On the way to work we saw some water buffaloes with their horns painted red, then later we passed a roadside procession celebrating Guru Nanak's birthday. Later we saw huge billboards promising "WE'LL MAKE YOU FAMOUS". But I forgot to write down the phone number at the bottom.
Arrived in the new industrial area of Talegoan to see our hosts’ new factory, which meets platinum-level LEED standards of greenness. The skylights are so effective that they use only natural light from 7am to 7pm. The lavish landscaping is irrigated by the latest technology from Israel. There are signs by some of the palm trees with the names of company executives who planted them. Windows are generously placed to allow employees a view of the greenery. There's a series of bulletin boards with "Lean" metrics, safety statistics, and photos of employees who are being recognized for suggesting process improvements.
Happened to notice that many of the bikes around here have double top tubes; some even have double down tubes. Also noticed that the trucks have sayings painted on them, including "Blow Horn", "Use Dipper at Night" (meaning flash your high beams), and "Keep Distance".
Back in the car for a ride to the company headquarters in Powai, near Mumbai. Tasty buffet in an elegant dining room with a sweeping view. More meticulous landscaping (a company policy, perhaps?). Now for the moment we’ve all been working towards – each project team briefed results to senior executives from both companies. Some frank discussion about the nature of the cooperation desired by each company, and some insight into the Indian government contracting process. Naturally our team was praised, partly because of our relatively credible schedule and plan for next steps. Gifts and handshakes for all! One of those handshakes came from an executive of my company who is related to Mahatma Gandhi. So anybody who knows me has three or less degrees to the great humanitarian. I remember my late yoga teacher Bill Mitchell quoting the Mahatma during our practice, as well as Dr. King, Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Harriet of Bingen, and others.
Not content to rest on our laurels, the other teams left for the day but our team continued on for a tour of our hosts’ network operation center and data center. Very modern and also green. As you’d expect in a city of 18 million people, we encountered some traffic on the way to the airport, but still had a few minutes to catch up with colleagues in the lounge. Flew to Delhi and here I am in the Taj Palace (definitely a palace).
