Monday, September 20, 2010
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Photo Recap!
Between my relaxing trip to Cali and being back to my hectic crazy Bangalorean life, I seem to have forgotten all about updating this little thing that I was once so addicted to only a few months ago. I blame it on Eva and Grace, really; they seem to have forgotten about their blogs too, which only made me feel more justified, but now no more laziness…(that goes for you two as well).
It’s hard to believe that I have only been back in India for 3 weeks. It’s flown by. But first…my trip home to California. Really fun and perfect and so much prettier than I remembered or appreciated in the past! I got to hang out with my mom during the weeks in San Jo and then party it up and do all of my favorite things in San Francisco on the weekend. (Note: It’s either “San Francisco” or “SF” not the “oh, damn cool, yaar, you live in ‘Frisco” like everyone says in India. I mean, have you ever heard a real San Franciscan call it that?). Anyway, here are the highlights:
It’s hard to believe that I have only been back in India for 3 weeks. It’s flown by. But first…my trip home to California. Really fun and perfect and so much prettier than I remembered or appreciated in the past! I got to hang out with my mom during the weeks in San Jo and then party it up and do all of my favorite things in San Francisco on the weekend. (Note: It’s either “San Francisco” or “SF” not the “oh, damn cool, yaar, you live in ‘Frisco” like everyone says in India. I mean, have you ever heard a real San Franciscan call it that?). Anyway, here are the highlights:
Dad with me and Rajni before a family party
The family
Grace and me at my favorite SF restaurant!
Sukie and me partying in SF
My Berkeley girls!
Resurrecting the Gold Puffy Jacket!
I left my heart in San Francisco!
Sustainably grown flowers...only in San Francisco!
The Banthia kids (note: one of them is now an internationally-renowned DJ) at Rajni's 30th birthday party! 
Stern Grove Festival!It was so great to be back that as soon as I reached India I immediately pinned down a date to come back home with my boss. Of course, what initially seemed like a positive conversation with him soon became a daily guilt trip and grumpy looks from across conference rooms. Honestly, though, I need to do what is right for me. And I know that coming back to US is right thing. Even if it means that I need to work harder than I have ever worked for the next 4 months.
So tickets are (almost) booked and I will be leaving on December 14, and after a quick stop in Dubai to visit my friend Prerna and chill at the Burj Al Arab like a true crorepati, I’ll be back to Cali on December 18 and just as soon off to LA and Oaxaca for the holidays. Unfortunately, that means that I am going to miss the Big Game yet again, but I don’t feel so bad because they tickets are all sold out anyway. And just as in past years, I will still wear my blue and gold and cheer my Bears on from a distance.
December’s soon enough that I am already getting excited to go back, but it’s still long enough that I feel that I can still accomplish a lot here at work and for fun. I still haven’t made it to Ooty, Mysore or Madurai…and the Himalayas are a dream, but may have to wait for the next trip out to India, if it’s not possible this time. That’s the cool thing, I guess. India will never really be over for me and I figure that in the course of my lifetime, if I am lucky I should be able to come out here at least 3-4 more times, meaning that I will still have opportunities to see so many of the amazing things out here. The Travel Channel has been running a series on India this week to commemorate Independence Day, and they have been showcasing some of the most breath-taking sights I have ever seen: the Valley of the Flowers in Uttaranchal, tea planations in Darjeeling, and so many of the beautiful palaces in Rajasthan.
It’s so surprising, really, when you think about it. India has so much natural and man-made beauty. It’s no doubt a stunning country, but at the same time, the people really truly bring it down for themselves in such a self-destructive and frustrating way that you walk away from all of this with such a feeling of waste. And that it is self-imposed is really the worst part. I’ll elaborate later, but most of you have been hearing me go on about corruption, hierarchy, lack of intelligence and integrity in India for months and know what I mean. It’s funny though when relatives or others give me that silly look and say something like wow, I must love India so much if I have been here for so long. But it’s not really that (though the food truly is damn good and it’s probably the one thing that Indians truly get right). I don’t love India and it’s not “my country”. Rather, it’s just that I always feel looking around me all the time that there is so much work to be done and so much to be improved, that I feel that I have to be here and I have to work on this stuff, and I like that feeling – it’s challenging and exciting. I guess that is my American arrogance that I think that mainstream India can’t solve its own problems, but I suppose that I do believe that. Anyway, I digress….
The big news for me has been my sparkly beautiful new apartment which I moved into two weeks ago and have been loving every blissful moment of since. It’s unfortunately far far away from downtown, but it is pristine and relaxing. So far I have it to myself but my new roommates Genni and Erica, both from Milan, Italy, are moving in with me next week. It’s been nice here alone, but I am looking forward to having them here and I am also hoping to learn some new authentic Italian dishes from them!
The other exciting thing is that I am involved in shooting a documentary film for work. Of course I am not doing any of the filming or photography, but I am managing the intern that is and I have been quite involved with writing the storyboards and even yelling “quiet on the set!” a few times during some interview filming in the field. I didn’t have a blow horn, which would have made it cooler, but at least now I can tell everyone that I was part of a film shooting in India! No need to mention that Hrithik and John couldn’t make it…
Other than that, I have been busy revising my Masters’ thesis for publication which is due next week. My Bollywood dance class and drawing class ended up being lame, so now I am on the lookout for some new ones, with no luck so far. And most significantly, I have searching for and applying to hot jobs in the microfinance industry in the US. If you know of anything, let me know!
A.B.
So tickets are (almost) booked and I will be leaving on December 14, and after a quick stop in Dubai to visit my friend Prerna and chill at the Burj Al Arab like a true crorepati, I’ll be back to Cali on December 18 and just as soon off to LA and Oaxaca for the holidays. Unfortunately, that means that I am going to miss the Big Game yet again, but I don’t feel so bad because they tickets are all sold out anyway. And just as in past years, I will still wear my blue and gold and cheer my Bears on from a distance.
December’s soon enough that I am already getting excited to go back, but it’s still long enough that I feel that I can still accomplish a lot here at work and for fun. I still haven’t made it to Ooty, Mysore or Madurai…and the Himalayas are a dream, but may have to wait for the next trip out to India, if it’s not possible this time. That’s the cool thing, I guess. India will never really be over for me and I figure that in the course of my lifetime, if I am lucky I should be able to come out here at least 3-4 more times, meaning that I will still have opportunities to see so many of the amazing things out here. The Travel Channel has been running a series on India this week to commemorate Independence Day, and they have been showcasing some of the most breath-taking sights I have ever seen: the Valley of the Flowers in Uttaranchal, tea planations in Darjeeling, and so many of the beautiful palaces in Rajasthan.
It’s so surprising, really, when you think about it. India has so much natural and man-made beauty. It’s no doubt a stunning country, but at the same time, the people really truly bring it down for themselves in such a self-destructive and frustrating way that you walk away from all of this with such a feeling of waste. And that it is self-imposed is really the worst part. I’ll elaborate later, but most of you have been hearing me go on about corruption, hierarchy, lack of intelligence and integrity in India for months and know what I mean. It’s funny though when relatives or others give me that silly look and say something like wow, I must love India so much if I have been here for so long. But it’s not really that (though the food truly is damn good and it’s probably the one thing that Indians truly get right). I don’t love India and it’s not “my country”. Rather, it’s just that I always feel looking around me all the time that there is so much work to be done and so much to be improved, that I feel that I have to be here and I have to work on this stuff, and I like that feeling – it’s challenging and exciting. I guess that is my American arrogance that I think that mainstream India can’t solve its own problems, but I suppose that I do believe that. Anyway, I digress….
The big news for me has been my sparkly beautiful new apartment which I moved into two weeks ago and have been loving every blissful moment of since. It’s unfortunately far far away from downtown, but it is pristine and relaxing. So far I have it to myself but my new roommates Genni and Erica, both from Milan, Italy, are moving in with me next week. It’s been nice here alone, but I am looking forward to having them here and I am also hoping to learn some new authentic Italian dishes from them!
The other exciting thing is that I am involved in shooting a documentary film for work. Of course I am not doing any of the filming or photography, but I am managing the intern that is and I have been quite involved with writing the storyboards and even yelling “quiet on the set!” a few times during some interview filming in the field. I didn’t have a blow horn, which would have made it cooler, but at least now I can tell everyone that I was part of a film shooting in India! No need to mention that Hrithik and John couldn’t make it…
Other than that, I have been busy revising my Masters’ thesis for publication which is due next week. My Bollywood dance class and drawing class ended up being lame, so now I am on the lookout for some new ones, with no luck so far. And most significantly, I have searching for and applying to hot jobs in the microfinance industry in the US. If you know of anything, let me know!
A.B.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Coming to America!
Internet at last!
I am in Singapore right now on a stopover from Bangalore and am enjoying the first Internet in a week. Forget about Bangalore being the IT capital of India...that is a pathetic nickname given the fact that not only has my Internet at my house been done for a week, but yesterday our work computers shut down for no apparent reason for an entire afternoon, sucking away my hopes of finishing the piles of work that I wanted to get done before leaving. Ugh.
I think that this access now to Internet is a good sign. I feel that I am inching closer and closer to Western civilization. This airport is great, clean, organized and thankfully (unlike in Bangalore, quite often) the signs are at least partially in English. I am feeling some culture shock (as I anticipated to some extent).
Everyone talked about the shopping here. I don't really want to buy anything, but I am enjoying browsing. I am quite amazed at the variety of beautiful, sparkly, brightly-colored packaging and products...I am not used to such choices after being in India for so long. I am salivating and dreaming of my first visits to Trader Joes, Oakridge Mall, and even Safeway. Really, you don't understand the luxury of those things until you live in a developing country.
Well, I better run to catch my next flight. See you all in Cali soon!
A.B.
I am in Singapore right now on a stopover from Bangalore and am enjoying the first Internet in a week. Forget about Bangalore being the IT capital of India...that is a pathetic nickname given the fact that not only has my Internet at my house been done for a week, but yesterday our work computers shut down for no apparent reason for an entire afternoon, sucking away my hopes of finishing the piles of work that I wanted to get done before leaving. Ugh.
I think that this access now to Internet is a good sign. I feel that I am inching closer and closer to Western civilization. This airport is great, clean, organized and thankfully (unlike in Bangalore, quite often) the signs are at least partially in English. I am feeling some culture shock (as I anticipated to some extent).
Everyone talked about the shopping here. I don't really want to buy anything, but I am enjoying browsing. I am quite amazed at the variety of beautiful, sparkly, brightly-colored packaging and products...I am not used to such choices after being in India for so long. I am salivating and dreaming of my first visits to Trader Joes, Oakridge Mall, and even Safeway. Really, you don't understand the luxury of those things until you live in a developing country.
Well, I better run to catch my next flight. See you all in Cali soon!
A.B.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Housing Loans Disbursed!
This Friday, June 1st, we disbursed our first housing loans! We disbursed 4 loans - 2 House Improvement Loans and 2 Lease Amount Loans - totalling Rs. 96,000. We are now officially the first Indian MFI to offer rental and lease loans, and one of the few to offer house improvement loans in urban areas. Check out some pictures from the disbursement and launch celebration!
Click here to read more about the launch.
News article from India's Economic Times, 6 June 2007
Anjali disbursing a House Improvement Loan to customer Mahalakshmi
Anjali disbursing a House Improvement Loan to customer Padma
A.B.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
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