Purim

I celebrated Purim and heard the Megillah at the Chabbad house in Mumbai. A speedy Megillah reading, was followed by a magician that played with fire, noshes and homentashin, a Fiddler on the Roof (me!), and a raffle.

There were almost 50 people there by dinner time. I won a picture frame in the raffle. Hmm.. it will be hard to choose one of the hundreds of pictures that I've taken here so far! I hope to upload more pictures for everyone to see soon, on my website: www.yoshistyle.com

The Human Machine

I heard what sounded like a small army responding to a drill sergant in unison...

"Hiya," one voice rang. "HO!" Dozens responded.
"Hiye!" one voice rang. "Heya! They responded.

...to actually find 37 men all tugging on a taut rope that wrapped around large cable lines the dozens of men were heaving into the ground.

The lack of machinery is made up by sheer man power.

Quick India Jew Facts

Did you know: There's a bit more than 5,000 Jews living in India?

* Around 3,500 of those Yehudim are residing in Mumbai (once known as Bombay)
* There are 10 Synagogues in Mumbai (3-4 are still highly active)
* This year, 10,000 Shmur Matzot were baked and distributed to the local Bene-Israel (Indian) Jews.
* The Bene-Israel Indian Jews have been in India since before the 2nd Temple was destroyed. Their common language is Mahrati.
* The JCC in Mumbai teaches Hebrew classes weekly.
* Chabbad is active in Mumbai (and provides free kosher meals for travelers every night) - yes, KOSHER chicken in INDIA!
* GOA, a small tourist hot spot on the West Coast of India, is notorious for Israeli vacationers just getting out of the army. There's even a few towns where you can communicate more easily with others in Hebrew, rather than English or Hindi.
* India has 12 official languages, English not being one of them. Though most locals in North India speak Hindi, English is often used as the common language.
* India has the 3rd largest English speaking population in the world at around 150,000,000 people (which is about 10% of their population, or HALF the United States).
* South Indians don't speak Hindi, so North Indians are considered foreigners in South India.

Sleeping Amenities

1 AM at the Downtown Train station:

I traveled on the last train into Churchgate (downtown) station last night. As I exited the train, several guards boarded to make sure there was no one trying to spend the night on the train.

One ragged man who was lying in one train car, was poked with a stick and scurred off like a dog, and chased out of the station.

I continued walking down the landing to find about 20 men in train-uniforms all sleeping on the floor by the ticket booth. I'm guessing these men would be driving trains first thing in the morning and the floor of the ticket booth is the train employees "overnight amenities."

Heading towards my destination, I had to climb over another 50 or so women and men sleeping in front of the train station enterance.

Blink of an Eye

Walking down the street past sunset. Smelling the aroma of Indian spices and sewage drifting past my nose. The sound of blaring taxi horns, and traffic ward whistles. The sight of hundreds walking through the market collecting their weekly rations.

Splat!

The man in front of me is covered with egg shells and flour that fell from a resturaunt that rest atop a 6 story building standing next to us. After a few brief shouts of disbelief, the man shrugs his shoulders and is on his way. The whole incident lasts no more than several seconds.

If I had been facing the other way, or looking another direction, I may not have seen what happened at all. Don't blink your eye in India - or you may miss out on everything.

The Essance of Leadership

Over the past month, I have had the opportunity to visit almost a dozen universities in Mumbai. Each one carries a slightly unique creed and approach to groom their students. Some are hands on. Others are by the book. Through my interactions with successful business people and students alike, this blog paraphases one aspect of the values in management leadership:

Management is a fluid artform. An artform whose true integrity is tested at its highest point of vulnerability; sustaining motivation at times of diversity.

Every artform has values. Values which create the structure for a strong foundation.

A leader must find people who are strong enough to build such a foundation. And when the right foundation cannot be built, a leader must foster tolerance for risk and behavior that deviates from their own objectives without loosing focus on the original intended value system.

Progress is about change. Leadership is about creating a worthy dream, then helping others achieve that dream.

Tell Me!

