Camels and rats... very many... rats, that is..

Upon returning from Mumbai, I was supposed to immediately continue to Jaisalmer together with Italian friend Dario. Unfortunately, things did not turn out exactly as planned; Dario was unable to go because of his exams and I decided to go to the far less visited town of Bikaner, in the Rajasthani desert, instead.

Things started off really well – for the first time since I started travelling in India, the sleeper bus was easy to find and (now, brace yourself) left on time! Stunned by this fact, I was completely taken by surprise by what came next. For the first time since like 1992, I became bus sick and seriously so. Not a super feeling when you know the bus ride is a 14-hour one and you are all alone, but the bus driver was a very nice man, who let me sit up front and look out through the windscreen for many hours. I owe him multi.

Bikaner is far off and there are very few tourists, though enough so that there is still a small industry catering to their needs. Oddly enough, I contributed to a temporary Swedish invasion of Vijay’s Guesthouse, as there were a family of four and three girls from Stockholm staying there at the same time. The last three, two British girls, a Lithuanian group of four and I immediately set out on a camel safari and spent the first night in tents in the desert. Riding a camel is rather like riding a horse, though somewhat slower. Thanks to friend Emma and her riding classes I was better prepared than most people and suffered no pain the day after whatsoever.

Bikaner is a very nice city, bustling with activity. Rather small by Indian standards (our guide said about 600,000 inhabitants) it houses a most impressive fort, the ground stone of which was laid in the 16^th century, and an extremely charming old city. The town seems pretty affluent and most houses are well preserved. Since so few tourists find their way there, the hassle factor is also quite low.

Another good thing about Bikaner is its closeness to Deshnok, a mere 40-minute bus ride away. Here there is only one thing of interest, but interesting it very much is. Here you find the Karni Mata Temple, or as it is more commonly known, “the rat temple”. Hundreds of holy rats have it as their home and they are everywhere and totally fearless. They run over your feet, climb your back and very much enjoy being fed. I was delighted to, of course.

After three days in Bikaner and another 14-hour bus ride (though without complications) I came back to Ahmedabad this morning, for what is my last day on the IIM campus. There are a few brave exchange souls left and we will share a nice dinner tonight. Early tomorrow morning I will fly to Delhi, where I will spend the next five days. Right now I am mostly looking forward to the Lucia celebration at the Swedish Embassy tomorrow night, to which I have been invited. I am unsure to what extent I will update the blog during this visit, but I will return to Sweden Thursday, December 16.

Pictures show: rats at Karni Mata Temple (feet are mine); Bikaner fort; old city balcony; me and my camel Kadu

Mumbai

This weekend I did a short trip to Mumbai. As fate would have it, Handelsspexet friend Micke K had been temporarily assigned to this Gateway to India, as the British used to call it, which provided ample opportunities to catch up. An odd mixture of Western, Indian and Gotham City-esque architecture provided interesting contrasts with plenty of modern history lessons attached. Though I spent what seemed like most of Saturday in a traffic jam, I did find time to visit the Prince of Wales Museum (which definitely has nothing on British royalties on display), the old synagogue and the Taj Mahal Hotel and its assortment of various high quality teas. I was also given the opportunity to see the first run-through of the one-man commedia dell'arte performance that Micke is currently directing. That, too, a fascinating experience.

After a quick stop in Ahmedabad, I will leave for Bikaner and the desert tonight. Update to come.

And that's it.

This morning saw me taking the final exam for Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring. As it turns out, this was also the final exam for me here at IIM. Free as a bird, I will fly to Mumbai tonight to meet up with friend Micke K. Will be back in Ahmedabad Sunday night.

This Mirinda contains no fruit whatsoever, so no worries.

