Days 6 & 7: From Privation to Opulence

My Saturday morning begins in darkness as I jump in a taxi at 5:00 AM to catch the first train of the day to Mathura, a large town a few hours south of Delhi.   Train ride is a delight:  it leaves on time, nicely air conditioned, comfortable seats and speeds through the countryside with almost no stops for a nearly on-time arrival at my destination.....almost too good to be true.....and I quickly discover that it is too good to be true.

As I get off the train, I'm greeted to a warm blast of stinky air and friendly welcoming committee on platform #2.   At first, I figured that he was waiting for the next train to head down to see the Taj Mahal, but then I realized that he was just hanging out at the station watching life go by and contentedly chewing his cud.  As I make my way around my bovine friend, I artfully dodge a large pile of dung and then have to gracefully leap over some more of the stuff that had been trodden and smeared across my path other passersby.  

As I didn't immediately spot my host, I decided to give him a call.  Happily, he picked up, but regrettably his English seemed to be anything but that....once again, I was having language issues.   Three phone calls later, I was able to convey that I had a green shirt and blue jeans on and that I would walk back and forth on the platform until someone saw me.  We quickly connected, and once we were outside the noisy train station, things were a bit better. 

So, we first went to a local restaurant to have an introductory conversation and a tea before hitting the field.  After a spot of tea on the train (how civilized!) and a liter of water, it was high time for me to find the wash room, as they say here in India.  Given the general condition of this restaurant, I knew that bathroom was  going to be interesting, and without hand sanitizer, I knew that I was thoroughly unprepared for combat.   Now ladies and gentlemen, I've seen and dealt with the gamut of restrooms, but this one was clearly at the top (or perhaps bottom) of the heap.   Won't get into details as that would be TMI, but if you want to get a sense, just let your imagination run wild - and then multiply by three!  To add insult to injury, the water spicket emitted but a trickle of water, and naturally, neither soap nor paper towels nor hand dryer were available.....all in all, a miserable experience, but nothing to keep a hungry traveler from his eating duties - where's my food?!? 

So after the scrumptious, germ-free breakfast, we head off to Drishtee's District Office, a sort of ground control for Drishtee's operation in the region.   This office serves approximately 300 villages across a broad geography.  Our plan of action was to visit a number of villages out in the hinterland to see the Drishtee business model at work.  Here are some pictures of the team and the office....

MADISON AVENUE, IT'S NOT! 

 

  

  

What a fascinating day it turned out to be - hard to try to summarize my observations/thoughts.   The villages that we were visiting were largely populated by folks at the so-called Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) who's average wage is less than $2/day.  Poverty is a complex phenomenon.  But before I get philosophical, what immediately hits you are:  the flies (they're everywhere), the smells (most of them bad - stinky animals, stinky humans, stinky bodies of stagnant water, stinky piles of rubbish), the heat & humidity (direct contributor to previous item), and the dirt (dust and dirt everywhere).   

In the midst of this not so pretty picture, one notices some other things:  folks are exceedingly generous and welcoming, once you break through the initial barriers of curiousity/suspicion/reservation.  Tea is invariably offered and shared with guests, and no one is in any kind of hurry.   There is something very human and refreshing about this for a Westener who lives life at a too-fast speed with a constantly too-full agenda.  The other thing that I loved was that upon shaking a villagers hand, they would take their hand and gently touch their chest, a gesture of welcome and friendship.   Very cool.

Not very cool was the fact that women were completely absent from all of these encounters and conversations were women.  That's partly cultural, but it also reflects the fact that in village life, women are always working.   They are expected to care for children, care for the home and work the fields (village life in India is largely dependent on agriculture) to help support the meager household income.  They are less likely to have the option of pursuing their education or studies, particularly given that they tend to marry at a young age and soon thereafter have children.   Poverty is not pretty, nor fair.

This is where the Drishtee model comes into play.  Drishtee works to address a fundamental challenge in rural India:  access to quality products and services.  Through its supply chain network and through identifying local entrepreneurs, Drishtee provides access to education, health and financial services, as well as consumer goods, at a fair price and delivered with quality.  Drishtee also provides vocational training to build skills among villagers as it attempts to holistically address the multi-faceted challenges of rural poverty.  It's not easy work, nor does change happen overnight, but it does appear to be working in the places that Drishtee has a presence.  

