“I am sick and tired of the rampant corruption in the country. I would like to start a school that will only teach students about the great revolutionary leaders of India that stood tall as they embodied the highest principles of honesty, integrity and public service. My dream is to produce 10 Bhagat Singhs a month” – a political activist in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh.

“I have heard China is a very prosperous country. I dream about going to China, so I can learn about the farming practices there and bring that information back with me to my village to share with other farmers” – a farmer in Jetpura Village, Madhya Pradesh.

“There are far too many young Indians with broken dreams. