Clinton Global Initiative

It's been really exciting reading all the updates from the Clinton Global Initiative, which started yesterday in NYC.  President Obama kicked off the event, highlighting the importance of what we can all do as individuals, saying:

"This week, even as we gather at the United Nations to discuss what governments can do to confront the challenges of our time, even as we're joined tonight by so many presidents and prime ministers -- this Global Initiative reminds us what we can do as individuals: that you don't have to hold public office to be a public servant."

Of course, he wasn't addressing any old individuals -- there are about 60 current and former presidents and heads of state, and hundreds of CEOs and leaders from the private sector and NGO worlds in attendance.

I was excited to learn what a large role global health and investing in women & girls would have in this year's event.  In fact, it was a huge honor that LifeSpring was invited to speak on a panel about enterprise-based strategies in health and education, moderated by Madeleine Albright. While it didn't work out this year, it's really quite incredible that a one-and-a-half year old organization was asked to speak at an event like this.

What's cool about the CGI is that conference attendees are expected to make concrete commitments and articulate clear steps they will take to tackle global challenges that include health, education, energy and climate change, and economic empowerment.

And my favorite part?  Those who don't follow through on their commitments are not allowed to return.

Emergency Zen

Granted, there's plenty to laugh at along Hyderabad's streets.  But this never grows old: the "Zen Ambulance Service".  While I often feel that much of my time in Hyderabad is an ever-growing search for Zen amidst sheer craziness, this is the LAST thing I'd want rushing to save me in case of an emergency!!  Can you just imagine?!

Patient's loved one: "Hurry, we need to get to the hospital!"

Zen Driver: "We'll get there when it's time to get there... Whatever happens is perfect" ;)

Don't get me wrong, I think there's an absolute need for more emergency vehicles on the streets (and perhaps more importantly, a reliable way for them to speed through traffic, instead of honking their horns in a traffic jam, like everyone else).

But I'd like to have been part of the brand meeting for that company!

As a side-note, this name/service disconnect plays out quite a lot in India.  Another favorite example: "XCEED" tutoring services, which is right near my yoga studio.  Clever, I suppose, but if the point is convincing parents that they can teach their children to excel, shouldn't they first demonstrate that they can properly spell? :)

With my eyes to the skies...

I may or may not have work tomorrow.  It depends on the presence of the moon tonight.

Toto, we're not in NYC anymore! ;)

I'm a Telugu star!

Ha, not really...but LifeSpring is!

Pictures from our opening are all over today's Telugu press.  Bottom right photos show the Commissioner of Family Welfare, who inaugurated our hospital; along with Anant (our CEO) and I.

9th Hospital Launch Today!!!

Getting Ready!!!

Beauty

Hussain Sagar Lake and the Buddha Statue at sunset last week.  One of the perks of leaving work "early" -- around 6:30pm...

Taking a step back

Overheard in the Indian School of Business (ISB) elevator: 

"This isn't India, it's the ISB."

In many ways, one of the most refreshing aspects of today has been the ability to take a step back and think about my experiences here from an academic lens, away from the craziness that is day-to-day India.

We ended today's workshop with a discussion on India trends and dynamics.  While it's a bit nerdy to share my class notes on this blog, it definitely helps answer questions I'm often asked regarding changes occurring in India. (Besides: when have I ever been accused of being too big of a nerd?!)

So without further ado, trends we talked about included:

• Growing differences within India's rural population
• Increased hunger for education
• "Sudden Wealth Phenomenon"
• Migration from the villages & youth increasingly disinterested in agriculture
• Migration from public to private health care
• Shift in entrepreneurial mindset from survival entrepreneurship to more creative and long-term
• Coming of age of post-liberalization youth, with 100 million 17-21 year olds in India

And of course, a discussion of the Base of the Pyramid itself, particularly the shift from BoP 1.0 -- "selling to the poor" to BoP 2.o -- one of co-creation and business co-venturing.  Rather than purely focusing on creating a "cheap" or affordable product, a successful venture must create authentic value.  For BoP (and I'd argue, for all of us!), "value" means:

• Productivity improvement
• Ability to create independence and empowerment
• Increased income generation
• Social and aspirational fulfillment

As much as my Type-A personality found satisfaction in these neat frameworks and bullet points, my favorite aspect of today has been the multitude of debates and arguments stemming from the workshop (those who say that Asians are conflict-averse should come to India!)

