Every country seems to have a cosmopolitan star-it’s very own version of London or New York, where culture, money, fashion and commercialism meld into a bustle of excitement. For Australia it’s Sydney, for Korea it’s Seoul, for China it’s Shanghai, and for India it is definitely Mumbai.

Known as Bombay until 1995, Mumbai is one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. As our India trip draws near, I’m getting more and more anxious to see what India’s shining cosmopolis has to offer, so I’ve done some research and compiled a list of some things I would like to do or see in Mumbai. Whether I actually get to do these is another story but here’s my shortlisted items:

Go to Bollywood - Mumbai is home to the Bollywood studios which offer guest tours, so for those who are not satisfied with just seeing a good Bollywood flic, this may be a good option. Who knows, I may even get to see Aishwarya Rai in person.

Pass through the Gateway of India - This yellow basalt arch was built to commemorate the visit of King George V in 1911 and is probably Mumbai’s most popular landmark and touristy locations. Though getting mobbed by beggers, peddlers, and souvenir photographers is inevitable, I’m sure that it is a must.

Stroll along Marine Drive - I’ve learned that this place is many people’s favorite place in the city. Here you can enjoy a nice sea breeze along the Arabian sea enjoy live music, exciting clubs, and fine dining. You can also go to the beach and check out the free entertainment consisting of snake charmers, contortionists, monkey tricks, etc. It is a romantic 5 km stretch with beautiful vistas and smiling faces.

Enter the Elephanta Caves - Dating as far back as the 5th century, the Elephanta Caves are a network of Hindu and Buddhist deities sculpted into basalt on the Island of Elephanta accessible from the Mumbai harbor. I wonder if the caves will provide a break from the Indian summer heat?

Reverence in a religious site - Mumbai has many ancient mosques, temples and other religious sites to visit. Some notable ones include the colorful Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji Jain Temple, and the amazing Haji Ali Dargah which sits 500 yards from the coast in the water of Worli Bay. I’d love to see them all!

Slumdog around Dharavi - Almost 1 million people live in this 175 hectacre spread of makeshift rooms and tin roofs. It promises to be a unique and eye-opening experience.

This is of course a list from a non-expert and I’m sure there’s much more to do and see in this fantastic city, but I think these are a good start for a good time in Mumbai.

- Phil Hamer

As we recently passed the one year anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, it is interesting to look at how things have evolved both on the international scene and on the ground locally.

On November 26, 2008, 15-20 individuals, carrying automatic machine guns and arriving by boat killed 173 people and injured over 300 as they attacked two hotels, a restaurant, a train station, a Jewish cultural center and a hospital.

Early investigation has shown that the attack was planned and executed out of Pakistan, complicating an already tense relationship between the two neighboring countries. Since then, Islamabad has pledged to hold their own investigation and help catch anyone who had their hand in the attack. However, on November 23^rd, during a visit in Washington, Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh accused Pakistan of dragging its feet regarding the investigation. Meanwhile, Italy recently arrested two suspects and the United States arrested David Headley, an American of Pakistani decent who is also suspected to have been involved in the attacks.

Locally, the Indian police have also been revamping their operations to better address terrorist threats. The Quick Response Team (QRT), a unit that was created to deal with such situations, proved completely ineffective during the attacks. They were ill-equipped, out-gunned, and had poor leadership. A more complex issue for the Indian police to resolve is its internal divisions. These were once religion based but recently there has been rivalry between different ethnic groups. This has significantly hampered the progress of the investigation as competition has replaced cooperation between the different factions that make up the Indian police.

On the bright side, there have been some concrete steps in the right direction. The Indian police have been modernizing and reorganizing themselves to better address these threats. Teams of six very well trained and equipped men are now posted in every other police station in Mumbai, on call, 24 hours a day. An order of nineteen amphibian vehicles was also placed with Canada. In August 2009, new weapons arrived including Smith and Wesson handguns, Heckler & Koch machine guns, and Colt grenade launchers.

