Since the pilot's in Mathura, I've had numerous opportunities to travel there by train. Usually, it's in AC class, where I spend a comfortable 2+ hrs to Mathura. But with my luck I've had the "fortune" of traveling by general class a couple of times.
When I learnt I had to go in general class - I was not happy (and apprehensive). The general compartment is crowded and you get an up close and personal aromatic reminder that you're in a country of a billion people, running on an infrastructure built in the 1940's.
Both times I was lucky enough to get a seat. I sit down and claim my space. The next 2 hrs are then an Indian lesson in "Space - A Communal Concept". Here I was claiming my space, and everyone around me was making space. Seating for 3 people? Lets seat 5 people. Kids making noise and elbowing you constantly? While I glared at the brat next to me so that he'd settle down, everyone else's response was - it's okay, kids will be kids. Chalta hai. And then this very same brat opens a packet of chips and offers them to me - the crotchety guy who has the window seat. When I was 8 I didn't share anything, unless forced to. I was sort of awed by the generosity of my fellow passengers. There was a humbling equality to the experience.
I can't help but contrast this to my fellow drivers on Delhi's roads. Such an overwhelming culture of "me". Cutting people off, taking a right turn when you're in the left most lane, driving in 2 lanes, because you don't want anyone else to get ahead and cut you off, double parking and triple parking so that you've effectively blocked traffic, honking just because you can. We all zoom around in our AC cars, sealed in our eggs just thinking about ourselves and oblivious to everything else. And I sheepishly admit, I am one of those selfish drivers.
But here in my train to Mathura, I have no egg to seal myself in. There are no veneers. This is a close contact sport. And as we zoom through the Indian countryside we jostle together in unison.
This notion of communal space is a very Indian concept. Lets hope I apply this lesson the next time I get behind the wheel.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Thoughts - 2009 lok sabha elections
Over the weekend, the Indian electorate returned the UPA back to parliament with a thumping majority. My roommates can attest to the fact, that I sat gleefully glued to the TV for the better part of Saturday absorbing every bit of political punditry there was to offer.
Things I liked
Congress crosses the 200 mark - This is clearly one of the biggest macro surprises of this election. No political horse trading for support! No salacious coalition building exercises!
No one, not even the Congress, expected to do this well. Not sure what that says about the Congress, but I was ecstatic to see the Congress win at the cost of the Left, BSP, SP, RJD, and BJP. What a rout for the regional parties! I am not convinced, like some people, that this is the end of regional politics (more on that later). Singh, the quiet statesman has proven that in this era of coalition politics someone of his temperament and quiet resolve is what we need at the helm.
Left is decimated - The Left's citadel in Kerala and West Bengal has been breached. It's ironic, that this is because of pursuing capitalist policies for bringing development back to the state. To be free from the clutches of the communists is a blessing.
Congress in UP - It was when the Congress faded out in it's erstwhile power bastion of Uttar Pradesh, did the regional parties rise to prominence. And with the Mandal report, you had people voting on caste and religious lines, further strengthening regional politics at the expense of national interests (Nitish Kumar openly bartering his support for anyone who gives special status to Bihar is a case in point). The UP Congress' resurgence supposedly signifies the end of caste in politics. I think it's mainly to do with Rahul Gandhi. He criss-crossed the state, doing 200 plus rallies in a month. He is the game changer in UP.
Rahul Gandhi - The hidden strategist comes to the fore. It was his decision to go it alone in the Hindi heartland. It was his decision to bring in gen next Congress candidates. It was his star power that translated into votes. I was hoping he would stick to working on organizational Congress issues and stay out of the cabinet, and he has done just that. What a commendable move. He has done a fantastic job rebuilding the Congress organization from the ground up (as results have shown), but clearly the job is not done and he isn't going to leave it unfinished. As for running the Govt. there are many more qualified people who are good at that, and he seems to understand that and letting them do what they are good at. Politically, he too is "renouncing" the spotlight like his mother. And we all know how deep a chord that strikes with the Indian voter. The seasoned BJP strategists got it wrong, and the "aquariums fish" gets it right.
Maya's myth busted - The "dalit ki beti" is licking her wounds and now giving unconditional support to the UPA. Her PM ambitions have been shattered, and I only hope that all the grandiose statues she has built of herself around Lucknow and UP will fall next.
