Sunday 19 December 2010

India Institute of Management, Ahmedabad





Tuesday 23 November 2010

My Latest Online Publications

Interview with Rural Development Institute (Seattle, USA) CEO, Tim Hanstad
(also on the front page of RDI's website: http://www.rdiland.org/)

Best Practices in Public Service Delivery

MGNREGA - Rajasthan, India (our own innovation pilot - I will be presenting my strategic management version of this paper at the IIMA conference in December)

PROOF - Bangalore, Karnataka India

Jaankari - Patna, Bihar, India

Sulekha - Trivandrum, Kerala, India

Naandi (I edited this paper) - Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Friday 19 November 2010

OneWorld Tour Continues...

Bombay

Sapna is a research associate on our team. Here she is eating cotton candy on Juhu beach. This is probably the best samosa chaat I have ever had!

Watermelon juice:) Yes, that is a goat...in a taxi.

Slumdog Millionaire? Yep, this is Dharavi...biggest slum in Asia.

We traveled three and half hours outside Pune to an advasi (tribal) village to observe how geomapping tools were being used to demarcate tribal land and claim it for their rightful owners.



Monday 15 November 2010

INDIA Favorites List... Thus Far
(in no particular order because that would be too hard)
  1. Malabari parantha - Gunpowder, Hauz Khas Village, Delhi
  2. Dharavi slum & adivasi village in Amhmednagar - Bombay and Pune
  3. Coconut factory and banana plantation - Trivandrum, Kerala
  4. NREGA worksites/kiosks - Suwana Panchayat, Bhilwara Rajasthan
  5. Researching PROOF - campaign to public financial transparency - Bangalore, Karnataka
  6. Mere Jaiji ki muskhurahat
  7. Naandi kitchen and school visit - Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
  8. Seema mamiji ka khana
  9. Mountaintop, overlooking Pakistan and Himalayas - Gulmarg, Kashmir
  10. Kuki ki shaadi
  11. Horse ride to glacier - Sonamarg, Kashmir
  12. Hari and Sukhmani - Lodhi Garden, Delhi
  13. Paan flavored nargila...bombay beachside
  14. Masala butha
  15. Qutab Minar view from OneWorld terrace
  16. Samosa chaat - Cafe Vihar, Bombay
  17. Gangtok jungle, misted mountainside
  18. Avni ki hassi
  19. Sikkimese beer
  20. Baang filled Holi
  21. Halloween auto rickshaw team
  22. Jantar Mantar
  23. Agrasen Ki Baoli
  24. First diwali dias on Delhi balcony

Sunday 14 November 2010

Corporate NGO – an oxymoron or genius?

In September, I travelled to Hyderabad, one of the largest cities in South India and home to the delicious dish, Biryani. It was my first time to the city and my first time in charge of the field research trips that I have been continually taking for the purposes of documenting good governance practices. This time, my colleague and I were looking at three initiatives – one was a government-led online scholarship programme for religious minorities; the second, was a two-way virtual communication programme through which health, education, agriculture and livelihood services are delivered to rural areas; the last was the expected and well-deserved favorite – a kitchen system by which midday meals are delivered to children enrolled in government schools.

At 6am we arrived at the Naandi kitchen in Uppal, Andhra Pradesh. Right away I knew we had stepped into something great. Kitchen staff was working away cooking rice, curry, idlis and eggs. We were taken around the premises and fed the food and explained the entire processes of the kitchen. It left a lasting impression on me. In particular, the remarkably good hygiene stunned me – if you have ever visited India, you can understand why.

In between a visit to a school to witness the delivery and intake of the meals by the students and interviews with involved government officials and Naandi operations managers, I skimmed over some secondary documents that our research team had gathered prior to leaving for Hyderabad. I came across something that immediately made my mind go wild – Naandi was setup by a coalition of corporate heads who now sit as advisors on the board for the NGO.

So I sat there thinking, wow…an NGO, not a PPP (public-private partnership), but a board of advisors from prominent corporations across the state. What a brilliant idea! Almost certainly not the first model of its kind, but a revolutionary one in mind…in this context. Why? India has a long history of a corrupt, exploitive private sector. This, in combination with a fear of ‘being American’ and a belief that privatization simply means an overwhelming amount of benefits for the rich, the Indian masses are extremely weary of privatization and the private sector. However, today, across the globe, it a commonly understood that corporate sector involvement in public service delivery can be beneficial in a number of ways. Most relevant in this case are the financial and organizational/intellectual capacities of the private sector.

I have a business and development background. One side turns out corporate sector workers, the other public and third sector (for the most part). As I reflect on the time I have spent working at OneWorld (NGO) in Delhi, I have become increasingly aware of the relevance and significance of business skills; for instance, how to use Microsoft products J But since I am learning for the first time in my career how to be a manager, this is where I can honestly say that the things I have learned from the private sector are invaluable and in my opinion, likely the missing element in many NGOs. So in a place like India, the Naandi model is extremely promising and perhaps, the necessary transitionary structure into the near future.

Thursday 4 November 2010

TRAVELING IN THE HOMELAND

Sikkim







Kashmir







HALLOWEEN 2010...Delhi and Norwegians



A Photo Tour -Working at OneWorld

Patna, Bihar


Trivandrum, Kerala


Explorations in DELHI

Kathak performance, Purana Qila (Old Fort).

Jantar Mantar is a typical tourist destination, yet one I had never been to before. Definitely some of the most fascinating architecture I have ever seen.


Tucked away on a tiny street with absolutely no street signs indicating its existence, the dried up water storage basin, Agrasen Ki Baoli, is a beautiful surprise.



Thursday 30 September 2010

Daane daane pe likha hai khane wale ka naam

I was speaking to my mom over the phone the other day, as I do every night since I moved out of my house in Los Angeles some seven years back and continue to do even when I am across the world living in Delhi, and as has happened many times in my life, she told me a saying that will remain with me for a long time to come. 'Daane daane pe likha hai khane wale ka naam'. It literally means that on every grain, the name of the person who will eat it, is written. In other words, whatever will be, will be (but in my mind a bit more poetic and context appropriate).

Her reminder to me fit perfectly into my soul searching mood that has made me realize that patience, faith, strength and love (things that I have been constantly reminded of by someone very close to me but perhaps I always underestimated) are indeed the only way to living a healthy and happy life. In an effort to keep these fresh in my mind, I decided to set my iGoogle to display daily inspirational quotes. A few of many favorites from the past week are below:

"Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn't make me stronger."- Lou Holtz

"I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." - Martha Washington

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself" - Jim Rohn


Thursday 23 September 2010

Monday 5 April 2010

Sneha Gets Married

Last weekend I flew to Bhilai, Chhattisgarh for my cousin Sneha’s wedding. Here are some pictures and videos of the trip.

I attended four ceremonies/events: mehndi, chura (bride's bangle), cocktail party and the wedding.

My cousins, Sanjana and Sneha (bride).
My cousin, Swetha, playing the Dhol.


My Mom, Mami Ji, and Mama Ji (from left to right) singing and playing music.

My mom, the chura ceremony, Sanjay and Satish Mama Ji.

My hand with mehndi and me on the night of the cocktail party.

My nephew Kushagra, Kush and his parents, Vithu Maasi & Ashok Uncle, my mom & her sister

Wedding Day!