Innovations in India

Innovations in India

During the symposium we had the chance to listen to many talks and discussions about innovations and also heard stories from innovators themselves. With this knowledge we then went for our travel together in the North of India.

While travelling we could see a lot of small innovations on the way. We took photos of them and have thereby documented our observations. They are uploaded on picasa. You find short descriptions of each innovation as well.

Most of the innovations which we observed were business innovations. At the same time the innovators were mainly not big leaders of companies and the innovations were not world-changing innovations but rather local innovations made by people from the middle class or below. Often people even had a low level of formal education but they still showed a lot of entrepreneurship in their innovations of business strategies and models. This correlated to what Mr. Anil Gupta said during his presentation at the symposium. He also stressed that most of the innovations are not made by big company bosses but rather by the small people - people in rural India are particularly innovative. We could see this during our journey. As Mr. Anil Gupta said, the difficult living circumstances - in our cases mainly the low level of income - even forces people to be innovative.

During the symposium we also talked extensively about drivers of innovations. In many cases, which we saw on our journey, the main driver was the need to make money and the lack of other resources. That is why most of the observed innovations were business innovations. Some were connected to the development of new marketing strategies that are specifically targeted at the costumer’s needs, interest and culture (e.g. the water basin for presenting waterproof watches on a market or the way the silk shops in Varanasi were structured). Others also modified the product itself to meet the costumer’s need (e.g. selling petrol in 1 liter bottles for tourists along the roads in Goa).

There were also a number of innovations which focused on the transition from traditional way of living to modern way of life while using aspects of the traditional way of life for tourism purposes (e.g. for the camel tours in Jaisalmer, the elephant taxis in Jaipur or the boat cruises on the Ganga river). We could also see other adaptations to tourism in many places e.g. through different prices for tourists and locals, through places to buy drinks in historical monuments and special open buses to take tourists to the Taj Mahal thereby avoiding too much traffic through auto-rickshaws and taxis.

Generally, many of the innovations were not entirely new but rather adaptations of other innovations, objects or methods to make them more efficient in the respective environment. Examples for that are the auto-rickshaws as well as the construction of trains (with the foldable beds for sleeping as well as chains to look your luggage under your beds to avoid theft) and even buses. The Indian semi-sleeper buses with extremely far reclinable seats and a special place to put your legs up, which are far more comfortable than for example German buses, are perfectly adjusted to a country as India where long night bus journey are very common.

So the aspect of innovations to fit perfectly and develop simultaneously with the changing environment is something we could observe through many examples during our journey.

In the following, we will give a little more detailed description of 6 innovations, which we observed during our journey through India:

 

Innovation I --------- Eating with right hand

When I come to India, the first thing that makes me very curious is how they could eat with their hand. I have heard about that, but never seen it before. During my stay in India, I get the chance to experience it. Indians always use their right hand to eat, maybe because they think left hand is dirty. More interestingly, there is some certain method to eat with right hand.

If you try traditional food in India, you could see all the food is located on a clean and big lotus. There are several piles of food on the lotus, and most of them are mashed vegetables and meat with sauces. Of course there is some staple food on the lotus, like rice. People mix and knead the rice with the mashed vegetables and meat together, then use right hand to send the food in the mouth. But if you just grasp your food, you can’t send food to your mouth fully. If you don’t believe this, you could try at home. So while sending the food, one important thing is to use the back of the thumb. The tips of your fingers are pointing your mouth, and just use the back of the right thumb to move the food into your mouth. How brilliant is this, though it is just a small move!

Based on what I acknowledged in the symposium, innovation doesn’t need to be a huge deal but mostly perhaps a small thing of our life. In a word, just like Chinese chopsticks and European forks and knifes, the Indian way of eating definitely offers another approach to save people from hunger
innovatively.