Nitish Kumar - Nitish Kumar is the poster child of busting the anti incumbency myth. Good governance in Bihar (and friends of mine who work in development can attest that Bihar government is changing measurably) has resulted in a thumping victory for the JD(U), the only NDA partner who is sitting pretty today. Though there is an alternative school of thought. JD(U) got 39% of the vote share, Lalu took home 25% and the Congress got another 10%. So if the Congress and RJD had fought the elections together, they would have had 35% of the vote share, potentially resulting in many more seats. But in a first past the gate system, vote share does not necessarily translate into seats.
Sanyal lost - The much hyped independent candidate from Bombay, Meera Sanyal, lost. I have respect for Meera Sanyal, but I am still glad she lost. She is clearly very accomplished, but is not the kind of change making leader we need. She lost me when she stated that she was on sabbatical and planned on going back to work if she lost. Honest and practical no doubt. But really, if you truly are inspired to have an impact and work for your city and country are you going to give up if you don't make it on your first try? Is that the kind of go getter attitude that brought Sanyal all that professional success? I doubt it. At a minimum though she has raised awareness, and if that was her goal, then I think she did a good job.
Modi on the backfoot - Finally you get to see Modi play defensive. He did well in his home state of Gujarat (people of Gujarat what does this say about you?). The star BJP campaigner. Each state, except his home state, he campaigned for the NDA the NDA did poorly. He didn't campaign in Bihar, and look at those results. He was expected to sweep Gujarat, and instead he brought in 1% less in vote share. Lets see what happens now that the Supreme court has reopened the riot cases.
Things I disliked
Bombay's voting share - A measly 43%. All those candle light vigils, for what? It makes me sick. This is your future we're talking about. Don't you dare complain tomorrow how the government you have sucks.
MNS plays spoil sport to Sena's dreams - The "Marathi maanos" campaign worked. They came 2nd in all seats in Bombay. I'm not sure what my reaction should be. How many people that I interact with in Bombay want me out of "their" city? The only consolation is seeing Thackeray meow in the corner of how hurt he is at this betrayal. MNS proves that regionalism is not dead.
Criminals in parliament - Today we have 153 new "tainted" MP's. BJP leads with 43 (19 have serious charges), Congress follows at 41 (12 have serious charges).
Mohammed Azharuddin - He won the Moradabad seat. This is the man who betrayed his country on the international cricket pitch. I'm not even a big fan of cricket, so why do I care of this particular crime more than some of the others that MPs face? Because this was a huge scandal, and cricket is a religion to many people in this country. Inspite of this, they voted him in. Why? Moradabad has a 70% Muslim population. To all those people who say that there is no longer voting along caste and religious lines, take note.
Varun Gandhi - won a resounding victory (margin of 200,000 plus). Even though it sickens me, his brand of politics pulls in the votes.
Pollsters get it wrong again - This is not so much as a dislike but more of a WTF. 2 elections in a row, they have gotten it incredibly wrong. CNN-IBN came closest by predicting 215 seats for the UPA. What is so complicated about the Indian electorate that makes them so hard to read? Or do we just have poor statisticians?
Things I liked
Congress crosses the 200 mark - This is clearly one of the biggest macro surprises of this election. No political horse trading for support! No salacious coalition building exercises!
No one, not even the Congress, expected to do this well. Not sure what that says about the Congress, but I was ecstatic to see the Congress win at the cost of the Left, BSP, SP, RJD, and BJP. What a rout for the regional parties! I am not convinced, like some people, that this is the end of regional politics (more on that later). Singh, the quiet statesman has proven that in this era of coalition politics someone of his temperament and quiet resolve is what we need at the helm.
Left is decimated - The Left's citadel in Kerala and West Bengal has been breached. It's ironic, that this is because of pursuing capitalist policies for bringing development back to the state. To be free from the clutches of the communists is a blessing.
Congress in UP - It was when the Congress faded out in it's erstwhile power bastion of Uttar Pradesh, did the regional parties rise to prominence. And with the Mandal report, you had people voting on caste and religious lines, further strengthening regional politics at the expense of national interests (Nitish Kumar openly bartering his support for anyone who gives special status to Bihar is a case in point). The UP Congress' resurgence supposedly signifies the end of caste in politics. I think it's mainly to do with Rahul Gandhi. He criss-crossed the state, doing 200 plus rallies in a month. He is the game changer in UP.