We visited village after village, all of them severely lacking in infrastructure (pot-holed dirt roads, sporadic availability of electricity, no sanitation, no health care facilities, no schools) and opportunity (very few jobs outside caring for the water buffalo and working the fields).   As we drove down one more dusty, bumpy rode on our way back to town, my mind was swimming with the images of the people that I'd met and places that I'd seen.  I found myself conflicted by the contradictions which I had seen and experienced.  On the one hand, I was overwhelmed by the  seemingly insurmountable challenges that these villages face, but on the other hand was encouraged by the entrepreneurial spirit that I witnessed in the Drishtee "franchisees". These are the local entrepreneurs who deliver quality services and products which support the local community while generating meaningful income for their families.  It was a long, tiring day for me, but I'm grateful to have had the opportunity.  It was a real education for me, and it reinforced my recognition that my family and I are abundantly blessed and need to always remain thankful for all that we have.

REDEFINING "HOLE IN A WALL" - these are the local village shopowner to whom Dristhee supplies products via the rickshaw below. 

 

  

 

  

 ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE - this is a successful, young Drishtee entrepreneur who offers villagers computer training from his home   

  

 

  

 LOCAL BANKER - this is another successful, young guy who has been working with Drishtee for 3 years offering villagers micro credit, loans of up to US$200.   Left to right: Rajul, Prabhat, both of Drishtee, and the entrepreneur

  

WORKING IT OUT - this is a construction site where Drishtee is training villagers masonry skills.   Due to the explosive economic growth and accompanying building boom, India is anticipating a massive shortage of workers from construction trades such as masonry. 

  

OK, so once again it looks like I'm trying to break a record for longest blog, so I will keep Day 7 short.  The night before I had arrived in Agra, which is about 2 hours from the villages that I had been visiting.  Agra is a big tourist destination as it is the home of the Taj Mahal and several other Unesco World Heritage sights.   So I was up at 5:30 to head out to the Taj for the 6AM opening and a sunrise viewing.   I had arranged for a personal tour guide and driver, which is very much not my style, but with no time to plan my trip and only one day in Agra, I wanted to make the most of my visit - good call.   My tour guide, Sanjay, rocked.  

And how about the Taj?  They say that it's one of the seven wonders of the world....I've only seen one of the other six, so I guess I'm not a wonders of the world expert, but I must say that I was impressed by the Taj.  What really caught my attention was the unbelievable detail and craftsmanship in the inlaid designs that adorn the entire front facade of the Taj.  And to think that this beast was built in something like 22 years without any modern technology or equipment.  The symmetry of the place is amazing - everything from the structure itself to the layout of the gardens and all other structures that form part of the complex are in perfect symmetry with each other.   Also interesting was the melding of Islamic and Hindu elements in the design elements of the building.   I also had the opportunity to visit a couple other sights of the Mugal emperors who ruled northern India during that era.   From privation to opulence, all in one weekend.

The only thing not so opulent in this picture would be me and my two-day old stinky shirt.....nothing like packing light!

Days 4 & 5 - Getting in the Groove

Today I had my first Skype session with my family.  6AM wake up call to be able to catch them before their bed time - great to talk to and see Deb and the girls from the comforts of the Drishtee Guest House (pehaps not the correct phase in this case - see previous blog entries for more detail ;-).  

  

I head downstairs into the sticky morning air to catch my taxi which is supposed to be downstairs waiting for me.   Once again, he's a no show, so it's time for the old stand by, my friend the rickshaw.    I'm getting to be an expert on this rickshaw thing, although each trip is its own  adventure as the rickshaw drivers speak zero English and always have a hard time finding my office.  Today's ride starts off with a bang, literally! Just as he gets going, we receive a rather aggressive "love tap" from the rickshaw behind us.   Nothing more than a minor fender bender, but enough to wake me up and lead to a very spirited discussion between the two drivers who decide to get out in the middle of the traffic frenzy to have a friendly conversation.  Where's the video camera when I need it?!?

At the office, I continue to meet with a number of the Drishtee managers as I seek to better understand Drishtee's multi-faceted business model and how the organization goes to market.  I find this "social business" construct to be absolutely fascinating.   As a big believer in free markets and market mechanisms, it seems so sensible to allow market mechanisms to address the unmet needs of the poor.  While governments would be expected to provide basic services for it's citizenry such as health, education and insfastructure, in India such services are delivered consistently (or at all) to much of rural India.  Therein lies the opportunity for smart, innovative people to try to address these gaps with market-driven mechanisms.   And that's exactly what Drishtee is up to.  If you're interested in learning more about the world of social entrepreneurship, check out this site:   http://www.acumenfund.org/.   The Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture capital fund that supports social entreprises around the world, including Drishtee.   Very interesting stuff

By the way, you may be wondering what "Drishtee" stands for.  In Sanskrit, "drishti" means "outward vision and inward awareness" (Sanskrit is an ancient language from which Hindi is derived).  As you yoga practioners know, the practice of drishti is a gazing technique that develops concentration—and teaches you to see the world as it really is.  So given Drishtee's mission and vision, the choice of names seems very appropriate.   "Drishtee" was chosen over "Drishti" simply because the "Drishti" domain name had been previously taken.

