Going back to Cali, Cali, Cali

In the words of LL Cool J, I’m going back to Cali, Cali, Cali. After having landed into Bombay on Oct 1, 2005 sadly my 6 month stint is coming to an end. However, since things are going so well on many fronts I’m heading back to Bombay in June for a longer term stay. Several weeks back I spent some time with my dad in Indore and we were joking about how most of his peers were trying to get to the US (brain drain) and now many of the kids are trying to get to India (brain gain). It’s been quite an adventure from a business and personal standpoint. I’ve learned so much about doing business in India and also had a chance to really get to know the city. From a business perspective, there is definitely a disconnect between what the press reports and how things get done. I know several people that are trying to do business and spend 2 weeks in India and then 6 weeks outside India. It sounds great on paper and probably meshes well with someone’s work/personal schedule. But, what I’ve realized is that if you really want to succeed you have to be on the ground in India full time. There is Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, it will. Then there is India’s Law – It WILL go wrong. Personally, it’s been one of the best times of my life. One of my cousins hooked me up with a social networking club called “Friday Club” – just as the name suggests people get together at a bar on Friday and mingle. I’ve meet some very cool people in Bombay from all walks of life and all parts of the globe. I didn’t get to spend as much time with my cousins from Pune, but did hang out much more with my Bombay cousins. It was really fun having friends and family coming to Bombay around Dec/Jan and being the tour guide for the city. I will admit, I can’t wait to get back to Redondo Beach and just chill at the beach, drive up PCH/Highway 1, chill at 217 and eat tons of Mexican food.