 

Innovation II ------ Dressing in Sari

Sari, one thing that I feel jealous of Indian girls, is so elegant and beautiful. Without doubt, it is a garment innovation. No matter in GOA’s beach, Agra’s Taj Mahal, or Jaisalmer’s desert, women is wearing traditional Sari all the time in every city we have been to. Personally I think women’s love for Sari counts for a great thing of Indian culture, which traditional staff could be well preserved and still a part of people’s life.

When you buy Sari in India, you will find Sari is a big piece of rectangular cloth. Approximately, Sari is 6 meters long and 2 meters wide in shape. A part of the cloth is used to make a blaos, which people wear as a top. Then the rest of the cloth is used to wrap around your body, which is the main Sari. What’s more, you need wear a skirt under the sari, for it could help wear Sari.

Sari could be made of many kinds of material, such as cotton or silk. Different decorations on the Sari will reflect fortune that people possess and occasions that people are in. A fancier one is more shining, maybe with sequins or even diamonds on it. Women always prepare a fancy Sari in case of
important occasions, but in the daily life they just wear some less fancier one. However, the less fancy Sari still shows the beauty of women’s shape.

I couldn’t tell you how to wear a Sari, for this process is so complex that I can’t even remember. For my first time I try to wear Sari, it took me one hour. And one thing more funny, I don’t know how to move wearing Sari. Basically, I just admire people who could wear Sari quickly and neatly.

 

Innovation III ------ Back Packs

In India a lot of people (students) wore their back packs loosely on their backs verses tightly against their shoulders. I thought this was innovative because in India a lot of people do a lot of walking or rides bicycles or scooters to get to their destination and therefore by doing this helps prevent their backs from getting wet and gives them more energy. This is an innovative usage because if it was done the other way could possibly make the person more lethargic.  

 

Innovation IV ------ Selling of products

In India, especially in the business booming areas a lot of individuals sell mostly the same type of merchandise. For example, if walking down a market and you see one stand selling Nokia mobile phones, you will see at least 5 more stands selling the same mobile device. I believe this is innovation on the business owner who is selling the goods. If we look at it, the seller is using an innovative tactic because by doing this he will inevitably always make money or a profit. Simply by selling goods to the shops who are all in the same proximity with one another.

 

Innovation V ------ Special TV

The most innovative one from all the things we saw in India is the TV in man’s room. It is in a hotel of Jaipur. There is a TV hanging on the wall in front of the toilets. It is very innovative to put a TV there, because during your time in the restroom you will inevitably be attracted to the TV, so what the TV is casting will definitely leave impression on you.The advertisement in that TV will definitely get a better impression than any rush time advertisement in your home TV.All the guys in our travel group found the TV hanging there is so different. All of us never see that before, it also could get you a very deep impression of the hotel itself. So in any way it is a fantastic advertising technique.

 

Interviews

In the following, we present two interviews which were held in Goa and on the airport in Delhi. They show some more aspects of living conditions and way of life in India as well as of the culture in general. At the same time they also contain elements of innovations (see the short paragraph after the Goa interview) or new developments, business culture and global ethics (interview with the businessman in Delhi). 

 

Goa interview

 

While at the beach I met a woman by the name of Lolita. Within the first few sentences, I could tell that she was incredibly bright. She spoke so fluidly and was an incredible business woman. She did not speak to us aggressively or bothered us about the buying of her goods. She actually spent a great deal of time asking about us and our journey and answering a number of questions that we had; this of course could simply be displays of her incredible business tact but for some reason I sincerely did not feel she was not genuine.

 

 

After everyone else was tired of speaking, most likely due to the large number of other sellers that were now in our space I had the incredible opportunity of speaking with her on a more personal level. Roman was a part of the conversation for quite a bit of it as well. If my recollection is proper the conversation went as follows, at least to the best of my recollection and what I wrote in my personal journal:

 

Me: You speak English incredibly well. Did you go to school?

Lolita: No, my parents could not afford it nor did their parents.

Me: word? That’s crazy but rather impressive. Since you are from Goa, Do you speak any other languages?

Lolita: Hindi, two local languages, Spanish, Russia, and Austrian.