Rahul Gandhi - The hidden strategist comes to the fore. It was his decision to go it alone in the Hindi heartland. It was his decision to bring in gen next Congress candidates. It was his star power that translated into votes. I was hoping he would stick to working on organizational Congress issues and stay out of the cabinet, and he has done just that. What a commendable move. He has done a fantastic job rebuilding the Congress organization from the ground up (as results have shown), but clearly the job is not done and he isn't going to leave it unfinished. As for running the Govt. there are many more qualified people who are good at that, and he seems to understand that and letting them do what they are good at. Politically, he too is "renouncing" the spotlight like his mother. And we all know how deep a chord that strikes with the Indian voter. The seasoned BJP strategists got it wrong, and the "aquariums fish" gets it right.
Maya's myth busted - The "dalit ki beti" is licking her wounds and now giving unconditional support to the UPA. Her PM ambitions have been shattered, and I only hope that all the grandiose statues she has built of herself around Lucknow and UP will fall next.
Nitish Kumar - Nitish Kumar is the poster child of busting the anti incumbency myth. Good governance in Bihar (and friends of mine who work in development can attest that Bihar government is changing measurably) has resulted in a thumping victory for the JD(U), the only NDA partner who is sitting pretty today. Though there is an alternative school of thought. JD(U) got 39% of the vote share, Lalu took home 25% and the Congress got another 10%. So if the Congress and RJD had fought the elections together, they would have had 35% of the vote share, potentially resulting in many more seats. But in a first past the gate system, vote share does not necessarily translate into seats.
Sanyal lost - The much hyped independent candidate from Bombay, Meera Sanyal, lost. I have respect for Meera Sanyal, but I am still glad she lost. She is clearly very accomplished, but is not the kind of change making leader we need. She lost me when she stated that she was on sabbatical and planned on going back to work if she lost. Honest and practical no doubt. But really, if you truly are inspired to have an impact and work for your city and country are you going to give up if you don't make it on your first try? Is that the kind of go getter attitude that brought Sanyal all that professional success? I doubt it. At a minimum though she has raised awareness, and if that was her goal, then I think she did a good job.
Modi on the backfoot - Finally you get to see Modi play defensive. He did well in his home state of Gujarat (people of Gujarat what does this say about you?). The star BJP campaigner. Each state, except his home state, he campaigned for the NDA the NDA did poorly. He didn't campaign in Bihar, and look at those results. He was expected to sweep Gujarat, and instead he brought in 1% less in vote share. Lets see what happens now that the Supreme court has reopened the riot cases.
Things I disliked
Bombay's voting share - A measly 43%. All those candle light vigils, for what? It makes me sick. This is your future we're talking about. Don't you dare complain tomorrow how the government you have sucks.
MNS plays spoil sport to Sena's dreams - The "Marathi maanos" campaign worked. They came 2nd in all seats in Bombay. I'm not sure what my reaction should be. How many people that I interact with in Bombay want me out of "their" city? The only consolation is seeing Thackeray meow in the corner of how hurt he is at this betrayal. MNS proves that regionalism is not dead.
Criminals in parliament - Today we have 153 new "tainted" MP's. BJP leads with 43 (19 have serious charges), Congress follows at 41 (12 have serious charges).
Mohammed Azharuddin - He won the Moradabad seat. This is the man who betrayed his country on the international cricket pitch. I'm not even a big fan of cricket, so why do I care of this particular crime more than some of the others that MPs face? Because this was a huge scandal, and cricket is a religion to many people in this country. Inspite of this, they voted him in. Why? Moradabad has a 70% Muslim population. To all those people who say that there is no longer voting along caste and religious lines, take note.
Varun Gandhi - won a resounding victory (margin of 200,000 plus). Even though it sickens me, his brand of politics pulls in the votes.
Pollsters get it wrong again - This is not so much as a dislike but more of a WTF. 2 elections in a row, they have gotten it incredibly wrong. CNN-IBN came closest by predicting 215 seats for the UPA. What is so complicated about the Indian electorate that makes them so hard to read? Or do we just have poor statisticians?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Customers not beneficiaries
Was in Mathura yesterday and was talking to a bio medical engineer who gave me the 411 on the Honeywell pilot we're running there. It's not going well.
