Bangalore Update

Sunday was an interesting day. After doing a fair amount of work on the Saturday I decided to do the tourist thing on Sunday. There was a day trip from the hotel into Bangalore and despite getting stranded for an hour or so in the King’s stables in the presidential palace (true), it was a good day out. We visited a Hindu temple, barefoot, a run-down palace (even worse than our own in Pau J) with 170 horses, and the main shopping district of Bangalore. In the palace I even managed to get within about 20 metres of the king was who having an afternoon nap. I reassured the tour guide that after living with Sandie for 10 years I was pretty good at being quiet so as not to wake people. My overall impression of Bangalore is people, people, people, pollution, dust and smog. That said the people really are very friendly – even after I managed to negotiate a 50% discount on an article that I really didn’t need or want. He was a very nice shopkeeper and it was without doubt the most enjoyable 25 eurocents I have ever spent.

I’ve now completed my first couple of days with the “Information Management” team here in Bangalore. This is basically the offshore engine and the guys who I have been speaking with on the phone for the last 7 weeks since I joined Wipro. It’s great to meet them and they are a really good bunch of guys – I think I am going to enjoy working with them a lot. I’ve also been able to get a good deal of time with the global head of IM for Wipro and we even had lunch together today. Another impressive guy who clearly has his head screwed on right. Another thing that really impressed me was the comprehensive and consolidated way in which they have pooled all of their assets, solutions and R&D – they have a dedicated lab environment will all the assets and demos installed just waiting for the client to be wheeled in. Professionally I am beginning to feel more relaxed about having made the right choice, now we just need to sort out the “brand in Europe” issue and then I think it’s going to be a fun ride.

Although I have been in India for 10 days, it only now feels like I’m now working – last week locked in a room with 30 other middle aged white Europeans, Americans and Australians didn’t really feel like it was the “real Indian deal”. It wasn’t, even if it was quite good fun. Now I’m talking with Indians, eating Indian and even wiggling my head like an Indian every now and again. The Wipro campus is also large and pleasant – a cross between Thames Valley Park in Reading and a US university campus. It’s very green although a few of the buildings could do with a new lick of paint. There is Indian music playing constantly in the lifts and the melodic tones are only interrupted by the voice of an Indian woman declaring that we have arrived at the second floor. There are also a large number of restaurants and coffee shops all over the place and the good news is that I have found one that sells a perfectly acceptable chocolate cake! I also made sure that I took a trip 90 minutes round trip across town to say hello to the Europe Travel Team – even though I only spoke to Nishad, Vinod and Stanley for 10 minutes, I am guessing that it will have been time very well spent given how complicated my travel plans tend to be!

Today is another day full of meetings and I should be going out with a few of the lads who look after our Telco, Media and High Tech clients today. I’m looking forward to that. Theoretically I’m into my last 3 days here but my boss said on Monday that he might want me to stay on for a meeting with Gartner next Tuesday. They will be giving us our annual feedback based on their conversations with our clients so that would certainly be very interesting even though I’m keen to get home. We’ll see how that one works out over the next day or so.