India is yet another country that, faced with this new kind of threat, has had to adapt the way it looks at, and deals with internal security. Welcome to the 21^st century!

-Michael Harroch

Submitted by: Raquel Rusing

Body: Few of you may know that I have danced the dances and sang the songs of Bollywood… right here at Cal Poly!

Each year a group of students organize a Student Spring Dance Show to promote Cal Poly’s under-recognized dance department. Those in charge of organizing the event also serve as choreographers who teach routines to voluntary students for the duration of the quarter. The routines are a wide variety of styles aimed to educate about the diversification that exists in dance.

For the last five years, I’ve taught a hip-hop class, but have also chosen to participate in a colleague’s Bollywood number. I was initially very skeptical because of its cheesy nature and awkward movements, but through some miraculous leap of faith, I joined nonetheless and fell in love with the energy and colors of Bollywood. Now, after Dr. Singh’s discussion of India at our last Chindia meeting, I have no choice but to share more!

Obviously when someone hears Bollywood, they think Hollywood. And they should because the name is derived from the combination of Bombay (the former name of Mumbai and the central hub for this genre of film) and Hollywood. As Alex Van Dalen said in our meeting, these films are purposely unrealistic, similar to Western musicals during the World Wars, because they serve as a form of escapism. They incorporate catchy song-and-dance numbers, less than logical transitions between everyday sets to extravagant and exotic locations, extended melodramatic moments and formulaic storylines. However, despite that these types of film have only become increasingly popular within the last decade overseas, Bollywood has been around since the American Great Depression.

The shift of popularity to the Western world is mainly attributed to Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, which was directly influenced by the Bollywood style. The play within the film follows the storyline of an ancient Sanskrit drama, The Little Clay Cart, and Nicole Kidman leads a Bollywood-styled dance sequence to the famous song Chamma Chamma from a 1998 Bollywood film, China Gate.

The China Gate version can be accessed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKtdZDE_orw

The Moulin Rouge! version can be accessed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbqyJxP0ok

The music is probably what makes or breaks an experience for a member of the audience. If you don’t catch onto the tune… you might as well not watch the films. The music itself is called filmi (meaning “of films” in Hindi) and although the actors and actresses are dancing, none are singing. The entire film is lip-synced and the majority of the actors and actresses don’t even record in the studio. They enlist professional playback singers. Does this remind anyone of the Chinese incident during the Olympics – the young cute girl performs to the voice of a hidden and less attractive, but vocally gifted young girl? I thought it might until I found out that most of the playback singers are featured with pride during the opening credits and have their own fan base. Furthermore, to promote interest in the movie, the soundtracks are often released prior to the movie itself.

By the by, if you’re a male thinking that you’re not interested in these chick flicks, let me inform you of a couple of reasons for why you should think about watching them.

Item #1: Snoop Dogg. That’s right. Last year D-O-double-G signed up for a guest appearance on the title track of Singh is Kinng.

Here are the words of Mr. Snoop himself from a NY Times article:

“I really dig how much music is infused with the movies in Bollywood… Lots of hip-hop tracks sample Indian music, and a lot of their music sounds like it was influenced by hip-hop. Snoop Dogg’s got love for everybody. I like how the Punjabis get down; the way they dress is fresh and they got a real appreciation for music. Watch out y’all. I’m coming to take over Bollywood… this is just the beginning.”

Check out the music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1BgMwyZhtU

Item #2: Have you seen the ladies?! As Dr. Singh would agree, let me show you some of these beauties.

Mallika Sherawat

Priyanka Chopra

Aishwarya Rai

Item #3: Business opportunities. Yep. I read a Time Magazine Article called Ring, Ring, Bollywood Calling! and the mentioned company by the name of Saavn (acronym for South Asian Audio/Visual Network) is profiting significantly thanks to Bollywood.

