It’s been nearly two years since I last visited India [an unusually long gap for me], and seven years since I last spent an entire month there. That is what I plan to do this time, spend the entire month of October in India. My calendar is already filling up with more meetings and travel than a typical work month in the US. Besides for the obligatory visits with relatives, I’ll be attending a course on Venture Capital at the Indian School of Business. Hyderabad based ISB has emerged as India’s world class business school, on par with the top management institutes in the United States and Europe. I know most people would never think of taking a class at a business school while on vacation, but I’m really looking forward to this. It should be fun.
I’ll also be visiting as many startups and early stage companies as possible during this trip. A lot of people would argue that India is in the middle of an economic bubble on the magnitude of the American internet bubble of a decade ago. While that may be true on a certain level, there is a fundamental change underway, led by the rise of the entrepreneurial sprit amongst India’s youngest citizens. These are the people who see the possibilities of the future, and aren’t beholden by the caustic Nehruvian Socialism that plagued India for half a century [Could anyone have imagined taking a course on Venture Capital in India a decade ago?!]. India is changing at an elemental level, and the best way to see that is to observe the real elements of change first hand.
We are also exploring the possibility of moving to India. It has been a long term plan for us, and the timing seems right to seriously consider a move. This will certainly add an additional wrinkle to the trip.
I’ll be blogging extensively throughout the trip, and if I get gallery module to work correctly on WordPress, uploading tons of pictures of the adventure.
…stay tuned…
nitin badjatia 