Valentine's Day in India

Yes, that crass, overly commercialized "holiday" has infiltrated India. And it's just as bad here as it is in the U.S.

I'm not against romance at all, just the idea that on this one day you're supposed buy "stuff" for your loved one at prices 3 to 4 times the normal prices (e.g. roses).

Several people wished me a happy valentine's day, not something you do in the U.S. after the age of 10 or 11. Even the male bartender at my hotel said it. I thought, how odd coming from a bartender. Of course the kindness expressed from such a greeting is always appreciated, it's just different.

I also noticed a young lady at the coffee stand in our office lobby. She had five individually wrapped red roses. I asked her if they were for Valentine's Day (I know, stupid question) and she said yes. She'd bought them for her friends, as none of them had boyfriends and she wanted them to feel special. Her actions summed up the real meaning of any of these "holidays" - that is small gestures to friends mean a lot.

Reminds of another "holiday" they have here - Friends Day. I think I wrote about it last year, but it's really lame. One day a year you're supposed to buy gifts for your friends and call them and say "Happy Friend's Day!" Rubbish. I was in the car with a local friend when his cell rang. He answered and said "Yeah, you too. Uh huh. Bye." I asked who it was and he said it was someone he barely knew, calling him to wish him the aforementioned greeting. He said what I was thinking - that if someone is really your friend, shouldn't you show that appreciation all year long?

Much like if you love someone, shouldn't that be expressed every day?

Under the Mango Tree

More about the title in a minute.

As I usually do, I procrastinated some key errands until the day of my departure from home. Packing done? With an hour to spare. Medications? Oops, stopped on the way to the airport for the prescription to keep me free from malaria. Laundry? Planned ahead and did that over the weekend. Haircut? Uh, last trip I managed to sneak it in on departure day. This time I ran out of time. So off I went, scraggly longish hair and all.

After checking into the hotel and being greeted with "Hello Mr. Sean, you need a haircut." I realized it was perhaps overdue. Then I went to my office and was greeted by the exact same comments, except I heard it from 15 people. "You look older" or "Did you gain weight?" or "Are you well?" Seriously, one of the many things I love about this country is the directness on some topics. Of course I'm also frustrated to no end when the same directness is not used in some aspects of our work. But that is for another time.

Ok, now about the title. As should be expected in India, barbershops come in many forms. The most common is literally the UMT - a guy with a chair, scissors and a mirror nailed to, you guessed it, a mango tree. So when I asked the guys at the office where to get a haircut, the first response was: "You want a UMT?" I said no, I'll take my chances with an enclosed, air conditioned shop.

The hotel recommended a "salon" which was just a decent looking barber shop. The barber spoke about three words of English: short, medium, and shave. I opted for the medium and it turned out as I should have expected: horrible! I guess he'd never cut curly hair and he managed to make one side burn thinner than the other.

Oh well, at least the hotel manager complimented me and said "You look much better, like the old Mr. Sean."

Locked In An Indian...

Bathroom stall!!

You thought I was going to say jail? Didn't you? I'm all about avoiding any contact with law enforcement on my trips, and this one is no exception. Although I probably could have used the Loo Patrol for this scenario.

No this event was pure humor. At least to me. I found myself in the facilities today at the office. They are basically like small rooms with an opening about 8 feet up and a 6 inch opening on the bottom.

I locked the door and when I went to open it, the door wouldn't open! The lock appeared to be unlocked, but the door wasn't budging. I thought, oh just great. I'm going to be late for a meeting because I'm trapped in the can!

I was finally able to get the attention of the non-English speaking bathroom attendant who tried to open the door in the same manner as I had just tried. Not wanting to offend the poor guy, I let him try anyway. After about five minutes of him dismantling the lock and consulting with the now growing contingent of the Indian Bathroom Attendants Union, Local 438, I finally took matters into my own hands.

Up I went over the 8 foot wall and swung down like a monkey off a branch and landed gracefully on the ground, with my arms raised just like the Olympics. I awaited the judges score for my dismount, but was only greeted by five, very small, smiling Indians. Clearly the humor wasn't lost on them, even with the language barrier. I took a bow and immediatly left the premises, but did stop to wash my hands to set a proper example.

I'm glad I can provide humor to someone who doesn't speak the same language. And I'm sure they'll be sharing the story at their next get together.

Back in India: Traffic and Pollution Are My Friends

Ok, I've actually been back here since February 6th but just haven't had time to write. So I'll add a few entries for this trip and will add some photos as soon as I get home. Yes, I forgot the cable to download my pictures.

First off, I am always surprised to see what changes have taken place here in Hyderabad during my time at home. These truly are the boom times for this city, so there appears to be constant construction and demolition.

One major project that has been moving along at a snails pace is the construction of a series of what they call "flyovers" and we'd call overpasses. The roads here are seriously congested and there is only so much road widening that can happen in a built out area. So they're simply going up and adding expressways to pull cars out of the congested intersections. Noble goal, but the execution seems lacking. I'm also not so sure I trust the way they're pouring the concrete supports - literally with buckets, one at a time.

One thing that hasn't changed: traffic. From the moment you exit the airport, the horns start. And the commute to the office can take upwards of 60 minutes. Kind of makes me homesick for the traffic of LA. And the traffic isn't going to get any better. It seems the one manufacturing sector India is intent on overdeveloping is the automobile. With the rising buying power of the middle class, auto sales are growing at huge rates. So it's making the traffic worse - as cars replace 2 wheelers - and making the threat of pollution (in an already polluted place) even bigger.

And for you hardcore enviros, how come India is exempt from most of the Kyoto agreements?

Off and Running in 2007

Just about the time I was nice and settled back home, I once again had to venture out again.

Nothing too exciting, just some mundane work trips to Cleveland and Dallas.

First Cleveland. If you haven't been, I don't recommend visiting in January. It's very cold and a bit desolate. But the people in Cleveland are always friendly and you can't complain about the food. You can complain about the weather, but everyone does, so why bother.

Dallas is also a tricky place to visit. I had the misfortune of flying there twice within a week. Painful. I also learned (the hard way) that if your meeting is in Irving, you shouldn't stay downtown. Especially the night before the NHL All Star game! My observations about Dallas? I don't think there was much in the way of urban planning or road planning. Both of the Westin's there suck, as does the airport. And forget leaving on time if there is any sort of ice or snow. My plane sat on the runway for three hours waiting to be deiced before our pilot got someone to come out and physically inspect the plane (there was no ice).

I'm not complaining - it's really enjoyable visiting new and old places, even if they're in Texas.