According to the article, “[Saavn] controls global distribution rights, outside India, to a massive number of Bollywood films, songs, albums and music videos, all downloadable to iPods, MP3 players, cell phones and computers. And if consumers in America are captivated by the song-and-dance… Saavn believes its offerings will be attractive marketing tools for U.S. companies. [They] have already conducted a brand-marketing campaign for Verizon. Half a dozen major U.S. companies are now in discussion to use Saavn’s content to pursue the same market. The wealth and education level of South Asian consumers in the U.S. make [Saavn] a desirable target.”

This makes me think of William Chillingworth’s discussion about owning exclusive rights to Western commodities overseas. Is there a possibility for a profitable reverse – exclusive rights to Indian commodities in the U.S.? Will Saavn continue to grow as the popularity of Bollywood rises in the West or is this another passing fad? What do you think of the Bollywood craze? Will it be as successful as Hollywood? Domestically? Globally? What are some other business opportunities available through this industry both directly and indirectly?

Submitted by: Andrea Muntzel

You can imagine my surprise when I turned on the TV Tuesday morning only to see Good Morning America doing a segment on Mumbai.  The show is doing a new reporting stint on the “biggest” things in the world.  Why were they in Mumbai?  It is because the city is the most populous in the world, with the potential to dwarf the total population of the entire Australian continent in just a few years.  Although the initial draw of the city was its colossal population, the segment didn’t dwell on that.  Instead, they attempted to show a snapshot of the many faces of Mumbai.  Those who chose to read the Khanna book Billions of Entrepreneurs will surely remember the portion dedicated to India’s “soft power.”  Khanna quotes Joseph Nye, a member of the Clinton administration, when describing soft power as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments.  It arises from the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies.”  Contrast this with China’s hard power which is gauged by how well the country can “coerce and get its way through military power and economic weight.” 

Since we are in business school, it would make sense that we often fall into focusing on that “economic weight” portion of hard power.  It seems clear though, that India lacks the hard power of China but is still finding success economically.  Something must be said for the magnetism that emanates from India’s soft power.  I’m not sure how long GMA keeps its videos up, but I hope you get the chance to see them.  It’s a series of five short video segments on things as diverse as the slums of Dharavi to Bollywood to our favorite game, cricket. 

GMA Video Link

Just to keep in mind when you watch, notice how many times the words ‘spirit’ and ‘determination’ are mentioned.  Observe the ‘electrifying energy’ that surrounds Mumbai and ‘binds the spirit of the people.’  Finally, how does soft power ultimately affect business in India?  How does it affect the people drawn to doing business in these countries?  According to Khanna, China lost a lot of its soft power during the Cultural Revolution.  We all know there’s something to be said for efficiency, but how important of a factor is culture in business? 

From the videos, we can see that Mumbai’s chaotic, bustling, and energy-rich culture has given birth to at least one interesting business prospect: Tiffinwallas.  Essentially delivery men, these individuals pick up business people’s homemade lunches at their house and then deliver them to their work, making so few mistakes and resulting in such incredible efficiency that Mumbai’s tiffinwallas have a 6-sigma rating!  We’ll have to talk to Professor Olsen about that one next quarter…

In my opinion, soft power is inextricably related to business power.  Regardless, though, even during dead week, these videos can put a smile on your face.

Prepared and Submitted by Morgan O’Hara:

Can you see it? Us in Mumbai, a beautiful summer’s day, playing cricket with a group of Indian MBAs, drinking chai, talking life, making those important connections. That’s business for you, Cal Poly international style. And not only is it going to happen in a few months, but we are going to be prepared.

On the morning of Feb 28th, we have a cricket ‘friendly’ with the Indian Student Association at Isley Park located on Tank Farm Road in SLO (let me know if you need directions). Start time is ten sharp (10:00 am), and we’ll end early afternoon, around one o’clock (1:00 pm), after burgers have been served. Though my authority is uncertain, I’m requiring attendance. Even so, RSVP by shooting me an email at mdohara AT calpoly DOT edu. We need to know how much eats to order.