Among the debates:

How can we truly meet BoP consumers' needs -- rather than trying to sell them folding IKEA tables because their homes look cluttered to us?  And for that matter, what does "Base of the Pyramid" even mean?  Why should it surprise us that base of the pyramid consumers own fridges, have cable television, and have drawers full of gold jewelry? 

And lest the debate turn much too philosophical or ivory tower-esque, the "real" India is still out there waiting, just outside the campus gates.

Happiness

Design Thinking for Base of the Pyramid

I'm surrounded by post-it notes and dozens of photos from yesterday's field work.

It's 9am on a Sunday, and I'm a student again -- sitting in a beautifully modern classroom at the Indian School of Business (ISB).  I'm participating in a workshop on "Consumer-Centered Innovation for Emerging Markets."  We were warned beforehand that it would be intensive, and they weren't kidding: 9am - 11:30pm yesterday, and all-day again today.

The design task: Identify a business, product, or service innovation opportunity in housing for base of the pyramid.

To do this, we split into teams of two and spent eight hours in urban slums in Hyderabad.  Rather than traditional market research techniques of surveys, interviews, and focus groups, we took an ethnographic and anthropological approach... Basically a fancy way of saying: we became flies on the wall inside a family's house throughout the entire course of their day.  We got into their lives, studied their ecosystem, and at least tried to put aside our assumptions of how to improve low-income housing.  The basic assumption is that surveys and focus groups tend to result in incremental improvements, while a more immersive approach can lead to transformational and non-linear innovations.

I am paired with Priya, a current ISB student who was previously a reporter in Bombay.  We drive to Shivaji Nagar and spend eight hours with Iqbar Khan, his wife Sajeeta, and their family.  While Priya speaks to them in their living room to learn more about their lives, I spend time with their daughter-in-law, Altheea, who is eight months pregnant.

While I am first extremely frustrated by my inability to communicate, I quickly find that this actually enables me to observe more.

Altheea looks about 18.  Eight months pregnant, she's doing all the cleaning and cooking for her family-in-law.  In fact, she spends three hours doing laundry.  What's particularly interesting about this is that they own a washing machine (which was part of her dowry).  After taking the clothes out of the machine, she hand washes the clothes again!!

Indeed, one key insight is that although some base of the pyramid consumers own the same technology as higher income consumers, they often use this technology in different ways.  For instance, for the three mobile phones I observed, the family still uses the community pay phone outside.  Another team's family owns two fridges, yet do not use them in order to save energy.

The list of observations that struck me goes on and on, so just a few highlights:

• Creative use of space; one room served multiple functions (e.g. kitchen tripled as kitchen, bedroom, and dining area)
• Little to no space for children to play within the household, which often results in children playing on the roof with few safety precautions (I even see this outside my Banjara Hills balcony -- this morning I saw a little boy riding this bike (!!!) on the building's roof!!
• Extreme distrust of doctors (the mother is not feeling well, but does not want to go to the doctor, instead making home remedies)... yet at the same time, ensuring daughters give birth in private hospitals because government hospitals are "poor quality"
• Water storage extremely important, with huge water drums outside each household and multiple buckets in the kitchen
• Perhaps unsurprisingly in India, education is a key priority.  When forced to prioritize, education was placed on a much higher level than even food.  One team talked about spending time with an auto rickshaw driver who was putting his son through engineering college.

Some photos (notice the satellite dish!):

My brain has been on fire over these last couple of days -- I can't stop thinking about ways to apply this design thinking process to LifeSpring.   In fact, John sent me this design toolkit for base of the pyramid, designed by IDEO.  Really excited to apply this to my day-to-day work!