One interesting opportunity on which I've been supporting the business development team is initial outreach to Fabindia (http://www.fabindia.com/), a (for profit) local retailer of clothing that sources their products exclusively from rural artisans across India.  One facet of Drishtee's work is to provide vocational training opportunities for rural communities and help these communities to efficiently access markets beyond the village, when they have a specific product to sell.  Drishtee works extensively in the northeast state of Assam (that's above Bangladesh, for you lovers of geography) and has discovered that many women there are particularly skilled in an traditional type of silk weaving.  So given Drishtee's access to these women artisans and Fabindia's desire to source new and interesting products, it seems that this may be a good potential partnership opportunity. 

The day ends back at the opulent Drishtee Guest House with a Domino's pizza with Revan, the guest house caretaker.  Yeah, I know, sounds like a sell out, but trust me when I tell you that here in Noida, the alternative food options are few and far between, and even this iron stomach doesn't dare venture out into the street to sample the street fare on offer.   Revan tells me a bit about his family - he's from Bihar, two states east of Delhi, and the poorest state in India.  He came to New Delhi because he couldn't find a job in his village.  He goes back home twice a year.  It's a 24 hour bus ride (plane way too expensive and train doesn't get him anywhere close to his village).  And trust me when I tell you, a 24-hour bus ride India probably feels like about 3 days - more to come on that in my next blog.  

Revan's story is a common one.  In India, as in most of the developing world, there is a huge population shift from rural to urban areas, due to the dearth of job opportunities in the villages.  The fancy term for this is "distress migration".  Problem is that the rural migrants typically lack skills and education, can't find good jobs, and due to higher costs of city living, often find themselves living in conditions that are as bad or worse than those that they left in their hometown.    Revan's case is exceptional as he was able to find a job with Drishtee which pays him a decent salary and treats him well.  

This weekend I'm scheduled to go out to the field to see Drishtee's operation in action.  I'm very much looking forward to it - should be an education for me. 

Day 3 - Keeping it Real in Noida

Another day dawns here in Noida...to the din of traffic horns on the street outside of my apartment complex....dare I say that I'm starting to get used to it?

 

I spend a good part of the day at Drishtee interviewing different folks on the leadership team as I try to fully understand the organization's business model which is multi-faceted and somewhat complex. I feel a bit like a consultant, parachuting in and trying to identify opportunities.  I've never done consulting work (but dealt with many consultants in my career), so it's interesting to have the tables turned.

 

In yesterday's blog, I forgot to mention a bit of a funny experience.   So I'm here in Noida, which is a distant suburb of New Delhi.  Noida has a bit of a growing office park that is attracting larger companies, both Indian and multinational, however, the section where I'm staying is decidedly working class and a bit (more like totally) scruffy around the edges.....which means that there are few dining or entertainment options nearby, with the exception of the local mall.  This shopping center seems to have either seen better days or has yet to see its good days (I can't quite figure out which one), because it's quite run down.   On the top level, they've got a food court, but 3 of the food vendors appear to have gone out of business - perhaps related to the fact that the escalator doesn't work and the dim lighting does not exactly scream "come visit, and stay for awhile".  

 

So after trudging up the escalator, I rolled into the food court, eager to fill a very large void in my stomach.   India can be a challenging place for visitors, but I was convinced that food would be the least of my worries.  I love Indian food, and thought that I was somewhat versed in what's what......so as I approached the counter, I was a bit overwhelmed by the menu on the wall which was full of dishes that I never heard of.  As I was one of only about 5 customers in the entire food court that night (really bad food? or perhaps I just missed the rush hour dinner traffic?) and there were 4 gentlemen standing there ready to help me, I figured that this would be easy.   So I started to ask questions, but soon found that the language gap was formidable.   The servers were having a very hard time understanding my English and I returned the favor and had a  very hard time understanding their English.....so eventually, I moved to the time-tested pointing methodology....I've been a bit surprised by how English has not worked very well for me in lots of cases (there's good 'ol Raben - the office chai wallah and caretaker of Drishtee Guest House where I'm staying (see Day 2), rickshaw and taxi drivers, security guards, food court servers, etc). 

