Guy Kawasaki, a famous entrepreneur and blogger notes a few points of observation during his trip to Mumbai.
Computer connectivity is very good. Furthermore, I was amazed that my Verizon phone worked without a hitch. EVDO did not work, but it was only because of the lack of a roaming agreement.
The food was fabulous. For example, I’ve had many a set-up day, pre-show, backstage meal, but nothing as good as what was at IBM’s conference the day before it opened. There was even a curry chef who would make curry to spec.
I loved Indian pricing strategy: for example, 10 rupees for residents and 300 rupees for tourists at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum.
I also appreciated the Indian carpet-sales strategy: “Come in and have a seat; I will get you some tea; let me show you a few carpets; we can fold these up so small that they will fit in your suitcase (and they really could have); these are made in Kashmir; everything is washable; they will not wear out; I’ll give you a special price…”
IBM India has 43,000 employees. The conference was very well run and attended. It felt like a TIE event in Silicon Valley except that the food at TIE events isn’t as good because TIE inexplicably usually serves American cuisine like rubberized chicken.
The place that most impressed me was Dhobi Ghat. This is an area where laundry workers wash and dry clothes. I can’t quite explain why it had such a profound effect on me. It was just surrealistic: bright colors in dark washing pens and flogging stones.