Eight years later

9:11am.

I'm jarred from my morning leadership meeting with a casual glance at the clock.

It's been eight years since

...the towers fell

...New Yorkers banded together

...I realized that whatever I do professionally needs to have meaning

Of course, that was right when I graduated college and had absolutely no skills.  I thought of working in a summer camp that brought together children from conflict zones, in order to teach them early that the "enemy" was really just another kid who loved soccer as much as they did.

And as fulfilling as that might have been, looking back I'm so grateful I stayed in consulting.  I distinctly remember watching the 9/11 memorial events two years later...I was applying to business school then.  Again, the reminder that whatever I do needs to have meaning.  But this time, I felt grateful in thinking my strategy consulting skills could be used, somehow and in a small way, to make the world a little better.

Thinking back to 2001, it's funny what images stay in your mind.  Of course, there are the images of the planes crashing.  But I also see all the "Missing" posters -- especially the one of the smiling grandfather in his green blazer and laughing eyes (you New Yorkers know who I'm talking about...his posters plastered the city)... images of the Yankees boosting morale and helping out in Ground Zero... memorials everywhere.  Like most New Yorkers, I had no idea how to help, but just wanted to do something.  I spent some time today looking back at photos collected in a gallery I volunteered at after the attacks, called "Here is New York".  

It's easy to miss New York, and the city is especially in my thoughts today.

A Prophesy

Today one of my colleagues is leaving LifeSpring.  I'm not sure he realizes how much of an impact he had on me during my first few months here in India, and I wanted to let him know.

So I went back to my journal to find an entry after one of our conversations -- dated January 30, 2008 (two months after arriving in Hyderabad and months before I decided to stay).

He said:

"LifeSpring may be the impetus that got you to India, but it's not the true reason you came.  You're here in search of something deeper.  You've been to, how many -- 40 countries?  You travel in search of the truth.  Once you find that truth you're seeking, you will finally settle down in one place...

Let's make a bet.  You're going to be here much longer than you originally anticipated.  India's already becoming a part of your soul."

Laughter, clearly, is still the best medicine!!

The lion laugh is easily still my favorite:

ROAR!!!!! (tongue fully out, fingers curled into claws) ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

What can I say -- there's something truly liberating about roaring like a lion as loudly as you can in a public place.

After months of delinquency, I'm back at laughing yoga -- this time with Tyler.  Waking up at 5:50am on a Saturday morning isn't usually our idea of fun, but we're committed.

Laughing yoga (or "laughing circles") started in Bombay in 1995 by Dr. Madam Kataria.  Two years later, Shirin Panjwani brought it to Hyderabad.  There are now 3000 laughing circles who meet every morning at 6am around India -- 1000 in Bombay alone.  

So here we are, 6:15am at Nampally Public Gardens with the ABC Laughing Club -- one of the 20 that Shirin has started (ABC as in: "Always be Cheerful").  As always, before the actual laughing starts, it's time for calisthenics: anything from marching in place to clapping 50 times.  At random points throughout the exercises, we hear: "Good for the eyes!  Good for the kidneys!"  Tyler and I catch each other's eyes and try not to laugh, as these body parts generally do not correspond at all with whatever we are stretching.

Finally, the laughing begins (although not before a statement granting everyone permission to laugh -- as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh had died the day before: "this is exercise, not happiness").

First is the warm-up laugh: HO-HO! HA-HA-HA!!  HO-HO! HA-HA-HA!! -- while pumping your arms.  Next is my runner-up favorite: the Buddha Laugh!!  This is where you throw your arms open and look up to the sky...HAHAHAHAHA!!!

The exercise ends with a quiet meditation and prayer, to just about every god: Allah, God, Jesus, Vishnu...and finally, a prayer for Shanti (peace).

Laughter and prayers for peace, all before 7am.  As we begin to leave, we are handed a pamphlet about the Laughing Club, which states amongst laughter's benefits: "Enhances aesthetic value of face" as well as "enhances memory power, leadership quality, makes you lead a happy life."

