After everyone helped themselves to several healthy servings of breakfast, we climbed aboard our tour bus, nicknamed Zubin’s Royal Fleet (there is nothing royal about the suspension) and were off to our first of many meetings.
When our tour guide, Chetan, told us that it would take an hour and a half to get to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, we assumed this would mean traveling to some unknown city in the distance. It turned out that Mumbai is so large, the roads so dilapidated and the traffic so slow, that it takes an hour and a half to merely get halfway across the city. The bus ride itself felt like a roller coaster, with jarring bumps and squeaking brakes. At every turn we saw a new set of clothing stores, a new slum, and a new motley crew of stray animals (dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, cows, chickens and the occasional goat). We even saw some people openly defecating on the side of the road. As a stark contrast to the dire poverty surrounding us, towering in the distance was the Mukesh Ambani building, a $50 million skyscraper that houses the five members of the Ambani family and their 110 servants. Of the 27 floors, five are reserved only for Mukesh's cars. Along the way, we crossed the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, constructed through a partnership with the federal government and a private construction firm, Infrastructure Developers PVT. As part of the move to create more accountability and transparency, the toll booths were emblazoned with several LED screens displaying the itemized revenue and costs associated with the construction and maintenance of the bridge, down to the monthly compound interest rate and the amortized depreciation rate.
After an hour and half of driving on the crowded Mumbai roads, with several accidents deftly avoided by the bus driver, including a shouting match with a motorcyclist after nearly running him down, we finally arrived at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development. But instead of simply interviewing Sekhar Chandrasekhar, a development economist at the institute, when we arrived in the conference room we were greeted by Sekhar and four of his colleagues. The five professors all had different research specialties, so our 90 minute discussion encompassed topics from trade and labor regulations to agricultural productivity and urbanization. While the meeting served as a great way to refine many of our recommendations, we soon learned that attempting to nail down academics to clear, political palatable solution is nearly impossible task. (Brandon was skeptical)
After arriving back at the hotel after the meeting (and another bumpy hour and a half ride through the city) Chetan offered to take us on a walk around the city. As we avoided veering cars and held our breath as we passed the garbage dumps on the street, for the first time it truly felt like we were in India. Child beggars and street vendors accosted our group at every turn, attempting to extract a few rupees to quell the grumbling in their stomachs. One particularly ambitious girl actually wrapped a garland she was attempting to sell around Ashley’s wrist and followed us for several blocks in an effort to close the sale. Eventually we got tired of walking after reaching the Gateway to India (Chetan informed us that it was built during British Rule to welcome King James) and we decided to take taxis home. With five people and a driver to a taxi, we all managed to arrive back at the hotel within fifteen minutes — for the exorbitant price of less than a dollar! Obviously the inspiration for bumper cars, taxi rides in India include veering through long lines of motorcycles, buses, cars, auto rickshaws, and bicycles; swerving full speed into oncoming traffic; turning into the pathway of buses; and racing pedestrians to non-existent crosswalks, all to the constant symphony of blaring horns, the soundtrack of the Indian highway.
Our last meeting of the day was an informal dinner with Geeta and Greg Anand (two Dartmouth alums) at their new pub and restaurant The Barking Deer. Greg walked us through his experience attempting to open The Barking Deer, which took four years, 25+ licenses, and countless construction delays. He recounted several moments where he was nearly forced to close the entire businesses because of the uncertainty surrounding his brewing license. Meanwhile, Geeta discussed her work as a journalist with Wall Street Journal in the Mumbai office. A former Pulitzer Prize winner at the Boston Globe, her most recent work was a cover story on drug-resistant Tuberculosis, which has inspired many families back in the US to support Indian patients suffering with the disease. During the dinner, Geeta received a call from a family in Birmingham, Alabama who continues to send money to support a tuberculosis patient cited in her article. By then end of the three hour dinner, finally overwhelmed by jet lag, the entire crew fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel.
Quote of the Day:
“It’s Gandhi!” – Kevin (in reference to the Gandhi statue seen in a courtyard in Mumbai)
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