Times are a changing

India is a country on the brink of something. Something big. Nobody knows whether it will be an IT/ knowledge economy driven economic boom that will lift India (and its 600 million people below the poverty line) into prosperity; or a bust driven by a massive population (1 billion!), high birthrate, and corruption.

At the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (an annual conference for non-resident Indians that draws thousands of Indians from around the globe) over the weekend, the former view was definitely favoured. Politicians and corporate leaders spoke beautifully about how everything is changing, the economy is booming, and how Indians abroad, successful in corporate America and Europe, can help lead the way forward for Indians still living here. Hmmm.

I hope so. The air is so thick with confidence in India right now.

Two organizations which really struck me as groundbreaking are

1) www.indicorps.org a group run by a super-cool bunch of youth that is devoted to building a mentality of service in overseas Indians. Ie spend a year abroad doing service for your country. There projects are awesome, and their volunteers genuinely good people. Check them out...

2) www.sristi.org the new face of Indian sustainability. Beautiful!

Among the other cool ideas I came across were a group of people devoted to using advanced molecular biology techniques to explore the effectiveness of Ayurvedic remedies. Tres cool.

That's it for me! Mumbai has succeeded in seducing me totally. What an amazing city. I guess I'm in the honeymoon period, but whatever. I intend to fully enjoy it! Hopefully the honeymoon lasts for the next 3 months!

t