My Delhi darshan (Delhi sightseeing tour)

Ever since I landed here, two weeks ago, I have always wanted to explore Delhi. I stayed at Delhi long time ago (10 years to be precise) but never visited any place worth mention. Like it happens to all residents who are well aware of the city they stay in but never bother to venture out and explore, I never explored Delhi when I stayed here.

This time, I have decided to make mends to my approach. I decided that I will visit places that are well mentioned and hence made a small resolution to visit few places. At my workplace, I asked a friend who willing agreed to take me around. So we decided that Saturday afternoon will be the right time to start the Delhi Darshan project.

Cometh Saturday afternoon, the Surya Devta (Sun God) didn't seem very happy. The mercury scaled the peak of around 44°C and there was no need for a sauna bath. The sweat bath was equally good on the day. Freshly baked and wet, I boarded the famed New Delhi public transport (a.k.a Bus) and started towards Connaught place where I was supposed to meet my friend. This friend of mine is a proper Delhite unlike me and knew places. So after the travel time of 1 hr and 10 min in the bus and another 20 minutes of paidal (on foot) walk I met this very generous and kind friend of mine. The first place to visit was local bhaiya (vendor) on the street who was selling cool refreshments. First price hike experience and no signs of economic recession. Against the maximum retail price of Rs. 20, the drinks costed us Rs. 25. Why? Because the guy had served us the 'cool' drinks and not 'hot' drinks and the difference was his service charge for the 'cool' drink. Two drinks down, now it was the turn to do some shopping.

Shopping in Delhi is altogether a unique experience (and so is in India). The 'High Streets' are frequented by both, the road side vendor who have small shops selling from ladies fashion garments to ultra modern fashion jewellery on one hand to Bose, Armani and Gucci brand shops on the other. All co-exists peacefully and do a brisque business. No one complains and the life goes on.

After the small shopping spree, which was interspersed by a short visit to an ATM, a visit to a book store, we decided to cool down a bit at a Chinese restaurant - 'Tao'. The restaurant reminded me of Mung Mee at Lancaster where the Thai food is delicious and this place offered me similar variety. The restaurant was a typical high street restaurant that I could expect in Cannaught Place. The food was enjoyable and palatable. As long as I was inside, I felt really nice but the moment I walked out I felt as if I was thrown in the burning amber.

As I walked out, I decided to explore the famous footpath market alongside Janpath (an area made famous because it hosts the address of one of the most powerful ladies in the world - Sonia Gandhi). The market typically hosts clothing and fashion accessories shops and since my friend is a shopaholic, I also went along and guess what, I pampered myself with handsome sunglasses - brand Armani (ofcourse the fake ones). That's the fun part of shopping in India. You get whatever you want at the price you are willing to pay.

Our next destination was Dilli Hat (a open air market mainly for handicraft items from all around the country, a cultural melting pot). It was one of those places about which I had heard a lot but never chanced to visit it. This time I didn't wanted to miss the opportunity so boarded the first train err.. the Delhi Metro and began a nice ride. The Delhi Metro is a marvel. The trains are wide, seating comfortable, platforms clean, security all around. To get into the station the security is like airport security with armed guards wielding body scanners and there is also a baggage scanner. Believe me, I was impressed. One of the best things is there is no paper ticket. Once I buy a journey, I am given a plastic token that is valid for the journey and the machine recognises the token and allows me to board the train and even takes it back when the journey is over and I walk out of the station. Good 'green' thinking.

Once at Dilli Hat, I enjoyed the food options. Felt that the prices were a bit on the higher side but I didn't mind. It was authentic and tasty.

When I started back home, again the irony of India struck me on the face. Metro, the engineering marvel, on one side, and crowded, overbearing buses and pathetic state of public transport system on the other. India is indeed a developing country but for all its faults it is an amazing place, place that I love.

Being an Intern - Part I

In my previous post I updated that I am joining radio industry in India as an intern. Now that I have spent some time in the company, I think that it would be the right opportunity to share what I think of being an intern.