On the evening of the 27th starting at 8:00 pm sharp, ten to twelve of us will have the privilege to crowd into Dr. Carr’s living room after that week’s hob nob ends at his house, and watch an Indian movie (Lagaan — and Oscar nominated cricket themed Bollywood production) on cricket’s nascence. (He notes 10-12 people is about all his living room can comfortably hold and he will supply the pillows, popcorn and sodas to said first come first served 10-12 people). I’ve been told that this movie serves as a good intro to the sport, and there will be someone knowledgeable on hand to answer any questions we may have.

For everyone, especially those who can’t make it on the evening of the 27th at Dr. Carr’s house, here are some quick youtube videos which go over some cricket basics.

Basics Video: CLICK HERE

How to Bat: CLICK HERE

How to Bowl: CLICK HERE

How to Field: CLICK HERE

India Team Highlights: CLICK HERE

Three important things you need to know, copied straight from Wikipedia:

Test cricket is played between two teams of eleven players over a period of up to a maximum of five days - although matches are sometimes completed early when one side wins well within the time allotted (i.e. in three or four days). On each day there are usually three two-hour sessions with a forty minute break for “lunch” and a twenty minute break for “tea.”

One Day International (ODI) is a form of cricket, in which 50 overs are played per side between two national cricket teams. The Cricket World Cup is played in this format. One Day International matches are also called “Limited Overs Internationals (LOI)”, because they are limited overs cricket matches between national sides, and if the weather interferes they are not always completed in one day. Important one-day matches, international and domestic, often have two days set aside, the second day being a “reserve” day to allow more chance of the game being completed if a result is not possible on the first day (for instance if play is prevented or interrupted by rain).

Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each have a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. The game is completed in about two and half hours, with each inning lasting around 75 minutes, thus bringing the game closer to the timespan of other popular team sports such as football. It was introduced to create a lively form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television and as such it has been very successful. The ECB did not intend that Twenty20 would replace other forms of cricket and these have continued alongside it.

See you all on February 28th at 10 am. If any questions, please contact me. As for the sparkly white uniform, we’ll have no dress code, but keep in mind, in India we’ll be sporting pants. Also, this is important, playing is NOT mandatory. You can come by, soak in the sun, enjoy the camaraderie, laugh at us fumbling all over the place, and get first dibs on the food.

Submitted by: James McMillan

Professor Carr Addendum and Intro to James’ Post: This is a post I asked James to make as a follow up to his earlier post, It’s Called Days Inn in China But It’s Nothing Like It, and For Good Reason (see also the comment thread). (Thank you James, for doing so and for taking the time.) As the below shows, we have found that finding a hotel in India that can accommodate a group of our size is a challenge. Rates are very high, which in turns impacts the price you pay for the trip. Moreover, the current hotel market there tends to be very high end (we can’t afford) or very low end (you will not want to stay there), with not much in between to choose from (our challenge to find and compete to get). Step back and think of this — a country of 1.3 billion plus people, with a hotel room supply of roughly only 105,000. My memory is that China has roughly 1.1 million hotel rooms in the country (see below for James’ US figures — roughly 4.4 million; we are a developed economy with money for fun and travel, while China and India are developing economies and emerging markets with much less money). Please be aware of this planning and business issue and constraint, and, business opportunity, as James touches on below. By the way, there are some very good and understandable macro reasons for this hotel market and supply condition in India and my memory is that your Khana book, Billions of Entrepreneurs, also has a nice chapter (Chapter 4 as I remember — “Fiat and Fairness”) re: how and why real estate development projects can be a challenge to launch, complete and make any money on in India. Be sure to read and think of this post and business environment issue as you read that chapter and as we travel in India and China. Also keep in mind that one (not the only) reason China has more rooms is that it has boatloads of peasants looking for work from rural villages who will work for cheap (in comparison to US wages, that is). The CCP in China is also operating more from a “build and they will come” mindset on the hotel issue. One model is not better than the other, they are just both different.

