Yamuna Sunset and Other Tidbits
Monday, April 23, 2007
Alright, I know you've been waiting at the edge of your seats. I finally have a moment to post a few more pictures (and commentary, of course) from the India trip. Without further adieu...
If you're lucky enough to find yourself in Agra at the Taj Mahal around 5:30pm local time, you're in for a treat. The above image was taken from the second level of the Taj. In the distance you can see the far dome of the adjacent mosque, and behind that the sun beginning to set behind the Yamuna River. Its pretty stunning.
And there's proof that I was ACTUALLY there. Enough of that.
On the trip from Delhi to Agra, we got...um...lost, I think would be the quickest way to explain it. Ronson and I discussed ad nauseum how difficult it would be to capture the....um....drama of the event in words. I've decided to simply say that I'm usually recklessly adventurous and have a tendency to take myself right to the edge of mortality when travelling to new and exciting places, and in spite of this fact, I was uncomfortable. Like, visibly shaken. To the point where the significantly
In fact, we were so petrified, the only picture either of us had the presence of mind to snap seems to sum it up rather well. You'll notice, the picture below is a cart of....er.....eh.....um......dung, I think. Interpret it as you will :-)
At any rate, after the Taj, we were
There's alot more drama, but I don't have the mental capacity to believe the things we experienced, let alone properly document them without supporting pictures to convince you. And I'm not just being dramatic (I know I have that habit from time to time :-). As mentioned previously, we were a little too anxious to think about photography. Next time, I'll bring Xanax and an extra wide zoom lense.
The next day we made our way into Delhi to do a bit of shopping in the inner circle of Connaught Place. Not alot of pictures to take, but we did manage to get a snap of the Indian version of a large SUV (think Ford Expedition or GMC Denali).
I'm only kidding of course. But overall, the cars there are microscopic when compared to the ugly hogs we love so dearly in North America.
Well, that's basically my trip to India. It was incredible. I learned alot, ate alot of great food, and experienced things I could never have anticipated. I also met alot of really great people who I'll have the pleasure of working with pretty frequently over the next 9-12 months. Who knows, I may even finagle another trip before its all said and done. With that, I'll sign off on the India trip by posting a picture of some of the coolest folks around. From L to R: Divya J., Sanjeet G., Amit A., me, Ronson, Sunil D. (SD), and Sunil K. (SK).
Photo Credits : Ronson Mahla :-P
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 8:57 AM,
For Lasi...
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Okay, I've received a request to make it so the first thing you see on this blog isn't my camel. So, until I get a free minute to post details and other pics from our trip to the Taj Mahal (and the rest of the journey, plus anything that's happened since coming home) here's a teaser I took.
posted by Dustin @ 5:16 PM,
Tandoori and Other Things of Interest...
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
First, I promise I took the above picture, and without any zoom...as opposed to finding it somewhere on the web. Second, I swear the camel was about to spit on me. But how memorable would that have been?!
Right next to our restaurant, the most lively (not to mention well lit) engagement party was trucking along. I couldn't get the whole scope of the party in one shot, but the pic below gives you an idea of the lighting and how over the top the party could have been.
The restaurant is called Pind Balluchi, and was designed by a Bollywood set designer. It is authentic Punjabi food, and the tandoori was incredible. More importantly, it was another chance to break bread with our Indian colleagues and continue building on our new relationships. These people are incredibly fun to be around. Anyway, the picture below is last night's crew. From L to R: Sunil Moorjani, myself, Vikrant (Vik) Bhatnagar, Sunil (SD) Duggal, Ashok Mishra, Ronson Mahla (my PM), and Sunil (SK) Koloti.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 10:35 PM,
As Promised...
In an earlier post, I mentioned that I'd discuss a recruitment task that might have most of us in North America failing if charged. Upon further reflection, I think that language was too strong. I'd say we can get pretty scrappy in the US, and we have a tendency to find a way to pull off the miraculous. So, we'd find a way to make the following effort work, but there would definitely be some sweat involved. Without further adeu.......
5000 Candidates...
15 Recruiting Staff...
Four 20 Hour Days...
+/-100 Letters of Intent...
One of our segments in India holds these recruiting fairs several times throughout the year. In a few days' time, they present Hewitt's corporate culture, screen, assess, interview, shortlist, inteview, and make offers from a pool of thousands.
They start around 6am each day and finish around 2am the following morning. When I say "assess", I mean personally administer and score paper assessments on the spot.