 

So here I was in the point and choose game.....it all seemed so simple:  I just wanted some of that nice-looking lentil mix up, some curried veggies and some naan....5 minutes later what came out was a plate full of bread - three different types, no lentils, no veggies.   I kind of stared at the plate, quite perplexed, but resignedly trudged back to my table content in the knowledge that: 1) I'd definitely be full at the end of the meal and 2)  I never was a fan of the carb-free South Beach diet anyway!  The story does have a happy ending, though, as the store manager realized what had happened and brought me out a bowl of the lentils which greatly elevated my spirits :-)

 

Tonight I got a cab to New Delhi to meet up with Rajiv, my Western Union colleague who is completing his Ashoka placement with an organization called Going to School - very cool organization which is doing phenomenal work.  Had a great meal in a nice restaurant in a nice neighborhood, just the escape I needed from Noida.  Thank you Rajiv!  Don't want to steal Rajiv's thunder, but if you get a chance, visit this website:   http://www.goingtoschool.com/

Day 2 - Project in Formation

The day started out uneventfully:  a quick call home to say good morning/good night to my wife and daughters and a cold shower (which was actually refreshing given that the a/c had conked out in the middle of the night following one of those periodic blackouts).  The spent a few minutes on my blackberry reviewing e-mails - sure to be a futile effort, but a blackberry addiction knows not international boundaries....

 

Following my rickshaw adventures of yesterday, I decided that living life on the wild side may actually pose a legitimate risk to my health and safety, so I intended to opt for a more conventional option of a taxi.  I went downstairs to greet the sauna of a morning and to meet my taxi.   Now my taxi had been arranged by the Drishtee House caretaker, Reban, a short, corpulent fellow who is about the nicest guy in the world, always with a smile on his face with that wonderful Indian head bobble (no = yes) and always eager to help with anything.   However, Reban's English consists primarily of two or three word pairings that I can decipher followed by several words that I can't, perhaps because they are in Hindi.  Unfortunately, Hindi is not in my official language repertoire, which leads to some interesting conversation between us.  In this case, we either misunderstood each other or the taxi driver and I didn't see each other in the midst of the mess that they call traffic in New Delhi, and after about 10 minutes and with sweat beads forming on my brow, I decided to do the unthinkable, temp fate, and yes, you got it - hail down the next rickshaw....now I'll spare you anothe rickshaw story, but needless to say, if you want some adventure in your life, just come to New Delhi and jump in a rickshaw.

 

I arrived at Drishtee a little bit dustier and sweatier than when I left my apartment.  The office space is completely open, with everyone occupying a very small desk that are lined up one next to another.  Even the CEO and founder of the organization has his little desk, just like everyone else.  The Drishtee leadership team has mentioned that they want humility to be a trademark of the organization, and they do see to embody that trait in more ways than one. Entering the office, I am struck by how quiet and reserved the staff is - no "good mornings" or "hellos", very quiet atmosphere, yet everyone is exceptionally polite and pleasant. Different vibe altogether and quite a far cry from the hugs, kisses and general volume that accompanied the morning arrivals in Hollywood and Sunrise offices ;-)  Que viva India!  Que viva Latinoamerica!

 

Mid morning I met Satyan, the Drishtee founder, and discussed with him the outlines of a project that would be a bit different than the one that we had previously identified for me.  Following lunch, I met with Siddarth, the lead Strategy and Business Development guy for Drishtee.  We further delved into the scope and parameters of my project.   We decided that my skill set would be best suited to developing a branding and positioning strategy to help Drishtee better engage key stakeholders.  Since its inception, Drishtee, like many organizations of its size and socpe, has been very focused on building and evolving its business model and growing its organization, but less focused on how to build the Drishtee name among stakeholder communities.  I'm excited about taking on this project and feel that it will provide me with the opportunity to help Drishtee to impact its present and future. 