Being an intern is first of all an interesting thing. I remain an outsider yet an insider at the same time. I observe things differently. There is always a dichotomy, a struggle to be a part of the team and yet be an outsider. It is a full time job. I know I am intern and I have the liberty to select my role and also the kind of work that I want to perform. The only requirement is whatever role and work I select within the company it should fit in the overall design of the company. At the end of the day it is beneficial if both, I and the company gain something from the experience.

While, presently I am not sure of the end so far, I am quite happy with the way things have worked out. I am finalizing the kind of work/research I want to do for my final dissertation, the company gave me four options to select from the work they want me to do. Needless to say, I have selected the option that suited best for my research and now that it has been decided, I am in the process of laying out plans for both, the work and the research. I think at the end of this internship period, I will have extensive knowledge of how the radio industry function, which I think will be a great plus for my future.

It is also interesting to say that as an intern I can freely talk about my career options to people and tell them that I will be looking for opportunities elsewhere. It is difficult to talk about job search when you are a full time employee. Isn't it?

Apart from the work, one funny question that has been posed by various employees here is that am I doing my MBA from distance education. The concept of a student coming from UK or anywhere else to India to do internship seems to be alien. When I dig deep in the question, the fact remains that Indians still do NOT consider India to be a happening place where opportunities are plenty. People consider foreign degree to be a passport to a better overseas career. While overseas career definitely offers few good opportunities, the fact that India is a happening place and if I have come back for good, I consider India to be a land of opportunities has to sink in.

So far, the period has been exceedingly well. I am also appreciative of two individuals - the top boss and the immediate boss, both have been supportive and suggestive. They are helpful and also leaders, whose first impression on me has been excellent. Needless to say, I am thankful to both of them for all the help.

Updates - Back to India

Recently there have been many updates that I wanted to share earlier but paucity of time and priority did not permit.

Update 1: I have moved to India recently (as recent as last Saturday) to start upon my internship. My internship is with a media house - Dainik Bhaskar (for those who don't know - it is the second largest read Hindi newspaper in India and one of the diverse media houses with interest ranging from Hindi newspaper publication, regional langauge newspaper publication, web based information portals and radio). There is a case study from Knowledge@Wharton on the Bhaskar group. The same can be found here.

I have joined the company in their radio network, which they operate on the frequency 94.3 FM from 17 different stations in 7 different Indian states.

Now answer to the question, why media and especially why Radio, given that my background is in Software industry and I have literally no experience in any other industry.

The answer is simple. I want to experience different industries before I move back to the technology industry. Radio industry in India is still in infancy and has huge potential to grow. The competition in the industry is intense, it is fragmented and there is no clearcut differentiation among the products that the players offer. Given such a scenario, I began thinking wouldn't it be nice and wonderful if I became part of an industry that is poised to grow, which will arm me with a different perspective towards business and also help me to diversify my skill set.

Secondly the position is based out of Delhi. I am quite keen on starting my innings after MBA in north of India and Delhi and surrounding regions seem to be the best place. So, this internship gives me the opportunity to look for opportunities that interest me at the location I think is best suited to me for personal reasons.

Update 2: My farewell from Lancaster and the journey from Lancaster to India was wonderful. I flew AirIndia for the first time and apart from the airhostesses the flight was good. The seats and the decor of the flight including inflight entertainment was nice. The memories are the things that remain and I believe I will cherish the same for a very long time. Wonderful friends, long parties, longer assignments, mid-night walks to Pizzetta (the cafeteria) will definitely be remembered for a very long time. I am sure, I will miss most of the things for a long long time. I get nostalgic but that's what memories are for, esp. good memories.

Now that I have got internet connection at home in Noida and I hope to get time to manage my time, I will have lots to share and write about how I am progressing over my internship.

I want this post also to thank my mentor on my dissertation and one of my close friend whose discussions over phone/email/in-person have proved useful to me in evaluating my research interest, which has helped me in identifying my dissertation topic. Thank you guys.