James’ Post:

>Did you know there are only about 105,000 hotel rooms in all of India while the US has about 4.4 million? If that’s not shocking enough consider that New York alone has about 110,000 rooms and Shanghai has about 135,000. Is it any shock to you that the prices for basic rooms in India are through the roof? With India having almost 4 times our population, why do you think such a disparity exists and why are the business men in India not capitalizing on such obvious demand?

According to some hotel executives, the blame can be placed on the government for not revising decades-old laws that limit the amount of land for sale which obviously drives up the prices. The Indian Railways has vast land holdings that could easily be converted into track-side hotels but at the moment they are just not willing to give these up. According to the Taj group of hotels, a chain with 7,000 rooms in India, the price of purchasing land at an auction is often just too high to make building a hotel financially viable.

For comparison purposes, a similar quality room in Delhi cost on average $187 versus $122 in Beijing. With India already struggling with infrastructure problems it?s no wonder that hotel room shortages and high prices are at the root of India?s lagging tourism industry. In 2005, New York attracted 6.8 million foreign tourists while India only had 3.9 million. This resulted in $22.8 billion for New York and only $6.7 billion for India. To put these numbers in perspective that translates into about $2,850 per New York resident as compared to $6 per India resident.

Fortunately, there seems to be some progress for the hotel business in India but they definitely have their work cut out for them. It is expected that there will be about $6.5 billion invested in hotel building which will allow for approximately 140,000 new hotel rooms to be built by 2010. Some of the hotels expanding into India are some of the worlds best know names (Hilton, Wyndam, Pan Pacific, etc.) that are all recognizing the huge potential.

So before these big corporate hotel companies come in and dominate the market, who?s down to take on the Indian government and start building some hotel chains? It sounds like if the political front could be worked properly, sky’s the limit!

Submitted by: Josh Hickman

For those of you who have not chosen Khanna’s Billions of Entrepreneurs for your read this quarter, I would like to bring to your attention a segment in the book in which I felt could break new ground in the practice of medicine in developing countries, as well as our own fifty states. The chapter titled “Barefoot Doctors and Medical Tourists” discusses what both China and India have going for their hospital system as well as where they fall short. China, whose hospitals are described as “clean, free of crowds, and well run” which is a stark contrast to a hospital in Mumbai which is filled with “hundreds of people demanding surgical attention with paint flaking off the walls and unsanitary conditions” (Khanna, 213). The story of Dr. Devi Shetty touched me, an entrepreneurial heart surgeon who once cared for Mother Teresa in his career, has provided affordable and reliable health care for people even in the poorest of India’s slums. Dr. Shetty runs a private hospital in Bangalore (Narayana Hrudayalaya) that can provide medical services for the equivalent of a few cents to people, and will not turn away anyone who cannot pay for service (some government subsidies help make this possible). Shetty won the entrepreneur of the year award at the 2006 World Economic Forum for building “Healh City”, a network of different hospitals and medical departments to house five thousand hospital beds and maximize the use of their medical equipment to cut down costs even more.

Seeing this success with privatization of health care, why do we still see medical costs in the U.S. for thousands of dollar per day? And what happens if someone does not have medical insurance? Some catastrophic illness could also mean the end of your financial future which would be devoted to paying off these medical costs. I have a very close friend whose mother had an unexpected brain tumor last year and was near death (thankfully she is alive now and rehabilitating), and her hospital bills were well over a million dollars for a two month stay. If the family had not had any insurance, they would be in a very scary financial situation right now.

