Gov't of India - Unwelcome to Foreigners

Every foreigner in India that is staying for more than 6 months or arriving on a student visa has to register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).  The purpose of the registration is national security.  Unfortunately I was subject to this registration since I'm here on a student visa.  I'm not against the idea of national security but if you've been to any government office in India, you'll know the insane bureaucracy that exists in this country.  It's ludicrous!  I was supposed to register within 2 weeks of arrival and you're expected to have a permanent address.  Considering I only moved to my "permanent address" on day 15, I was already facing an Rs. 1395 penalty (~US $35).

Regardless, I arrived at the FRRO with a letter from the institute where I'm studying, 4 passport photos and my passport.  I walked up to reception and was told I could not be accepted.  The gentleman did not provide any reasoning - he just pointed to a sign behind me - hours of operation were 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (with a lunch break from 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM).  It was 3:03 PM.  I politely asked the man to let me in since I was technically there but had spent the last 10 minutes filling out their form.  He refused...  and then went on to give me a lecture about how I shouldn't "teach him a lesson."  When I explained that I couldn't come back the next few days since I couldn't cut out of class he said I shouldn't have even come to New Delhi then!!  I was shocked.  This is the face of the FOREIGNERS Office - an office that is outright rude and inconsiderate to foreigners within their first few days in India.

As a heritage Indian, I argued through this (in Hindi, of course) and he finally let me in but I was completely disappointed that India, my mother country, is essentially discouraging foreigners with this sort of behavior.  From a macro perspective, India most definitely need foreigners (heritage Indians or otherwise) - for investment, to improve education standards, to assist with governance, to bring innovation, etc... and the FRRO is working directly against that.  Government of India, please add this to your already long list of things to fix!

The bureaucracy didn't end there.  I then had to leave the office to make 3 copies of the form I had just filled out (why can't they just make the copies themselves?  Or perhaps invest in a coin-operated photocopy machine at the office?).  When I returned to the office I was bounced from counter to counter.  At one point, they even stopped working on my registration for a tea break.  Regardless, my work got done and surprisingly it didn't take too much longer than an hour and a half, although I'm quite positive that my argument at reception allowed me to jump the line.  I felt bad for the people that were still at the office struggling through the process - it really shouldn't be this difficult.

Monsoons, Amitabh, Traffic & Nightlife - This is Mumbai

After spending much of the week without the Internet, I'm back online!  Week 2 of the Hindi Lauder track has been packed with exciting stories.  It feels like I could write a post for each day but don't have the time for it so I'll have to make do with the abridged version.

Last Saturday, I landed in Mumbai and it was pouring rain.  Just like how I remembered the monsoons from my childhood - stuck in traffic, roads flooded with water and having to roll my pants up to wade through the water in order to get home.  As horrifying as it was, it's part of the charm of Mumbai.  Since then, it hasn't failed to rain a single day.

During the work week, we had a lineup of corporate visits.  Meetings with CEOs, executives and the occasional Bollywood star.  Kishore Biyani (The Future Group / Big Bazaar), Saroj Datta (Jet Airways), Sanjoy Chatterjee & Himanshu Bahuguna (Goldman Sachs), D. Kurane & Amit Shah (Yes Bank) and Amitabh Bachchan.  Yes, that's worth saying again - we had a meeting with AMITABH BACHCHAN!  In Hollywood terms, that's like combining the superstar power of Elvis Presley, Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and any other favorite celebrity.  If that wasn't enough, Amitabh spent 2 hours talking to us (instead of being on set with his celebrity son, Abhishek) and even blogged about us!  Check it out at: BigB - Day 1154.

Aside from the corporate visits, I spent an endless number of hours stuck in traffic.  The traffic in Mumbai sucks!  On one occasion it took over 2.5 hours to make a trip of approximately 20 kilometers.  For everything Mumbai has become, the traffic issue is a major setback.  I can't imagine the hours of lost productivity or lost family time wasted away on the roads of Mumbai.  Mumbai severely lags in infrastructure and I just don't see it catching up to the ever-increasing population.

Finally, a trip to Mumbai would not be complete without the food (Paneer Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Vada Pau, Pau Bhaji, Indo-Chinese, Chicken McSpicy's, more Butter Chicken, an upscale meal at the Taj) and nightlife (Mondegars, Leo's, Jazz by the Bay, Topaz, Olive, Zaffron, and crashing a wedding at the Taj).  It was only a week but we managed to cram in as much of Mumbai as we could - it will be memorable forever!

