Meeting the bus...

Its easy to feel a bit fraudulent when you're living behind gates, metal detectors (both the kind that sweeps all vehicles for bombs and an airport style walk through xray machine), you travel in a bus complete with a security dude, a parking assistant, as well as the driver, and you have a personal butler back at your room who brings you bags full of delectable miniature bananas (vital part of safe stomach campaign) and cocunut macaroons, when just down the street is the local milk station. Yes, the milk station, kind of like a walk up, drive up, moto up, petrol station for your milk containers. Milk of the fresh, unpasteurized variety- the kind that Massachusetts and a number of other states have banned for fear of duh, dun da na..... bacteria! Sheesh, the threat of a little bacteria has definitely never stopped an Indian from enjoying one of life's true gifts. Fresh milk, from a milk station- that's right, 5 cows tethered to a hitching post hanging out waiting to deliver their goods.

We're looking at small businesses here, and it strikes me that this one, clearly has a lock on the market until the infrastructure improves enough for everyone to have their own cow. And yes, India in particular Bangalore is a land of contrasts. I have seen only 2 wandering cows, 1 calf and 1 ox cart-- in fact, the site of an oxcart in Bangalore these days is a rarity I've been told. But get this- the town planners have proposed eliminating rickshaws in exchange for a taxi version of the mini Tata vehicle. Guess Tata has some powerful lobbyists... but who doesn't and I hear they aren't selling well and are definitely "not good." So why not replace the time tested and honorable 2 stroke rickshaws?

128,000 people are joining the Indian middle class everyday. Can you imagine? Well, that is a good question as I've yet to see (from the windows of our bus) a single slum, beggar, street child (OK maybe 1) or leper. Quite a contrast to 20 years ago when it was 100% onslaught of organized chaos at all times. The sad part is, I know they exist, just around the corner, from somewhere. Only from the bus our perspective IS limited.

Now I'm not complaining as my primary responsibility is to return all executives to their homes without a scratch- so if this is a strategy then let it be. However, let us all be mindful that while what we experience feels a bit like Disney India, there is a mad level of suffering still out there, just beyond the shiny apartments and fancy office parks- I think.

For those of you wondering, Monday was shopping day, so we had some time to stretch our legs before meetings began in the afternoon-- silk, heritage crafts and a marathon bartering session- Sir, I would really not like to insult you but I will only pay $10 for this while you have suggested I pay $300. We settled at 40. I've eaten off campus once with one of my coachees who lives here in town, and we went to BBQ nation. The hostess was Chinese. Oh the land of contrasts.

I'd mentioned that it takes a lot of people to do a lot of things here, and well they have the benefit of lots of people at the ready- For example, we had an army searching for Cassandra's bag. For our Sunday sight-seeing mission, they'd arranged two cars and we all fit into one. After we'd driven off and were about 10 minutes out of the hotel, a twin to our vehicle pulls along side. Hmm, that's the other car I thought... we arrived at our destination the Palace here in Bangalore, where that portrait posted on my FB page was only the tip of the iceberg of potentially the worlds quirkiest art collection, and realized that we had no rupees. But ma'ams that is Ok, I will send the second car to an ATM- at which point, his brother drives up along side of us and screeches to a halt only to receive directions via mobile phone, returning swiftly in 5 minutes time to grant us access to said quirky art collection. thank goodness for car # two and well yes, ma'am in case we have a flat tire, then we will not loose any time.

Then there is the matter of protocol and process. For example, today, at our luncheon buffet, I picked up my dinner plate from the desert line. When I arrived at the lunch line, the nice server recovered the clean plate in my hand and replaced it with exact same item from the lunch plate line. So excellent. How could I have been so silly?

Its late-- must get some rest. Photos and video is a real nuisance to upload in these wee time stretches but there are some good ones on the way.