Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

Here is just a bit of information about my current trip to India. I could write for pages to describe this place. It is quite different than any place I have been before.

Over the last 2 weeks I have had the opportunity to visit and work with a team I deal with daily in India. Until now I had only known them by early morning calls and emailing requirements. It has most definitely been a great experience to understand the processes over here as well as get a good feel for the culture. I have traveled many places in the world but never have I had an experience such as Mumbai (Bombay). The city has a population of 20 million people (All 5 Boroughs of New York together are 8 million).

Things are extremely busy in this city at all times of the day and night, borderline chaos. Cars cross in front of each other without looking on each side. Drivers only seem to look in front of them and you really need to pay attention to avoid hitting the guy in front of you not looking. Surprisingly this works out very well. Cars, motorbikes and motorized rickshaws all around with thousands of people crossing the street, expecting other vehicles to stop. For the first week I had believed that red meant go in India, only to later learn our driver just ran red lights; was no big deal to him. I have not seen much of a police force that would stop you. Because it takes a skilled professional to drive here, you get a driver when renting a car. You actually have to pay extra not to get a driver.

Outside of the excitement of driving you see a strange mix between poverty and new buildings. Outside of the central city, it is not uncommon to have a big office with people living on the street outside, cooking and taking care of the children. Once you get past the poverty you begin to see the beauty of Mumbai. There are amazing Mosques and Temples, gardens and some beautiful views if you can see through the constant haze in the city (When you land in the Mumbai airport you immediately notice a burning smell in the air. It is very odd and I am still not sure why it exists). There are an endless amount of markets to get crafts and fabrics for about a 10th of the price of what you see in Europe and the U.S. I have purchased a few shirts where I was able to pick out fabric from hundreds of choices and have it hand stitched to my exact measurements for less then $15 a shirt (This was at a more expensive store). Most of that fee was the fabric. The fee for making the shirt was only $3 of that. I think it may be cheaper to hire someone here to edge a lawn with a pair of scissors then it is to purchase a motor powered edger. I have actually seen this multiple times since I have been here.

The main thing we have to be a bit cautious about is the food. Our Foreign stomachs are not made of the steal that most Indians stomachs are made of. We have had some wonderful food as we make sure we are selective at the restaurants. It appears that much of the Indian diet is cooked at home, based on the small amount of restaurants in such a big city. Again I can use New York as a comparison where there are about 10,000 restaurants just on Manhattan.

Working with the team here you can see how they are able to function well with there job, but are so closed off from the purpose of what they are working on. They have specifications handed to them and are just told to build. I can see why many errors may occur when they have such little knowledge of the business that is using the applications they build. It is also not uncommon to stay until midnight or come in on the weekends to complete tasks. I am in an office that has thousands of people are working in huge open rooms where everyone sits in shared spaces.

I will be traveling to many small cities in India following this week and have expectations to see a very different side of the country. So far I would highly recommend this place to anyone interested in visiting. I expect after going to see the Taj Mahal and some of the cities such as Jaipur, Udaipur and Delhi I will want to come back.