Me: How did you learn all of those?

L: You pick up languages from the large amount of tourism that takes place in Goa.

M: Wow! That’s major. But you mentioned Spanish, how did you end up with the name Lolita? That does not seem like a typical Indian name.

L: My grandmother was from Spain. She moved here in her twenties and fell in love with the place.

M: That’s a cool story. Well, if you don’t mind me asking…why don’t you get a job doing something else? I mean, you are ridiculously clever and an impressive business woman.

L: You cannot get jobs that are high paying if you cannot at least read and write.

M: you cannot read or write?

L: No.

M: Do you have any kids?

L: Yes, two actually; both boys; 16 and 10.

M: Are they in school?

L: Yes. My grandmother introduced the family to this English man who has known me since I was 10. When he found out I was married and had kids, he agreed to help fund their education. So he pays for their schooling, at least this year.

M: Does he pay every year?

L: No only when he can. He comes to Goa about once a year and sometimes schooling is not the greatest necessity we have so he pays for other stuff.

M: That’s really nice to have a friend who does not mind doing so.

L: What do you think of India so far?

M: I can really say. I was in Bangalore and I am now in Goa so I cannot really say I think entirely much of the entire country. I did thinking Bangalore was pretty cool and Goa is incredibly pleasant.

L: That’s nice, you should come back.

M: I plan on it. So since you are married, and I do understand that you are not making a lot of money, how much does your husband make?

L: 60 Rupees a day.

M: Only 60 Rupees?!?

L: Yea, but he works all day. Leaves before sunrise and comes home around sunset.

M: That’s unfathomable.  So you make more money most of time selling stuff…?

L: Sometimes, it depends on what time of year it is.

M: I really wish I had brought money with me; I would def buy some stuff from you.

L: Maybe you could ask your friends for some money?

M: well, I could. However, I know that they plan on using their money elsewhere.

L: I don’t think they would mind helping you. It is only a little and I know you really like this stuff. Look at these bracelets…

M: They are nice but I don’t have money and I would rather not ask them especially considering that I don’t have a lot myself and I shall be in India for another week or so.

L: I understand but I don’t think your friends would mind.

M: No thank you, I can come tomorrow morning and buy something from you.

L: Are you sure?

M: Yes. We are not leaving until the afternoon.

L: You are not going to forget?

M: No.

L: I will be here tomorrow in the morning around this same place, I am sure to see you.

M: Absolutely. I do have a question I would like to ask you.

L: ok.

M: Since school seems to be a luxury for you and your family, what happens if someone gets sick? Do you use the school money for the doctor or medicine?

L: The priorities are food, housing, health, school. Usually when one of the priorities are effected school is the first option to be cancelled.

M: That’s major, I really do Kudos you and your family.

L: huh?

M: Kudos is like to give recognition or praise or admiration.

L: O, never heard that before.

M: I usually tend to speak with a lot more   slang but since I am around majority of people who are not from the US it would very difficult for people to follow me in dialogue. But I must say, your English and clarity is incredible. For someone who has not attended school, you speak better than a lot of people who have. And the only thing you cannot do is read and write?

L: Yes, that is it. I can speak with anyone. I really enjoy speaking with people who come from all over the world. I have really not traveled outside of Goa much, once to Jaislamer but I was much younger. People are really friendly and seem to really like the fact that I do not hassle them so much about buying what I have. I offer a number of but am not aggressive.

M: I agree, your technique and tact for business is really great. You are so personable.

L: Thank You.

M: I am sure your children are intelligent, especially If their mother is such.

L: Thank you again, they are.

M: How old are? If you don’t mind me asking.

L: I am 29.

M: Wow, so you had your first kid…

L: When I was 16.

M: When did you get married?

L: When I was 16.

M: That’s wild. Was it arranged?

L: Yes.

M: Did you know him before you guys were married?

L: No but he was really nice when I met him so I was happy.