I've never been to England, but here's a few common phrases I've experienced in India so far:

We Say: Indians Say:
No problem = No probs!
What's up? = Tell me!
Let's go = Make a move!
Restroom = Loo / Toliet

I'm not sure what it is about my accent, but it seems that whenever I need to use the toliet the most, they'll never understand what I'm asking for!

Relative Numbers

Last week, I attended a graduation ceremony for KC School of management. The honors students were called up, and the head of the class approached the podium to receive her honorary diploma with the highest marks in the class at 78%. Yes, Seventy Eight Percent!

I was surprised to find out that the grading system is still based out of 100% - but it's on a different scale. Anything above 70% is an extremely high achievement. A great mark would be 65-69%. Passing is 35%. Go figure. I guess the value of numbers change a bit when you travel half way around the world. :)

In The Breeze

I got to drive a motorcycle for the first time - it was an awesome experience riding a 2-wheeler past palm trees on the open road, passing elephants and villagers as the sun set and sizzled on the Arabian Sea.

Genuine Taj

Top Floor of the Taj Mahal Hotel. Quiet. The rustle of the street dies down outside. It's 1:00 AM as the city begins to sizzle to sleep.

I haven't heard a stillness like this since before arriving in India. It reminds me of the silence of the hall of a University during Spring Break combined with the deeps caverns of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Taj Hotel has this feeling; a combination of a place of business with the majestic atmosphere of a magical kingdom.

Just outside, stands the Gateway of India. A magnificent structure calling out to the bay of the Arabian Sea. As the sun rises across the Western Globe, the intoxicating vigor of Mumbai lays rest for a few short hours. The sidewalks become sleepwalks. The trains settle in their yards.

Through the thick haze of multiculturalism, my wandering mind can at least take some identity in a sea of yearning struggle. There are so many people. Genuine people. Genuine workers. Genuine businessmen. Genuine healers. Genuine liars. Genuine beggars. Genuine friendships. Genuine meaning. Genuine intentions. Genuine hard workers. Genuine Indians.

Navel Pizza

I was getting hungry, and stopped in a local food joint in the capital of Goa, and asked,
"Can I have a simple Tomato-pizza?"
"Simple Potatoe. sure. sure."
"No, plain. Plain pizza."
"Ah! Tomato! yes, no probs."

Not worrying about what I actually might get on my pizza for the moment, at sat down and browsed a brochure of the Navel Academy. It was located in Goa.

Curious as to where it was located, I approached the counter and asked the pizza guy, "Do you know where the Navel Academy is?"
"Yes!" He responded enthusiastically. A little surprised, I was hopefully anticipating that it would be close by, however my thoughts were cut short when he continued his response, "Yes! Yes! Your pizza IS ready, sir!"

oy. Tomato-Potato :: Navel Academy-Pizza :: I guess those words sound the same when you don't speak the same language.

GOA

12 hours on a train, and a short van ride to the shoreline property of Calangute; a small town located in Goa. (The Discovery Channel has listed Goa as one of the top 20 romantic destinations in the world).

Even though I will only be here for a few days, I already have a sense of the intoxicating escape the lands of Goa provide as a haven to foreign travelers.

Being out of the city of Mumbai gives a whole new perspective and depth to my impressions of the vast country of India. As elephants trod down the side of the road, the locals and tourists charge the fresh air of Goa with an enticing aroma.

Vegee-Tables

Shiu Sagar Resturaunt

A vegiterian eatery that serves Indian and Mexican food. I was a little afraid to try the Mexican food, just because I wasn't sure what I might really be ordering. Glancing down the Indian menu there was a list of around 30 different items. No shortage of choices, however, high shortage of understanding.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Vegta-bul."
"I see. These 30 items are all vegetables, right."
"Hah. [yes]"
"Which vegetable is this?"
"It's a vegee-ta-bul."
"I see. Which one."
"Which what?"
"Which vegetable?"
"Hah."
"What hah?"
"Which veg-tabul wood you lick?"
"This one."