Whatever it does, we feel great...

...And ready for Bloody Mary's on my patio swing for breakfast :)

Ganesh Festival

Last night was the climax of the 11-day Ganesh Festival in Hyderabad -- the night where the largest of the large Ganesh statues are submerged in Hussain Sagar Lake.

The entire area around the lake has a Carnival-like feel.  There are food vendors selling chaat, paan, roasted corn, cotton candy, and ice cream.  Screams of "Welcome to India!" echo like surround sound to the group of expats I'm celebrating the festival with.

You don't have to look hard to spot the Ganeshas -- there are dozens and dozens of them in your frame of vision.  Large trucks carrying Ganeshas pass us, containing 40-50 men riding cargo alongside the giant elephant god.

The men, clearly drunk, are chanting and screaming and gyrating.  They spot us and extend their arms back to hurl something at us as hard as they possibly can.

I cringe and brace myself in anticipation.

And then I laugh.

They are throwing marigold flowers!!

It's definitely quite a sight to see the giant cranes pick up the Ganesha from the truck, hover the statue over the water, then gingerly submerge him in the lake.  Some submersions are more graceful than others.  One Ganesha didn't want to leave, which resulted in the crane needing to shake the statue off...in the process, his elephant face was decapitated, leading to a lot of gasps from the spectators on land.

Though I try to deny it, there is a menacing tone to the event... perhaps it is because of all the talk of potential riots throughout the day, stemming from the recent death of AP's chief minister.  Or something spooky about spectators walking around in animal masks -- a bit like Clockwork Orange.  

But at the same time, there's also an air of celebration, of family, and of defying fears of riots.  Little children point in awe of the giant Ganeshas getting submerged.  There is dancing in the streets. 

I sure am glad I didn't stay home!

Ramadan in Hyderabad

Pictures from Monday night's adventure in Charminar (to see a few more, click here).  When Ramadan started a week and a half ago, Catherine sent this link of incredible Ramadan pictures from around the world (including the Philippines!)

A Tale of Two Festivals

This year's festival season is quite remarkable in that the first day of the Ganesh festival coincided with the first day of Ramadan -- or Ramzan, as it's called here in Hyderabad.

There was quite a build-up to this momentous event, with local papers reporting that 36,000 police had been deployed in Hyderabad, specifically to tighten security around the dual Hindu-Muslim festivals. 

While that certainly highlights potential conflict of cultures, all I saw driving around the city was the enormous plurality of it all, and intermixing of festivals.  Fireworks for all!!

And so I find myself, 30 minutes after returning home last night from my Ganesh-Galore ride back from work, back in an auto with some friends -- this time headed towards the opposite side of the city: to Charminar and the Old City...the heart of Muslim Hyderabad, to experience Ramadan there.

As always, walking around Charminar feels like going back in time, with lively markets, sellers hawking their goods, and lots of narrow and winding streets...filled with yet more sellers selling their goods.  It's a total feast for the eyes.  There are sparkly bangles and gaudy jewelry and books and housewares galore!! -- not to mention sari shops selling the brightest, most colorful saris -- filled with women clad entirely in black burkas.

Tonight Charminar is even more magical, with its towers aglow in purple and green.  The market stalls are all lit up with white and colored sparkling lights.  The Old City is all dressed up for Ramadan.

We stop at a roadside haleem stand advertising "Mutton Haleem".  I learn that haleem takes 12 hours to stew -- which is incredible to think about considering the cooks preparing this are fasting the entire day!  During Ramadan, of course, Muslims fast from dawn to sundown (not even drinking water)...with haleem as the traditional meal that breaks fast.

And putting a spoonful in my mouth, I can see why.  Haleem is extremely hard to explain...except to say it reminds me a bit of meaty oatmeal, with a bit of oily gravy mixed in.  While it definitely tastes a lot better than I'm describing it (I do go back for seconds!!), I'm not quite sure I'll be having it again...

