By 8:00 am we were headed out to our first visit. We met with the Commissioner of the Indian Census, the man ultimately responsible for counting 1/6 of the people on the entire planet. Again this year he gave a great presentation about how to manage such a large project, touching on planning, procurement, logistics, marketing, training, innovation, technology, etc. All they have to do is print forms in 16 languages and deliver them in time for 2.7 million temporary employees to take them to every household in India within a three week time frame. And then input, analyze, and report the data. As we joke around the Kelley School, the program practically runs itself.
Next we visited the new IU Gateway office and had lunch before concluding the day with a great and interactive presentation at Mercer.
After returning to the hotel, I went with 23 students to a posh Indian restaurant, Bakhara, where we sat on stools, drank from brass goblets, and ate with our fingers. Apparently Bill Clinton likes to eat here. We had to take 6 taxis to get there. The ride was interesting: a man who was about to cross the street without paying any attention stepped off the curb and ran right into our moving car. He was startled and apologetic, but the driver gave him the evil eye and then things got real tense as they stared each other down for about a minute. Finally we drove on, erratically, until we reached the restaurant. I was glad to get there. The ride home was uneventful, fortunately.
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