Basically Honeywell has come up with a small diagnostic machine that can be used by semi trained rural women to conduct simple diagnostics like blood pressure, and other health indicators. While the device works fine and relatively easy to operate, people in rural India don't really want to use the service. So we run clinics, but have no patients because villagers don't want to learn they are unhealthy, they want to be cured if they are sick. And obviously a diagnostic machine can't cure them of high blood pressure and you can't have semi trained villagers running the kiosk prescribe medicine.
I was sort of frustrated on hearing this - the age old prevention is better than cure debate. It totally made sense from the villagers perspective - why find out if you're sick, better to go to a temple or mosque and buy an amulet that can cure you instead. But from a social impact perspective, it regular checkups and prevention is so much more effective.
But how does a social enterprise like Drishtee attack this problem?
I then came across this on Monitors website.
"The most common mistake among unsuccessful market-based solutions is to confuse what low-income customers or suppliers ostensibly need with what they actually want. Many enterprises have pushed offerings into the market only to see them fail. People
living at the base of the economic pyramid should be seen as customers and not beneficiaries; they will spend money, or switch livelihoods, or invest valuable time, only if they calculate the transaction will be worth their while."
The answer (whether I like it or not) is simple. Drishtee doesn't attack this problem. If this is not what people at the bottom of the pyramid want, then as a profit seeking enterprise we shouldn't be offering this. Now if Drishtee had deep pockets and wasn't a nascent start-up, by all means - run a re-education campaign on the benefits of prevention. But till then, leave the re-education to the public sector and non profits, or to the big corporations like Honeywell.
On a side note, Monitor has done India focused research on market based solutions for the bottom of the pyramid market. You can read their report here. They are also running a conference next week in Delhi. If you're interested, you can register on their site.
Basically Honeywell has come up with a small diagnostic machine that can be used by semi trained rural women to conduct simple diagnostics like blood pressure, and other health indicators. While the device works fine and relatively easy to operate, people in rural India don't really want to use the service. So we run clinics, but have no patients because villagers don't want to learn they are unhealthy, they want to be cured if they are sick. And obviously a diagnostic machine can't cure them of high blood pressure and you can't have semi trained villagers running the kiosk prescribe medicine.
I was sort of frustrated on hearing this - the age old prevention is better than cure debate. It totally made sense from the villagers perspective - why find out if you're sick, better to go to a temple or mosque and buy an amulet that can cure you instead. But from a social impact perspective, it regular checkups and prevention is so much more effective.
But how does a social enterprise like Drishtee attack this problem?
I then came across this on Monitors website.
"The most common mistake among unsuccessful market-based solutions is to confuse what low-income customers or suppliers ostensibly need with what they actually want. Many enterprises have pushed offerings into the market only to see them fail. People
living at the base of the economic pyramid should be seen as customers and not beneficiaries; they will spend money, or switch livelihoods, or invest valuable time, only if they calculate the transaction will be worth their while."
The answer (whether I like it or not) is simple. Drishtee doesn't attack this problem. If this is not what people at the bottom of the pyramid want, then as a profit seeking enterprise we shouldn't be offering this. Now if Drishtee had deep pockets and wasn't a nascent start-up, by all means - run a re-education campaign on the benefits of prevention. But till then, leave the re-education to the public sector and non profits, or to the big corporations like Honeywell.
On a side note, Monitor has done India focused research on market based solutions for the bottom of the pyramid market. You can read their report here. They are also running a conference next week in Delhi. If you're interested, you can register on their site.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Rajasthan whirlwind
The past few weeks, I haven't done a good enough job updating this blog. A lot has happened. Went to Rajasthan for a weekend, checked out the Bahai temple, went to Bombay this weekend, crazy Indian elections, and my mini pilot starts tomorrow in Mathura (excited about the latter). I'll start with the Rajasthan trip and then (maybe) fill you guys in about the rest in later posts.
