I am going to be leaving Mumbai (Bombay) soon. I just wanted to say thanks to all those who made my stay pleasant and enjoyable. I enjoyed meeting all of you and the conversations we engaged in. I look forward to my trip back to India.

A colleague emailed me asking me about my open times to meet with him…After checking my calendar, I realized that I have a fairly hectic travel schedule coming up…Here are a few destinations coming up… After April 12, I will be in Seattle for a bit…before heading out again…

I will be giving a talk on building sustainable innovation programs at Aberystwyth University (http://www.aber.ac.uk) on February 20th. My talk will take place at the School of Management & Business (see http://www.aber.ac.uk/smba/en/) and my host is Dr. Sajjad M. Jasimuddin.

I am getting ready for the next destination: London, England (actually, after India, will be back in Seattle for a bit, then will head down to Monterey, California for a meeting at the Naval Postgraduate School…then will fly off to London). While in London, I will be staying close to the South Bank of the Thames near to the Globe Theatre and behind the Tate Modern. I will be living in England from mid-Feb through mid-April. During this time, I will make several trips back and forth to the US for work-related meetings and conferences.

I look forward to meeting my new colleagues at the Center for International Studies (see http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CIS/)

I am continuing to enjoy my stay in Mumbai, India. So far, I have had a chance to meet with several executives, professors, and even students. Here are five quick thoughts:
(1) the innovative forces in India are being mobilized at an ever-increasing speed…
(2) India, may be its own worst enemy, if it does not come up with plans to deal with the influx of population, the large disparities in income, and also improvements to the public infrastructure…
(3) the Universities and Colleges here are second to none…what is even more interesting, is the fact that most students want to stay and work in India (rather than the historic trend of going abroad…see…LINK)
(4) there is increasing hope that the relationship between New Delhi (India) and Beijing (China) will improve…leading to greater economic cooperation between the two fastest growing economies…
(5) the food is excellent, the people are nice, and weather during the month of January is excellent…

The date for my talk at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research has been re-scheduled for January 25. The talk will take place from 4 PM – 5.30 PM.

Day 3 in Mumbai: So far, my trip has been excellent. I have had time to catch up with 7 cousins, 2 uncles, 3 aunts…In addition, yesterday I did head out and roam around Bandra and also managed to catch a movie…Today, I am at my cousin’s place resting and relaxing…

Mumbai has certainly gotten a lot more congested and crowded…Traffic is a real pain...While there have been large-scale revitalization efforts all around the city, many of the inside roads and small shops are still around…I was able to find my way to my grandparents house, without a map or directions, even though I have not been here for 14 years…was even able to find my way to my aunt’s place in Kalina on my own…

Here are some pictures from Mumbai…mainly from areas such as Churchgate, Nariman Point, Colaba, Marine Lines, etc…