The rest of the night is spent wandering through the windy market streets, bargaining hard for glass bangles in Laad Bazaar and people-watching galore.  My few words of Hindi is no match for my friends, who I learn are bargainers extraordinaire.

On the ride back, we pass even more giant Ganeshas on their way to the lake, which seems appropriate in this plurality of festivals.  There's even a full-out dance party right on Road #1 -- the major road near my house -- which of course I stop and partake in, just for a second.  

I fall asleep around midnight to the sounds of dancing and partying.

Apres Moi, Le Deluge

And always, the rains...

I've written about monsoons before, but tonight's ride (swim??) from work reached epic proportions, with wrecks of rickshaws and Ganeshas strewn on the streets and tons of people wading through the shin-deep water to look for some shelter from the rain (one of the most popular places for cover appeared to be under the huge cranes lined up for the Ganesha festival!)

My auto-rickshaw feels a bit like Noah's arc, the driver picking up friends here and there, with everyone cramming into the back.  No matter, I'm just happy to be in something semi-dry and semi-moving.  

My colleagues try to dissuade me from leaving work and going out into the rains, but I laugh and say we're all waterproof!  Of course, I'm not laughing nearly as hard when I step outside to find the waters literally midway to my knees.  It's silly to even try pulling my pants up; I'm instantly drenched anyway.

Even as we're driving, my auto driver keeps trying to dissuade me from going home -- "You can go tomorrow!!  What's so important?"  Um, home.  And sleep.

The Ganeshas that looked so majestic yesterday now look a bit war-torn and beaten...although some dedicated followers proceed with the pomp and circumstance, drums and all!

As we drive, a giant bus drives right alongside my auto, splashing what feels like ten bucketfuls of water right on me -- face, clothes, bag are completely soaked.  Driver and friend look at me, I look down at myself... 

And there's nothing to do but break into hysterical laughter!!

Tyler and I joke that Delhi in summer looks like the apocalypse -- white and grey dust everywhere...even the setting sun is literally white (the first time I saw it, I confused it with the moon)!!  And I can't help but think this feels a bit biblical as well.  Tonight's floods are unlike anything I've seen or experienced before.

The ride back takes even longer than expected, with my driver constantly asking other auto drivers where the "panee" (water) is particularly bad -- so we can attempt to avoid it (which doesn't really seem to work anyway).

I finally reach home, cold and shivering in August!  I've never been so grateful for a nice hot shower...

Ganeshas on the Move

It's a party on my ride home from work!

Over the course of my 45 minute commute home, I pass about fifty giant Ganeshas being transported from their communities (where they have been decorated and prayed to for the last week) to Hussain Sagar, the lake in the middle of Hyderabad.

As befits any god, each Ganesh is accompanied by their convey -- anywhere from five to fifty Indians riding in the back of a truck alongside the giant statue.  Even though Ganesh's true chariot is a rat (each god has a corresponding animal mode of transportation), the trucks ensure Ganesh travel in comfort.  He is often adorned with giant palm leaves and bright orange marigolds around his neck.

Many Indians are aglow in purple -- purple hair, faces, arms, hands, clothes... making it look a bit like a mono-chromatic Holi (which may be my favorite Indian holiday -- for this year's Holi pics, click here).

There's dancing in the street... yelling, singing.  The energy is almost intoxicating.  Lights are everywhere, and it feels almost like Hyderabad's version of Mardi Gras.

The lake itself is a sight to behold.  This is where all the Ganeshas disembark, with their followers submersing them in the lake below.  While I originally pictured this as a march out to the sea, this is now the 21st century.  There are dozens and dozens of huge cranes lined up around the lake, ready to submerge the elephant gods.

And to think... this is just the prelude!  The real festivities start later this week -- when over 10,000 Ganeshas will be brought to Hussain Sagar Lake, accompanied by drums, fanfare, and dancing galore.

Who said Hyderabadi's don't know how to party??