My friend Yaron was in town and we decided to go see some of Rajasthan. It was a bit of a blur; lots of traveling - sitting and sleeping in buses, some sight seeing, and a ton of terrible food. I don't think I had a single good meal while in Rajasthan. I take that back, on the way back to Delhi the bus stops at "Midway". I had a decent omelet there. The worst food was in Pushkar.
Rajasthan is a tourist trap. I don't mean it to sound so negative, but everywhere people either wanted to sell me something or take me to a hotel of their choice. And in the searing desert heat - you tend to get a tad irritable :). Going in the summer was not the smartest decision, but it was a great trip. Sorta slummed it a bit - taking local transport at one stage. Here is a pic of one of the buses we almost took to Pushkar.
Very real and gritty Indian weekend. And did I mention it was hot?
The market place outside the dargah in Ajmer has probably been the same for the last 100 years. This small boy in the market decided to adopt me, and everywhere I went he just tagged along trying to sell me something. Tenacious kid. The shrine wasn't all that impressive, but still worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood. I am also guaranteed a spot in heaven - I had to kiss this "door to heaven" and a guy beat me with peacock feathers. Weird and to you pervs out there, there was nothing sexual about it.
Pushkar on the other hand was this small sleepy hamlet, but comes to life during the camel festival and whenever the sun's ferocity diminishes in the winter months. It sas the only Brahma temple in the world, and likely is in the top 5 destinations for Israeli's during their gap year (Hebrew signs everywhere). Has a few small cafe's in the market where you can order stuff that you probably wouldn't even get in Amsterdam (probably what makes it so popular for Israeli's in the first place). If you're in Pushkar, def check out Cafe Pink Floyd - here is the view from the top of the Cafe.
We didn't really spend all that much time seeing Jaipur. Checked out the city palace and the Hawa Mahal. City palace - worth it, skip the Hawa Mahal.
Overall, this was more of a get out of Delhi weekend than lets check out Rajasthan. Which just means I'll have to come back and really see Rajasthan another time.
My friend Yaron was in town and we decided to go see some of Rajasthan. It was a bit of a blur; lots of traveling - sitting and sleeping in buses, some sight seeing, and a ton of terrible food. I don't think I had a single good meal while in Rajasthan. I take that back, on the way back to Delhi the bus stops at "Midway". I had a decent omelet there. The worst food was in Pushkar.
Rajasthan is a tourist trap. I don't mean it to sound so negative, but everywhere people either wanted to sell me something or take me to a hotel of their choice. And in the searing desert heat - you tend to get a tad irritable :). Going in the summer was not the smartest decision, but it was a great trip. Sorta slummed it a bit - taking local transport at one stage. Here is a pic of one of the buses we almost took to Pushkar.
Very real and gritty Indian weekend. And did I mention it was hot?
The market place outside the dargah in Ajmer has probably been the same for the last 100 years. This small boy in the market decided to adopt me, and everywhere I went he just tagged along trying to sell me something. Tenacious kid. The shrine wasn't all that impressive, but still worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood. I am also guaranteed a spot in heaven - I had to kiss this "door to heaven" and a guy beat me with peacock feathers. Weird and to you pervs out there, there was nothing sexual about it.
Pushkar on the other hand was this small sleepy hamlet, but comes to life during the camel festival and whenever the sun's ferocity diminishes in the winter months. It sas the only Brahma temple in the world, and likely is in the top 5 destinations for Israeli's during their gap year (Hebrew signs everywhere). Has a few small cafe's in the market where you can order stuff that you probably wouldn't even get in Amsterdam (probably what makes it so popular for Israeli's in the first place). If you're in Pushkar, def check out Cafe Pink Floyd - here is the view from the top of the Cafe.
 |  |
We didn't really spend all that much time seeing Jaipur. Checked out the city palace and the Hawa Mahal. City palace - worth it, skip the Hawa Mahal.
Overall, this was more of a get out of Delhi weekend than lets check out Rajasthan. Which just means I'll have to come back and really see Rajasthan another time.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The view from within
I have a month left here at Drishtee, and the supply chain project is around 2 weeks behind schedule. A number of technical challenges and capacity issues that I won't get into. I know it will get done (after I've left), and in the end we will end up in a much better strategic position and I think they should probably patent this delivery model before it is released. But this post is not just about my project.
