Visit to Bhubaneshwar

Bhubaneswar was first off, a nice and pleasant surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting, Orissa, so bias and all I guess, but to see this nicely laid out, not too crowded, clean and green city was nice. In fact in the airport itself when I asked this guy on advise to decide if I wanted to do office directly or hotel first, it was so nice to hear him say, in Bhubaneshwar, anywhere to anywhere is not more than 15 to 20 minutes. Slight exaggeration I found that, but it was still a nice start.

And then the clean and green just added to it. Wide roads, orderly traffic, was pretty. Apparently, Bhubaneshwar is as planned a city as Chandigarh, and is very similar in style too. Also designed by Charles Correa.

Work was kind of overwhelming. Too much for such a short trip. And I met two really interesting potential entrepreneurs for the fund.

Jeevan, works in Kandhamal district on a project on Sal Leaf plate making, He is helping a whole bunch of village women in the process of collecting and stitching together leaf plates to make products of a high enough quality to be exported to Germany. He has tied up with the German company and now wants Solar light for their homes and work areas to enable higher productivity and quality.

And I had an almost fell off the chair in surprise moment, when Jeevan, introduces his daughter. He’s called her Google.........she’s Arona Google. Really inspired guys I must say.

And then there's Karunakar, who came from Koraput, who talks to me for twenty minutes non stop and then says, "Madam, I show you a presentation. But this is not business madam......This is my dream. You have to understand my dream and then if you can help me madam". He called it EDO...everyday one. He wants to sell one solar system a day, and change the way people in rural Orissa live. Was touching.

That's Chandan, Karunakar, Sanjay, Arun, and Jeevan at our office in Bhubaneshwar

The visit was mostly work, but I managed one temple, Lingraj Mandir, one of the oldest in Bhubaneshwar. Did it at 6 in the morning....actually I'll do another post on that, as it was a unique and surreal experience. 

                                  

I also did an authentic culinary experience. I was trying to be sportive and agreed to a fish thali, but was I in for a surprise when it came like this:

Call me a hypocrite, but I'm used to doing pieces without the head and tail attached. Yet, I tried. I'm struggling with it, and when I ask how to do it because it was so full of fine fish bones, Biswal is like, 'bade khante aise nikaaldijiye, and ye jho chote chote hain, woh chalega'. ( remove the big ones, but the little ones you eat). I was amazed, but I tried......it was tough, Guess I was so scared of them, that they just kept getting stuck everywhere in my mouth, and they were like, next time training dhenge aapko.

Sagar said he had to get a picture of my plate after I was done because no one eats fish like that..very sad that was. :(

Orissa again (as in..like Bihar) has so much history; one word that just catches your attention is Kalinga. It’s everywhere. And Biswal was suggesting I go visit the Shanthi Stupa at Kalinga where Ashoka took to Buddhism after the battle of Kalinga. Would have loved to do that, but this trip was too tightly scheduled. Inshaallah another one.

My sixth, I think, singularly novel and scintillating trip through SELCO (leaving out the Delhi, Mumbai and Goa kinds). Back then, in my whispers to god, my thoughts were ....... Social Sector, Rural India or Education, and God heard it so right. Ever Grateful.