6,400 steps in Palitana

This Saturday, Zirong, Dario, Charlotte and I visited one of Jainism's holiest (also, hilliest) pilgrimage sites: Palitana. After a not so very pleasant 3:30 am wake-up call, our rented driver took us on the four-hour ride to this magnificent site. It is a temple complex built on the top of a mountain. To get to the top one has to climb no less than 3,200 steps. The rewards, however, are immediate and absolutely stunning. It is a marvelous place with pilgrims dressed in white robes everywhere, chanting prayers in different temples. Free food is served, which is all vegetarian and contains no root vegetables, as eating the root would a) kill the plant, and b) risk killing more microorganisms than necessary. To the followers of this very ancient religion, all life is holy and they are very particular about this. They are also immensely affluent; as a group they constitute no more than 0.42% of India's population, however pay 24% (!) of collected taxes. They also have the highest literacy rate in the country.

That everything was built on the top of a mountain several hundred years ago makes the experience even more incredible. Climbing the 3,200 steps took about an hour and a half - dragging rock the same way... probably longer.

India, please take note

India is in many ways an absolutely terrific country. The people are friendly, the economic progress impressive. But there are a few obstacles to realising its full potential; corruption, extreme poverty and bureaucracy are a few of them, but there is no point yelling and demanding that it does something about it, because those are relatively complicated matters, which will take a lot of time and effort to resolve.

The question of economic literacy on a corporate level is an entirely different matter. If you want to realise your full potential as a company, you really must learn how to bundle goods correctly. This is no joke, as the following story reveals an ocean of incompetency on the part of the owners of PVR Cinemas. There you can buy a menu, consisting of a Pepsi and large popcorn for 120 rupees. I am all fine with that, it is just that I would much rather prefer a bottle of water with my popcorns. Of course, it is not possible to exchange the Pepsi for the water, because rules were not meant to be broken. I can, however, order a large popcorn and a bottle of water without ordering the menu. Now it costs... 100 rupees! This immensely incompetent company simply refuses to let me pay 20 rupees extra for the water. I would boycott them as a matter of principle, if it were not for the fact that I leave with more money left in my wallet than necessary.

There are very many sounds in this bus...

Last weekend, Thomas and I did a short trip to Kutch, about two and a half hour away by car from Ahmedabad. Instead of going for the rather lame expat-friendly private car alternative, we went by public bus. It is interesting, because in the previously mentioned course "Digital Inclusion for Development" there has been a lot of ranting about how good it is with local Internet kiosks, where villagers can access government services, instead of having to go by bus to the city and some physical office.

Although this was to me understandable on some theoretical level, the whole concept now became very hands-on.

Travelling by public bus is very cheap, for which there are reasons. There is a seat supply deficit. There is very little suspension. There are very many sounds. And there are sometimes cheating bus conductors, all of whom should take careful note of the fact that you will probably earn more money if you only try to cheat the clueless foreigners, instead of simultaneously trying the same trick on the not so amused locals, because then the foreigners get sympathy points and protection and you end up with nothing but the standard fare. Poor you.

Kutch is home to a wild-life reserve, with some of India's last remaining wild donkeys as its main attraction. As you can see from the pictures, the landscape is quite special. The top photo contains a barely recognisable donkey, if you can make it out. By the way, I have absolutely no idea why Blogger keeps messing with the format.

Field trip to Pij

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit a SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) centre in the village of Pij, about an hour and a half by car from Ahmedabad. The field trip was part of our final project in the course Digital Inclusion for Development, where we look at how information and communications technology can help achieving development goals in various parts of the world.

At this centre, among other things, they offer computer literacy classes, costing a fraction of the prices at ordinary computer schools. Some 20-25 people take these courses every month (the village has about 25,000 inhabitants) and are thus able to learn Microsoft Office, surfing the Internet and operating accounting software. Basic English, necessary if you want to use many quite ordinary functions, is taught via video link from SEWA's head office in Ahmedabad. With their newly acquired knowledge, students are then not only able to apply for jobs as cashiers and IT café staff, but some even buy their own computers to set up business, offering services such as burning CDs for other villagers. The loans with which to purchase the hardware they get by showing their computer knowledge certificate.

We made a short film about the visit. It is only about seven minutes in length, but if you do not feel a desire to watch the whole thing, I suggest you concentrate on the final part. I think it says something fundamental about human nature. The computer teacher says that before she started working with SEWA, nobody in the village knew who she was. Now when she walks down the street, they point at her and say she is the computer teacher. "I now have an identity of my own."