And at the end of it all, they've whittled 5000 candidates down to about 100 qualified candidates, and post that final list in the hall for all to see.
Anyway, it made me sweat a little just to hear about. One of the most interesting aspects.......aside from the time spent by the recruiting staff, these events are totally free of charge. Yikes!
Labels: All Posts, General Bullshit, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 8:41 PM,
One Last Thing For Today
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
A good friend mentioned some of my previous posts pointed out only things that could be perceived as negative about this awesome country. To be clear, I've pointed out things that were a surprise to me (i.e. traffic, wealth/poverty extremes, etc.). Also to clarify, I'm loving this place and wish so very much that I had more than a week to explore! We're going to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Thursday afternoon and shopping till we drop in Delhi proper on Friday. I'm psyched.
Ok, good night then :-)
posted by Dustin @ 12:14 PM,
Images From Today...
So, as I've previously mentioned, the traffic cop in the photo above does little to make transit anything less than completely terrifying, so long as one chooses not to close their eyes through an entire road journey. Our driver told me the opt for traffic police because they are significantly cheaper than installing traffic lights. Anyway, as the photo below suggests, the drivers here clearly do as they see fit, with little regard to the police. And that's our loyal driver Sanjeev in the mirror. He rocks.
Alright, for all you Hewitt folks. Here's the facade of one of our buildings here. And the photo below is the enterior of the floor you reach most of the time when you dial x14000. And yes, those are the people you speak to....and the pictures of their beautiful children....so be kind and be patient. They're annoyed with YOUR funny accent, too!
The picture below is me, Sunil Koloti, and Ashok Mishra, from TDC Recruiting. I don't look the greatest, but whatever. And don't look so happy guys. I promise, today's meetings were good!!
Coming up next.......a terrifying look at how most of us in North America would probably fail if we were tasked to recruit in India; probably not interesting for you non-Hewitt folks....but its all about me here, so pretend you like it.
Oh yeah, and here's cows in the road.
posted by Dustin @ 11:46 AM,
Dichotomic Perspective....
I'll post some pictures from the office and other things we've seen today, but first I wanted to devote a few lines to an interesting realization I've had.
Three days into my trip, India (at least Delhi) seems be a very graphic study in contrasts. I've posted several pictures of the opulent palace we're calling home. But immediately on the other side of the hotel gate, you're instanly greeted by a level of poverty with which most Americans aren't generally familiar.
I took the above picture about twenty yards from our office. This is one of many tents that constitute one of many makeshift villages in the area. I'm not the best photographer, and the car was moving (in crazy traffic, see my earlier note), so I only got the one. But the concept is clear. What makes this interesting, is what you would see if you stood in this tent and looked across the street (see the picture below).
In another example, a tent village (see below) is setup directly underneath an overpass of the state highway that is a half mile from our hotel (see below, below).
Anyway, I'm not trying to be a drag, but realization of the two worlds that occupy this same space helps one understand why it is such a big deal when I pay our young cab driver the equivalent of $40, only to later find out that 1)payment wasn't expected and 2)that dollar amount is more than the Indian government provides in monthly unemployment for those who qualify.
Something to think about. I'll post more cheery pictures in a bit.
posted by Dustin @ 8:19 AM,
Moo.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Ok, so I didn't take this exact picture, because I forgot to bring my camera with me to the office today. But this is pretty dadgum representative of some of the things we've seen today. And I saw a dead dog. Just laying there. And everyone walked over it.
Then, there's the traffic. There's really no way to properly describe the traffic, except to say there are absolutely no (enforced) rules, and every trip I've taken so far as made me cry out to an unnamed god at least once or twice.
I promise, I'll bring my camera tomorrow and get some interesting shots. In the meantime, its 95 degrees outside without a cloud in the sky, and the badass hotel has a badass pool (see below) that is crying out for me.
Tschüs.
posted by Dustin @ 7:37 AM,
Okay, a Few More...
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Yeah, they're from the hotel. We did venture out tonight for dinner, but the hotel entry looked so incredible when we got back that I had to take a few snaps. Anyway, here you go...
posted by Dustin @ 12:42 PM,
More Hotel Pictures...
Okay, so I promise I'll actually get out of the hotel sometime during this trip and take some actual photos of Delhi...but in the meantime, here are a few more shots of this rocking hotel...Click on the photo if you want to see it in fuller resolution...
posted by Dustin @ 5:02 AM,
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