Tara Bakhle (MBA ’07) A Journal from the 2006 AAGLP in India Delhi, India May 11, 2006 This afternoon, we visited Maruti Udyog, an automobile manufacturer that is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation. The domestic car market in India is growing at an exponential pace so it was interesting to be inside the factory and see how advanced their production facilities were to support this growth. Interestingly, the production is planned not only for domestic demand but a significant amount of their production is exported in other surrounding countries. The manager who escorted us on the tour was extremely proud of his facility and excited for his pending departure to the United States to embark on his master’s degree.   Delhi, India May 14, 2006 We had some free time before dinner so a few of us rented a car for a few hours to head to CP Place, which is a local shopping haven. Jeremy managed to haggle for an oriental rug, which he was going to take back to the U.S. After shopping, some of us decided to embark outside the hotel and head to the luxurious Taj Hotel for dinner. We walked to the hotel, which was only 15 minutes or so away. The traffic was terrible and we had to dodge cars to cross the street. The effort to get to the hotel was worth the wait … it was a five-star hotel, and the food was outstanding! After being in India for a week, a few of us were craving some “American” food and we were not disappointed. It was surprising how inexpensive the food in India was … even at a five-star hotel with impeccable service, the price was not much more than an average meal you would pay for in the U.S.   Delhi, India May 15, 2006 Today was our last day in Delhi, and we visited Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, the Cabinet Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Indian Federal Government. Although we expected very grandiose facilities, the offices were modest and unfortunately the air conditioning broke down minutes after our arrival … a common occurrence during our time in India. Delhi has been so very hot! The meeting with Mr. Mani Shankar was fascinating because of his ability to succinctly summarize the contrast of opportunities and challenges India faces today. At this point in the trip, we had been to Bangalore and were ending our time in Delhi before heading to Mumbai, so there was context to what he was saying and we all could understand. India was in a growth stage and the government needed to support this growth by investing in infrastructure. But as Mr. Mani Shankar pointed out, there was a significant tradeoff, as each dollar that is invested in infrastructure to support the growth and attract increased foreign investment was one less dollar for the poor. It’s hard to believe that in only a few more days we will be heading back to the U.S. The time so far has flown by so fast but the trip has surpassed all of our expectations. I cannot wait to get to Mumbai. Everyone has told us how cosmopolitan Mumbai is, so hopefully we will see some Bollywood stars and immerse ourselves in the local culture. Today is Lindley’s birthday so we arranged with our faculty sponsors to have a birthday day brought to her room, and we had a small celebration. It was delicious and I think Lindley was surprised!   Mumbai, India May 16, 2006 Our Jet Airways flight from Delhi to Mumbai was an experience. Even though we were in coach class, we were served Baskin Robbins ice cream! In the U.S. it would be unheard of to receive such service in coach … plus the flight attendants were addressing passengers by their names. This is indicative of the extreme service-oriented culture we have experienced in India since arriving. Customer service has been a recurring theme. At Bharti Telecom it was listed as their top strategic objective and now on our Jet Airways flight we experienced it again.