TVS Motors

Day 3- Wednesday, December 20

I guess the first issue that needs to be discussed is that we have yet to receive our luggage. Apparently, the problem at Heathrow was much worse than any of us expected. Apparently 15,000 bags didn’t get to their owners that day. I’m not expecting our baggage anytime soon. Luckily the wife of a TVS-M employee works for British Airlines and because of that we were given 60 dollar stipends for every 2 days without clothes. The problem with getting the stipend is that we had to go to the customer service desk at the Bangalore airport. The issue was exacerbated by the fact that the customer service desk is located past security. How do you get past security in India? You offer to buy the thirsty security worker a drink. DUH. That’s right folks, our faculty advisor got past security buy buying the security guard a coke. Top notch security at the airport. With British Airways stipend and TVS-M per diem in hand I am heading to the mall to buy some clothes tonight. I went Monday night to buy a polo shirt and some different underwear since I had been wearing my Show Your Wits t-shirt, Patagonia hoodie and the same pair of underwear since Saturday.

We started work yesterday and like the rest of the country TVS-M is a contradiction. It is a leading motorcycle, scooter, moped manufacturer yet the computers we use are from 1998. The internet is as slow as dial-up. The company produces an incredible amount of motorcycles in facilities that look like they haven’t been updated since 1976. Indian students work so hard in America but the management of the company seems to just go alone at a slow pace. I feel like the project could be finished in 3 days if we worked hard. Instead we take tea twice-a-day and 45 minutes for lunch. Don’t confuse this with complaining because the less work I have to do, the better. The project that Bob and I are working on is really interesting because it is business planning from the top. We get the best overview of the company and are privy to incredible amounts of confidential information. In fact, our mentor keeps getting chewed out for giving us information. I have already set up a meeting with Honda when I get back to the US. PSYCH.

Indians are some of the tiniest people I have ever seen. It is incredible. Full grown adults look like kids. Its interesting because I think the tiniest set of people are one caste of people. Yes, the caste system is in full force in Indian, and what is so intriguing is that it is religion based. Different castes worship different gods, but I digress. I feel like these little people might be mistaken for kids by hippies (like the idiots fasting at Purdue) in America set on ending sweat shops (fat chance). Think about it, what if these “kids” are actually little adults.

The packs of dogs that roam the streets of Bangalore (don’t forget tech center of India) are the most docile animals. Not only do these dogs not bark, they do not fight with other dogs, they avoid humans, and just hang out and watch the world go buy. The cows (remember, most progressive city in India) are the same way. They just stand around. I don’t think they belong to anybody either. They aren’t milking cows and Indians don’t eat beef, so I don’t really understand what the city cows are for.

I have gotten pretty good at walking along the road (remember, no sidewalks) as rickshaws and cars go screaming past (remember, no lane lines). I don’t even think about it anymore. Talk about assimilation.

Song Recommendation: September When It Comes by Rosanne Cash