So would privatization of health care and hospitals in the U.S. be an answer to our problems? Shetty has plans to expand to Mexico (see here for a short article about the project) as well as other cities in India including Hyderabad. This brings up an issue of whether it is fair to be providing free health care from our tax dollars to people who maybe are unemployed, or not contributing their part to federal or state taxes. However, by utilizing medical equipment and personnel more efficiently and effectively, driving the overall cost down for everyone could help the issue without having to resort to heavily subsidized programs. Dr. Shetty is an example of someone who thinks outside the box, not only to benefit him, but in order to revolutionize the model of hospitals and make changes in how a country operates.

Submitted by: Jenna Healy

We’re traveling to China and India to study business, it’s wonderful- but India is calling my name for another reason. It’s the home of yoga, where the ancient roots began to grow. So I thought I’d give a glimpse into what yoga is and why it’s so important. I’m going to focus on the Eastern version of yoga as opposed to the Westernized (commercial gym) form of yoga.

What is yoga? Yoga is bliss. It’s union with God or the Divine Self. Yoga is self-exploration and spiritual enlightenment. It goes beyond our five senses. It is amazing. An Indian philosopher, Patanjali, wrote it’s manual thousands of years ago, although he did not invent the practice.

Hinduism is the India-based religion yoga helps to teach. It includes: Vegetarianism, the Law of Karma, Reincarnation and freedom from all suffering. It incorporates all religions, it’s universal, it values what works for you. Sanskrit is the spoken and written language of Hinduism and yoga; most of the ancient texts are in Sanskrit.

“Yoga is your true nature: union with the divine self. Yoga practices such as asana (postures) enable us to feel there is something animating our physical form. Yoga practice of meditation enable us to watch our minds think, to realize that we must be more than the mind, if we can sit back and watch it generate thoughts.” (Jivamukti Yoga, 2002)

If that makes no sense, it takes time. To me, yoga is my faith, and it’s my connection to the spirit world and to my self. Each time I step onto my mat, I learn more about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, my internal layers of emotion, fear, guilt. I learn about the stress stored in the cells of my body. I grow stronger, more alive, more aware. It’s my therapy, my freedom from suffering. And this amazing life-changing practice originated in India-where we’re headed! Are we grasping the importance yet?

Three of the oldest and foundational books for yoga are Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, written over 5,000 years ago.

The 5 obstacles yoga helps you to overcome or Kleshas are:

1. Avidya: ignorance
2. Asmita: egoism
3. Raga: excessive attachment to pleasurable things
4. Dvesa: excessive aversion, hatred
5. Abhinivesha: fear of death

We rid ourselves of the Kleshas by practicing Patanjali’s 8 limbs:

1. Yama: restraint
2. Niyama: observance
3. Asana: postures
4. Pranayama: breath work or control of the life force
5. Pratyahara: withdrawl of the senses
6. Dharana: concentration
7. Dhyana: meditation
8. Samadhi: bliss, union with the divine

Seem simple enough? In Patanjali’s second sutra, he defines yoga (translated), ‘yoga is realized when identification with the fluctuations of the mind ceases.’ Make sense? When our minds relax and find peace; when we give up resisting life.

The body is also comprised of 5 koshas or bodies, experienced with the practice of yoga. They are, starting from the outside and moving in:

1. Annamaya kosha: the physical body
2. Pranamaya kosha: the vital body or breath body
3. Manomaya kosha: emotional body
4. Vijnanamaya kosha: intellectual body
5. Anandamaya kosha: the bliss body

What happens in yoga class?

-You show up, no shoes, with a mat
-Your teacher leads you through meditation before practicing
-You move through asanas (postures) using pranayama (breath work)
-Usually standing postures first, then inversions and backbends, followed by floor practice. There are many forms of yoga so each class varies
-End class in savasana or corpse pose
-In corpse pose, the final meditation (10-25 minutes) you feel your body alive, you feel the koshas or layers to your being; you feel alive; you feel high, at peace, at ease.