 

So what is Drishtee about?   Well, their stated mission is "to collaborate with marginalized communities to develope and nurture rural entreprises to support the community ecosytem".   In simple terms, Drishtee is active in 5,000 rural villages in northern India, identifying and working with local entreprenuers to deliver access to key services and products (consumer goods, financial services, health and education).  Drishtee is what's known as a "social entreprise", which means that their raison d'etre is to address social needs (in this case, access to goods and services in marginalized rural communities) to improve people's lives and in turn address a massive problem in India of "distress migration" from rural to urban areas (a common phenomenon in all developing countries, but particularly acute in India - did you know that there are 610,000 villages in India and the rural population of India is 800 million?  Another way to look at it is that one of every 8 inhabitants on the planet live in an Indian village....pretty amazing!).  As a social "entreprise" Drishtee has to fund its operations and expansion fully through profit that they can achieve through their business model, which involves charging villagers nominal fees for all goods/services and sharing those fees with the local entrepreneur (franchisee) who delivers the good or service on behalf of Drishtee.   Very interesting and innovative model.....

Throughout the afternoon, I met the rest of the leadership team.  All are MBAs with experience working in banking, IT and consulting with leading multinational.  Brilliant guys, and all have given up great-paying jobs and careers to build Drishtee.  Just an impressive group of individuals who are true visionaries in developing and evolving a business model that attempts to address the highly complex social problem of rural proverty and human development.....my hat truly goes off to these guys.

 

So I'm relieved to have gotten greater clarity and alignment on my project.   Before I leave for the day, I get help from one of the IT guys in the office to set up a portable camera that I can attach to my computer so I can use Skype. I text my wife to let her know that I'll be up bright and early tomorrow morning to tuck my girls in and say prayers from the other side of the world...all courtesty of Skype. The marvels of modern technology!

Day 1 - Welcome to India

After a weird nights sleep.....jet lag, that sporadic a/c, and one of the firmest beds in the history of beds (don't they say that firm beds are good for your back?....silver lining in every cloud), I'm eager to get to the Drishtee offices to meet the team and embark on my assignment.

 

What better way to do so than in an "auto", which isn't an auto at all, but rather a rickshaw.   My initial hesitation upon boarding the rather flimsy, beat-up three-wheeler is immediately erased as the driver jumps out of his seat with wrench in hand to tinker with the motor in order coax it to start.....and a minute later we are off into the frenzy of New Delhi rush hour traffic.  

 

How do I begin to describe it?   How about a maelstrom of dust, exhaust, humanity, and vehicles of every sort (bikes, motorcycles, cars, farm tractors, cow-drawn wagons, human-drawn wagons, you name it) combined with an absolute caucophony of shrill sounds - the constant high-pitched beeps of the rickshaws, competing with the horns of the cars, ambulance sirens and the bellowing, make-you-jump -out-of-your seat blasts of the occasional bus barrelling down the backside of the rickshaw that I happen to be in....and that's just the straightaways....all bets are off when an intersection is reached, at which point a massive game of "chicken" ensues, usually with the bigger vehicle winning, but not always, particularly this morning with my rather aggressive driver was clearly intent on deferring to no one, much to my chagrin, as on a number of occasions, the bumpers of several cars found their way within inches (literally) of my right knee!  Nothing like a little excitement in the morning to get your day started right....who needs coffee when you can take a rickshaw to work?

 

Upon arrival at the Drishtee office, I was introduced to several of the Drishtee team and immediately invited to sit in on a meeting with a group of Japanese students who were here for a short internship project and were receiving an overview of the organization.  

 

So what is Drishtee?  Self-described as a "social business", it attempts to address issues of access in rural villages of India - access to information, goods, services, markets.   The organization has been in existence for 11 years and has successfully developed and evolved a innovative business model that has allowed it to reach 5,000 villages in the northern Indian states, principally serving families that earn 3,000 - 5000 rupees per month, the equivalent of US$70 - $115...that's $2 - $4 per day per household.   The Drishtee model identifies local entrepreneurs in each village who deliver the goods and services for nominal fees.  The local entrepreneur gets a cut as does Drishtee, which it plows back into its operation to allow it to expand its services to additional villages.   All in all, quite fascinating stuff.

 

After the morning introductions, I spent some time in the afternoon meeting with one of the Drishtee team members who was explaining to me one of the challenges that the organization was facing with the financial inclusion "vertical".  This refers to the basic "no frills" bank account that Drishtee offers to villagers who do not have acccess to banks, ATMs or any other sort of financial services.   Financial management in these villages is old school, typically consisting of cash under the mattress and God forbid, if a loan is required, a visit to the local "loan shark" who charges extortionary interest rates and isn't the type of person you'd bring home to your parents.   Long story short, Drishtee has a cash management challenge in that deposits with the local entrepreneur typically exceed withdrawals, leading to unutilized cash balances sitting with the entrepreneur.   Sounds like a simple problem to resolve, but after looking at four highly-detailed decks analysing the problem and spending a couple of hours understanding the business model and its challenges, my head was swimming in data and questions.   