It's been a mixed experience, and I'm leaving with a taste of disappointment. I think my biggest issue is the lack of any metrics to measure the social impact of the work we're doing. What is the impact on wages for students who go through our education kiosks? Have the health entrepreneurs measurably changed the health environment in their villages? So many well intentioned efforts lead to minimal impact. It's really hard for me to just take things at face value.
The impressive thing Drishtee has achieved is a real on-the-ground rural network of micro entrepreneurs. But this network is so incredibly stressed and almost every other week I hear of a new scheme to be implemented on this network. Really - people are working 14 hr days, 7 days a week and you want them to run a new project on this network?! The district offices are struggling. We don't have enough people and it is always a challenge to recruit good talent. on the other hand, if we partner with a firm (say Honeywell) to pilot a new project on our rural network, it brings in fresh capital. So the attraction of new business development is real. But at what costs? Again - a lack of metrics makes this post just a gut evaluation.
But shouldn't an enterprise that has been around for 7 years have a good cash flow*? Do we really need to be pursuing new business development ideas? What should the equilibrium be? In this regard, I am disappointed with the brand name investors that Drishtee has brought into the family. How come Acumen is not asking these hard questions? Would Drishtee be unsustainable without the "donor" investment capital? Unless investors don't force good management practices, there will never be any meaningful change.
So I am leaving with more questions that answers on social entrepreneurship. I thought of it as a powerful new idea to tackle pervasive problems through a genuine marriage of private sector innovation and social benefit organizations. But I realize now that you need more than just a powerful idea to succeed. Rebuilding communities in rural India is an inspiring mission. We won't supply tobacco products on our supply chain because of the harmful social impact even though it is the most profitable and fastest moving product in rural India. But at the same time I don't really know if the tools we provide our franchisee's actually contribute towards "rebuilding rural communities" either. The education entrepreneur could just be making an honest living, but the students he services could be no better off after taking the Drishtee English courses or computer courses. If we are not measuring our impact relative to our mission, is it really our mission anymore?
There is one thing that I definitively know - social entrepreneurship is an immature field that needs to grow up quickly.
*I've never perused the financials so can't speak to the sustainability question.
It's been a mixed experience, and I'm leaving with a taste of disappointment. I think my biggest issue is the lack of any metrics to measure the social impact of the work we're doing. What is the impact on wages for students who go through our education kiosks? Have the health entrepreneurs measurably changed the health environment in their villages? So many well intentioned efforts lead to minimal impact. It's really hard for me to just take things at face value.
The impressive thing Drishtee has achieved is a real on-the-ground rural network of micro entrepreneurs. But this network is so incredibly stressed and almost every other week I hear of a new scheme to be implemented on this network. Really - people are working 14 hr days, 7 days a week and you want them to run a new project on this network?! The district offices are struggling. We don't have enough people and it is always a challenge to recruit good talent. on the other hand, if we partner with a firm (say Honeywell) to pilot a new project on our rural network, it brings in fresh capital. So the attraction of new business development is real. But at what costs? Again - a lack of metrics makes this post just a gut evaluation.
But shouldn't an enterprise that has been around for 7 years have a good cash flow*? Do we really need to be pursuing new business development ideas? What should the equilibrium be? In this regard, I am disappointed with the brand name investors that Drishtee has brought into the family. How come Acumen is not asking these hard questions? Would Drishtee be unsustainable without the "donor" investment capital? Unless investors don't force good management practices, there will never be any meaningful change.
So I am leaving with more questions that answers on social entrepreneurship. I thought of it as a powerful new idea to tackle pervasive problems through a genuine marriage of private sector innovation and social benefit organizations. But I realize now that you need more than just a powerful idea to succeed. Rebuilding communities in rural India is an inspiring mission. We won't supply tobacco products on our supply chain because of the harmful social impact even though it is the most profitable and fastest moving product in rural India. But at the same time I don't really know if the tools we provide our franchisee's actually contribute towards "rebuilding rural communities" either. The education entrepreneur could just be making an honest living, but the students he services could be no better off after taking the Drishtee English courses or computer courses. If we are not measuring our impact relative to our mission, is it really our mission anymore?
There is one thing that I definitively know - social entrepreneurship is an immature field that needs to grow up quickly.
*I've never perused the financials so can't speak to the sustainability question.
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