India Unbound

The randomness that is India didn’t end with our housing issues. On the first day of classes, we took the auto rickshaw to the address provided to us. After circling around the area for a little while, we asked a local if he knew where the D-31 Defense Colony building was. He pointed us to the adjacent street but he insisted our address was incorrect since the building was recently demolished and under reconstruction. We figured he had no idea what he was talking about… but low and behold, when we arrived our university was a floor and a half high amidst a pile of rubble! The sign directed us to C-133, our makeshift building – we entered our classroom, a converted living room inside someone’s apartment!

If the location was unassuming, the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) is anything but. Affiliated with over 100 American Universities, AIIS is a launch point for International Studies in India – ranging from the study of 18 distinct Indian languages, to affiliation with archeology sites in India, to government projects for India’s national museums. It was reminiscent of a language school in Latin America with an Indian flair – i.e. endless cups of free tea, breakfast in class and a full serving kitchen.

In true Indian fashion, we began our day’s program a half hour late. We didn’t actually have class, but it was more of an introduction and orientation. With pleasantries out of the way, we were taken to a conference center to meet two of India’s greatest thought leaders – Mr. Gurcharan Das and Dr. Ashis Nandy! Mr. Gurcharan Das is a bestselling author of “India Unbound”, former CEO of Proctor & Gamble India and former Managing Director of Proctor & Gamble Worldwide. Dr. Ashis Nandy is a prominent Indian political psychologist and has previously appeared on the list of Top 100 Intellectuals on Foreign Policy and won the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize.

Being the inaugural Hindi class of the Lauder Institute, we were a little suspicious of the quality of business and national leaders we would get a chance to meet, but we started with a BANG! The lineup on day 1 blew us all away and we took advantage of the opportunity, enjoying a thoroughly engaging conversation with our celebrity speakers. Much credit goes to our Hindi Program Director and the Lauder Institute – the Hindi track is off to a great start.

The Apartment

Upon landing in Delhi, I was excited to see our apartment. A friend, living in the US managed to hook me up with an awesome pad in a new apartment building with a gym. A gym!! That’s unheard of in India… off the hook! The taxi slowed down at the apartment...

Taxi fare	Rs. 160
Mineral water	Rs. 175
Mattresses for apartment	Rs. 1500
“Gym”	Climbing up 3 flights of stairs with heavy luggage
Indian style bathroom	Free
Wasp’s nest in bathroom	Also Free
2 dead wasps	Killed by roommate
Security system	2 stray dogs
Average temperature in Delhi	110o F (~40o C)
Air Conditioning	Non-existent
Refrigerator	Also Non-existent
Hours of running water	30 mins per day
Water tank	Empty
Pump for water tank	Burnt Out
Plumber Costs	Rs. 4500
Summer Immersion in India	PRICELESS!

The issue wasn’t so much with the amount of problems with the apartment, these kinds of things tend to be commonplace in India, but it was more an issue of expectations. My friend (who for the record is living it up in West Palm Beach, Florida) told me there was a gym in the building and that was the basis for a WHOLE bunch of other assumptions. Clearly all of them turned out to be false so my roommate and I have been sweating it out (literally) for the last 4 days. To add insult to injury, the area of town we’re living in is across from slums, there are no fun places to hang out and it’s a 30-minute auto rickshaw ride to classes every morning (which also happens to be the 30 minutes when the city water is available).

The good news is we’re not sticking it out here any longer… We found a place with all the amenities we need for a great price and walking distance from our classes. We’ll be moving there once we return from Mumbai. As for my friend in West Palm, she’s been very apologetic about the whole thing – don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you for more than a few years! :)

Off to Delhi

As part of the International Studies portion of my masters, I’m off to New Delhi for 2 months. The goal during of the immersion is to improve our language skills – we’ll have Hindi classes every morning, followed by corporate or cultural visits most afternoons. There are 5 of us in the inaugural Hindi track and we’re paving the way for future Hindi track Lauderites.

After exams got done on Thursday afternoon, I rushed home to pack. By the time everything was said and done it was already midnight and we had to take a 2:40 AM bus to Newark airport. Naturally, we weren’t planning to sleep so off we went to Silk City to party with the rest of the Lauder class. 2 hours of partying later, we stumbled to the bus stop and went to Newark. My sleeping habits took the best of me as I slept on the bus and on the plane to Heathrow. Now here I am, on the second leg of the journey – Delhi is just 4 hours away!