 

Which leads me to big question that I'm having as I finish Day One:  is this project, which is largely operational and technical in nature, really the right one for me, given that operational and technical are not two words that one would use to describe me!  So I left the office today, intrigued to learn more about Drishtee and its business model, but concerned that there's a significant mismatch with the project that I've been assigned.....the agreement is that tomorrow I will meet with the leadership team to assess if this is the most appropriate project given all of the organization's priorities and my skill sets....of course, these conversations had occurred before my arrival in India, but unfortunately, it looks like we didn't quite nail it on the first go round, so hopefully we'll identify a more suitable project on Day 2.

   

So upon leaving the office, I'm a bit frustrated and concerned, but no better distraction than to jump in a rickshaw piloted by a kamikaze driver for the ride back home.   Mr. Kamikaze decides that the best way to get to the other side of the road is to take off directly into traffic, but going the wrong way.  Yes, folks, you heard that right.....this nut case literally began barreling down a three-lane street head on into traffic, swerving left and right to avoid the other vehicles for about 200 meters until he found a break in the median and jumped over to the other side of the street..... to continue with correct traffic flow...how boring!   Of course, my boredom didn't last long.  As we approached an impossibly-congested intersection, Mr. Kamikaze decided to go off road - so this guy literally takes the rickshaw onto the potholed sidewalk at full speed, swerving to avoid women, children and cows, and then deftly maneuvers it back onto the road on the other side of the intersection without blinking an eye.....though I did notice a self-satisfied grin flash across his face through the tiny rearview mirror.....or maybe he was just laughing at me and my ashen face following what I thought for sure was my demise.

 

Back at the Drishtee Guest House, I retire to my sweltering room to say a prayer of thanksgiving.   Day 1 is complete. 

Bon Voyage - Off to India!

As I board my Delhi-bound flight, I'm feeling a tinge of anxiety re: my Executive in Residence program with Drishtee:   did I choose the right organization?   will I be able to make a difference in two weeks?  are they adequately prepared for my assignment?   As I make myself comfortable in my business class seat and home for the next 15 hours, my thoughts are interrupted by the loud-pitched scream of a young child.....who happens to be sitting directly behind me in the first row of Economy class.....now I love children, but 15 hours of that is going to be painful...... 

 

The plane ride over was uneventful, save for the occasional crying outburst of the little boy behind me.   My fellow passenger to the left was a Wal-Mart International guy who was headed to India to try and help the retail behemoth to crack the notoriously difficult Indian retail market.  He was a pleasant enough fellow, but not to keen to talk about his business, or much else, for that matter.

 

Arriving in Delhi, we walked for several kilometers to get to the immigration area, and our long walk was rewarded by the coolest sculptures hanging off the wall above the enitre immigration area - they were these exquisitely worked gargantuan silver sculptures of female hand gestures typical of traditional Indian dance.   A perfect image to capture for readers of blog as I officially enter India....alas, I don't yet know how to use my Flip gadget, so I guess I need to read the users manual and make sure to capture that beautiful image upon my departure.

 

After a long ride late on a Sunday evening in streets totally clogged with traffic (welcome to Delhi!), we finally arrived at the Drishtee Guest House, a very modest (shall I say, spartan) facility in a working class neighborhood.  Of course, after all that driving, the taxi man wanted to be paid, and of course, I didn't have local currency to pay him.  So off we walked to a nearby ATM, which was out of money, and then off we drove to the next nearest ATM which had 12 people in line.....on a Sunday evening at 10PM.   Then, of course, the 1000 rupee bills (equivalent to a bit more than $20) that the maching spit out didn't work for the taxi man as he as unable to provide change....so  off we went back into the street to find some change....welcome to the developing world!

 

Finally, we made it up to the Drishtee Guest House.   Actually, it's an apartment in a working-class neighborhood that appears to suffer from sporadic power outages (hate when that happens, as it disrupts my internet connection and shuts down my a/c unit).  The electricity and internet typically come right back on, so I just have to reestablish my connection to the network with my little token, however, each time the power goes out, the a/c stops, not for minutes, but for an hour or two, turning my icy cold room into a bit of a sauna......and just when things start looking desparate, the a/c sputters back on :) ......welcome to the developing world.

 

All in all, my accommodations here are a far cry from the Four Seasons....or even Motel 6, but it's all good as this setting puts me in the right state of mind for the work that I'll be doing in the coming two weeks.