M: That’s so diff. than the states. But I do respect the respect you hold for tradition.

L: Thank you. Your friends seem like they are about to leave, you should just ask them for a little bit, Ill sale  you these 3 bracelets for 100 Rupee.

M: As great of a deal that is, I cannot accept. I can however buy it tomorrow.

L: Are you being honest? Will you show tomorrow?

M: Yes, the only reason I wouldn’t show up is if something happened that would not permit me.

L: Ok. I will be on the beach, I shall see you.

M: Absolutely. It was a pleasure to speak with you, once again you are incredibly intelligent, I really do wish great things for you in the future.

L: Thank You, see you tomorrow.

 

Comment on the innovative aspect of this conversation:

I noticed throughout the entire dialogue that she did not hold her things the entire time, nor did she worry about the other people who were also coming by to sale things. She sat all of her things down, sat down, and gave me her full attention. I sincerely felt that she wanted to speak with me and not simply sale me things. This I found was to be very innovative. Every other salesperson I came across throughout my time in India was either aggressive, sometime following us for 1 or 2 kilometers, or when I said “No thanks” would give a brief attitude and pursue the next person. People tended to hawk us more than discuss business. The fact that she not only showed a great deal of patience, took her time and did not rush us, spoke with us and inquired about us as people really created a milieu  of comfort and almost like that of a friend. She was so humble and smiled a number of times throughout the dialogue. This I found was innovative and because of this a number of people from the travel together group bought stuff.

 

 

 

Interview with the Chinese Businessman at Delhi Airport

Jie and I arrived at Delhi airport two hours ahead the time of departure. So we sat on the seats in front of the entrance tunnel. We encountered a Chinese man who is about forty years old.

Mr. Wang: Are you from China?

Echo: Yes.(Then we begin to speak Chinese, in the need for more people to understand, I translate  the dialogue in English)

M:How long have you been in India?

E: One and a half month.

M:Oh, you must have suffered a lot.

E: Yeah, we two both get sick during the stay. Suffered a lot from diarrhea. Are you also the first time in India

M: Oh, no. I have been to this country a lot of times. My first time here in Delhi, is like seven years ago. The Delhi airport is no way so comfortable at that time. India has been changed a lot these years.

E: What’s your purpose for coming here all the time?

M: I do business with the Indians. We sell them the machine used for textile production. India is the second largest textile producer. It is a large market here for us.

E: Is it hard to do business here?

M:Yes, the Indians are very different from Chinese. You know we Chinese respect a word called”YI” (which means a little like faith or loyalty, it is a word includes a lot of meanings). But the Indians never gave away in the stand of benefit. For example, at first several years, in need to open the market we almost have no profit. We gave a lot of advantage to a company, but this time, when we negotiate with them about one little percent of profit, they never think of the good deeds we done them before. If it is our Chinese cooperation, they will definitely remember the way you helped them before and do some adjustment for the agreement.

E: So you don’t like Indian business men

M: No, Actually, I have to say they are excellent business men; they are the only competitive to our Chinese in Asian. They are very aggressive, very diligent, just like the Chinese business man in our generation. At that time we have nothing, so we put everything we have in to the business. We dare to discover a new area. I am afraid our young generation will lose our spirit of adventure because they already have a good living condition.

E: What do you think the Indians are better than us?

M:One thing that I strongly feel is that they have better vision. They think a lot, they come up very good ideas. We, Chinese usually are more practical, they sometime lack the time to wonder what they can do. Another advantage for them some years before is language. But now the language is nothing for excellent young Chinese people. The only thing I am worried is that, whether the young dare to challenge themselves in the future.

(The plane is ready for us to board)

E: You really opened another window for me to look at the Indians and our Chinese. Thank you so much

M: it is also my pleasure to talk to young people about the words I always wanted to share. Thanks so much to you, too.

 

The business man opened us a new way of knowing the Chinese and Indian business men. It is an innovative way of thinking. His excellent compare inspires a lot in the critical thinking.