of students they have attending they have a range of vocational classrooms for skills ranging from sewing to electronics. Students train at the school, obtaining the skills needed to get a job with a company in the city or start up their own business. All of the products produced at the school are sold to help fund it. Enough of the little details though, more important was the immense feeling of pride that emanated from the various members of staff we met there. Our guide showed us every aspect of the programme with intentions bent solely on simply explaining the good they were doing for the community rather than trying to get us to support the college financially (false passion- something we had encountered at other places prior to this- really gets on my nerves). What was most inspiring about the day was recognising how well integrated all of the students were, whether they had a disability or not. One blind child dropped his white cane and within a matter of seconds another young girl, no more than 8 years old, rushed to his side to help guide him to his seat and pick up his stick. The deep understanding and respect felt by the children without disabilities for those with them was incredible and incomparable with anything I had encountered before, especially with children of such a young age. 

 

This understanding and respect came directly from the staff. Through their explanation of why they integrate the two groups of children so constantly I realised something else about the Indian mindset. They believe that regardless of your physical or mental capacity you are always capable of working to help provide for your family. The help given to the children extends out into the local community as well, making sure that those in the area can utilise the resources available at the Amar Jyoti in order to improve their own standards of living. 'Work is God'; just one of the many quotes I noticed pinned to the walls of the staff offices at the school. The work ethic there seemed to revolve around two things 1) The betterment of the children 2) Providing for your family/community/country. All of the people I talked to spoke passionately about the ways they were changing the local area with their work. The intensity of their pride was fantastic, and taught me that success spawns from your dedication to something you care about and that finding out exactly what that is should become first priority. 

 

All in all my experience at the school at the very least opened up a pathway into the minds of the Indian people. Whether this was just a pocket of ambitious spirit and goodwill or if this attitude extends across the entire subcontinent I do not know but hopefully I will find out in the next 5 weeks, I know that I will do everything in my power to explore this country to the very heart and discover everything I can about its people and what drives them. Hopefully when I return to England I can translate what I have learned into something usable for the rest of us. 

All the best, goodnight 

I need to get my haircut! I am yet to find a barber shop in Delhi despite having been given directions by about seven locals. I think I might just buy some scissors and a comb and do this -->

 

Basically saw this classy Indian guy and thought I should show you all. What a lad. (he posed for me)

 

Day 2.5

Very tired, long day running around the city with University of Delhi students on a 'City Hunt'. Essentially it was to get us used to the transportation system but effectively just made us realise that as we don't speak Hindi and obviously aren't locals we will be charged triple what our skilful chaperones managed to barter the price down to. My group (GF Bach- named after the German composer simply because we had to make a team name out of the first letters of all our first names) won the 'City Hunt' competition and were given a special literary prize, very exciting. Went out in the city properly for the first time this evening and discovered that the heat makes me lose my patience rather quickly- especially when having to stand in large groups waiting for everyone to make a decision where to go. This of course ended in myself and a couple others breaking off from the larger group to explore the city at a perhaps quicker pace on our own. After delving into real Delhi life and wandering through the local market filled with hundreds of Delhi locals bartering over various items of clothing we made it back to the hotel without having encountered any problems (beyond the couple of guys trying to sell us some probably illegal smokable goods). Talking to the other guys who had stayed as a large group we realised that although there is strength in numbers, too many may also cause problems as some people are quick to take advantage of unknowing foreigners. However this being said, in many cases their intentions were good and I was perhaps to quick to ignore/reject the potentially helpful advances of men on the street. We'll see what happens on that front. All in all very very fun day, so tired though so good night all.

Basically started freaking out today as I desperately searched around Brighton for shoes appropriate for both monsoon weather and searingly hot sun whilst also realising that I haven't even started packing yet. Past 2 hours have been spent compiling a list of everything I need to bring. What a mission. Can't wait though, the idea of the 6 weeks in India has finally hit me- good times. The pre-dep briefing was great, fantastic to meet people and see who I would be spending the rest of the summer with. Slightly worried about the Communications task seeing as I was born with absolutely no artistic talent...might have to do a bit of improv there. I have been contacted by a couple local radio stations who want me to talk on their shows when I get back, sounds like an adventure. Hindi is a difficult language. Enough said about that topic. Of all the things that will be done in India I must say that the 2 weeks at our corporate partners is what I am most looking forward to. My goal for years has been to get into the business world and actually make a difference through it, so thus far education has just been a barrier to the fulfilment of that goal. Therefore working at CSC in August is a brilliant opportunity to get a better idea of what I will be walking into a few years down the line. I have a lot more to say but really should be packing right now instead of procrastinating on the laptop. I will be back later to indulge further in the exciting world of blog. Oh and here is a picture of an elephant made out of women. Enjoy.