Final trip

As I write this I'm on my final work trip of the summer to Bangalore, an altogether more pleasant place to be than Delhi. The weather here is amazing, and by that I mean it's almost chilly. Think Michigan in the spring. But in comparison to Delhi it is a huge relief. It's interesting to note though, how much of an impact this has on people and their attitudes. Bangalore is a hectic, busy city and the traffic is a nightmare, but people here are much calmer than they seem to be in Delhi. Even Indians I've spoken to share this view, Delhi is a tough place to visit for this reason. And I think it has a lot to do with the weather. Constant heat combined with the stresses of living in the capital city creates this constant tension which manifests itself outwardly as a constant level of aggression. As a friend said last night, Bangalore is a good introduction to India and it's a lot to do with the climate. No I understand what has driven western companies to look to this city as a base of operations for technology, pharma and outsourcing.
But back to my point, Bangalore has provided the backdrop to my last couple of interviews for the summer and a chance to collaborate with some colleagues on the preparation of final deliverables, which are due this week and next. It's been nice to escape the cauldron that is Delhi for a few days before things heat up!

the home stretch

Wow, can there really be only 4 weeks to go?  My time in Delhi is starting to get short and already we are about to say goodbye to some good friends who are heading back to the states.  Things have really kicked up a gear in the last couple of weeks here.  I've been running here and there having meetings with a wide variety of organizations operating in the healthcare and BoP spaces in India trying to understand what they do, what challenges they face and how the organization I'm working for can help them overcome these challenges.  This has involved experiencing a wide range of Indian 'office' spaces, which are mostly apartments with the trappings of corporate life transplanted into them...a video conferencing system is a common fixture in most offices of international NGOs for example.  But this is something you come to expect from India and from Indians...there is a way of making do here, of getting things done despite a lack of resources, infrastructure or political support.  A way of reusing what is around you, of repurposing it to fit your needs.  Indians refer to it as 'Jugar', the practitioners of which are the ‘Jugari’.  If we have a word in English to describe the unique combination of resourcefulness, creativity and willingness to operate outside the rules that constitutes the Indian way, it would probably be MacGyver (used as a verb).  Of course, it isn’t just a lack of resources that encourages this approach.  Indian bureaucracy and regulations are legendary, with a dizzying array of rules, laws, policies, institutions, ministries and layers of administration.  So much so that daily life in India seems to revolve around figuring out how to get things done…not so much working the system, as working around the system.

Now, time to MacGyver myself up some coffee in this chai-obsessed country.

Monsoon is here

Today the monsoon arrived in Delhi, 3 days ahead of schedule apparently.  This is a double edged sword...on the one hand the rain can be chaotic, messy and miserable.  However, it does provide some respite from the crazy heat we've been having since I got here.  Its worth braving the rain for that post-monsoon coolness in the air which makes it so much more bearable to be outside.  Distances here are significant, so walking anywhere in 100+ degrees is really not possible.  Thankfully Delhi has a state of the art metro system that really rivals any in the world (and has recently won awards for its sustainability...they save 30% on their energy costs through regenerative braking for which they also receive carbon credits for Certified Emissions Reductions CERs).  They also have a massive fleet of autos (three wheeled auto rickshaws) that are powered by natural gas making them impressively environmentally friendly.

Finally I found a cable for my camera and am able to include some photos.  I've mostly been spending the weekends visiting some sites around south Delhi.  I'm living pretty close to Lodi gardens, which is an amazing 90 acre garden beside Khan market, one of the most expensive retail districts in the city.  It’s interesting to see how Indians use parks and how it differs to back home.  People come here for picnics, to hang out in large groups, or to just sit or sleep in the shade.  It feels really relaxed.  Of course, that’s probably because its too hot for the more familiar band of joggers, cyclists etc. to disrupt the calm.  

And of course another way that parks in India are different to those in Ireland or the US is they usually have things like this in them...

The next couple of weeks will involve some travel, specifically to Lucknow..the home of great biryanis and amazing mangos apparently.  And I finally get to go on a field visit to see some of the projects I'm working with in action.

Indian Summer

I've just finished the second week of my internship in Delhi, India and wow, its hot here.  There haven't been many days where it has been less than 100 degrees.  This is my third time to Delhi so I'm at least used to it.  Its my first time to work here though and there have been a couple of small surprises so far.  The first thing that one has to get used to is that there are so many people to do things for you.  While I was used to this when staying in family homes in India, it was not as easy to get used to this in the workplace.  On my first day, cups of chai started to show up at my desk every hour or so and I quickly learned that making my own refreshments was a thing of the past.  What was more surprising however, is that even jobs like photocopying are done by the office help and that if you mistakenly do your own photocopying, they will repeat the task just to make sure its perfect.  This was somewhat of a shock after so many years of independence in the workplace and probably a common challenge faced by foreigners working in India.  I wonder if Indian students after a couple of years at Ross come back home and find it difficult to adjust to these additional 'perks'?
The second surprise is the food, and specifically that it also shows up at your desk randomly...thalis, aloo tikki, samosas all hand delivered in the first week.  Unfortunately this weather is not conducive to working out a lot except early in the morning.  I really need to become a morning person.

This week is my first chance to get on the road and have a couple of days in Bangalore.  Looking forward to experiencing the south...home of IT, Business Process Outsourcing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and, thankfully, cooler temperatures.

Introduction

My name is Colm Fay and I'm a second year Erb student at the University of Michigan.  I am pursuing a dual MBA and MS in Natural Resources with a specialization in Environmental Policy and Planning.  This summer I will be interning with Abt Associates in their Delhi office.  Abt Associates is a US based company with offices all over the world with expertise in international development, business research, and social, economic and health policy.  For my internship I will be working with Abt Associates and a local Indian NGO to develop a center of excellence for market based partnerships in health.  This is part of a USAID program to promote health improvement in India through Indian organizations.  I am expecting that this internship will provide the opportunity to shape the future role of an organization that could have a huge impact on market based approaches to healthcare at the base of the pyramid and give me the opportunity to observe some of these projects first hand.  I'm looking forward to piecing together the methodology and goals of the organization based on a combination of direct observations on the ground, cutting edge research from WDI and other research institutes and using the skills and experience from my time at Ross to develop a solution that is innovative and robust and has a lasting impact on the health landscape in India and beyond.

I look forward to sharing my experiences on this blog throughout the summer!