For the scientists in the group, look at Dr. Len Kravitz’s (no not the singer, the award winning professor and researcher) article on the science of breathing. This will give you scientific research behind pranayama.

Yoga is a way to experience higher states of consciousness. Excited yet? Maybe we can visit an ashram on our trip as a cultural experience?

I’ve studied the human body and spirit for over a decade. I’ve helped people heal in a number of ways: physical therapy, structural integration, emotional healing, nutrition, dance, and the most effective modality of healing I’ve found? You guessed it. Yoga.

Submitted by: Professor Jay Singh

This post is a follow-up to Professor Carr’s Slumdog post immediately below (click here).

Not many non-Mumbaikars (non-residents of Mumbai) can even fathom a million people living in a square mile (530 acres). Yet Dharavi, Mumbai’s shadow city and the largest slum in Asia, is thriving with a contribution of 500 million dollars to India’s GDP. The financial capital of India that boasts arguably the world’s second most expensive office space at $190 per square foot and the world’s most expensive home at $1 billion is also home to the dubious attribution often referred to as ‘the largest slum in the world‘.

The recent sweep of the top five categories at the 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards including the Best Picture of 2008, Slumdog Millionaire is a must see for all enrolled in GSB 563 (International Business Study Tour, Chindia trip) this year . It is presently showing 3 times a day at the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo. A heartwarming love story of an 18 year old orphan from the slums of Mumbai (hence ‘Slumdog’) who ends up winning the top prize on India’s ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ show. His journey to the grand prize is documented and includes suspicions raised by the game show host which end up inflicting inhuman torture by the law enforcement.

This film is highly recommended as a must-see to the GSB 563 students as it will provide a better understanding of what they will experience traveling through Mumbai. A few key queries they might want to explore via the movie and some on-line research questions are:

1. What are the reasons behind the unnaturally high population density at Dharavi?

2. What contributions to the Indian economy does this ‘largest slum in the world’ provide?

3. What has caused the Slumdog Millionaire to burst on to the movie scene in the US (1,000 additional screens opened within a week of screening at a modest 90+ screens in the US)?

What comes to mind when a not so well traveled, physically or mentally, American thinks of India? More than likely the soon-to-be most populous nation in the world, a third world nation, good command over spoken English albeit with an ‘Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Ph.D.’ accent, crazy motoring skills, cattle squatting in the middle of the busiest roads, the Taj Mahal and of course the technology niche constantly in the news.

What does a resident Indian think? Religion, cricket (should be included under religion), Bollywood, politics, holidays and festivals (24 Hinduism, 3 Sikhism, 1 Buddhism, 6 Islam, 3 Christian, 6 Jainism and 14 Zoroastrianism related as well as 7 national), terrorism (comparatively recently), mobile communication devices (and of course SMS), incomprehensible delays in traffic (primarily in larger cities), and of course the technology news amongst others.

As an aside, PBS launched what many are claiming to be the best documentary ever made on India last week in the US. In particular, check out the interactive photo gallery at their website to learn more.

Earlier today I went to see Slumdog Millionaire with my wife. Now this is why movies get made and I pay money to see them (after my last Nicholas Cage and Keanu Reaves movie theater experience I almost gave up going to movies).

If you want to maximize your India experience this summer, I can’t recommend this movie enough. It will help get you ready for some of what you will see (e.g., the poverty; child begging, Mumbai, the environment, class struggle, an early scene in the movie is centered on kids playing cricket - almost a religion in India, etc.) and help you better understand the why and some of the context behind said why. It is now playing at SLO’s beloved Palm Theater (link includes showing schedule).

What I loved about this movie is its reflection of Indian culture - the glass is half full, not empty. You can choose to have hope and a brighter future or you can choose to play the victim. It’s your choice. It also shows an India and emerging market on the move and one full of business opportunity for the hearty and peril for the unprepared. Click on the following link for this past week’s SLO New Times review of the movie.

Check it out for your next study break.