Working in India
India has called for another visit.This time, it was for a work trip. We are considering our options with a handful of outsourcing companies at various locations throughout India. We started in Delhi, drove to Jaipur for a couple of days. Then, it was off to Hyderabad and then onto Bangalore before heading back to London. We covered about 2,000 km in 6 days! Photos are in the gallery.
Apparently it is "wedding month" according to the Hindu calendar. Therefore as we drove through Jaipur there were weddings everywhere! We were invited to an employee''s sister''s wedding. We followed directions and were welcomed into a huge courtyard full of people we''d never met before. The relatives introduced themselves. Everything was going well until we realised we were in the wrong wedding! The "real" wedding was actually the one next door. Se we headed in there and were welcomed by the wedding party who were actually expecting us.
An afternoon of siteseeing around Jaipur was great - we went up to the Hawa Mahal Palace, which is about 500 years old overlooking the city of Jaipur on a large hill. This was where parts of a James Bond movie were shot back in the 80''s. We were given a taste of Bollywood film-making as there was a huge gathering of Bollywood starts and dancers shooting a new movie. There were hundreds of onlookers as we made our way though to the main part of the Hawa Mahal Palace, where the King kept his 12 wives.
Then it was on to Hyderabad and only a day of meetings there, so no siteseeing. And finally, Bangalore, which is the current IT capital of India. Both these cities are very different to Delhi and Jaipur, and the western influence of IT outsourcing can be seen here everywhere.
This was a whirlwind trip to India, which has made a nice relief from the UK winter. It''s great to visit this country - India provides amazing vibrant lifestyles and contrasts which are always "in your face". It''s full-on, but it puts life in perspective.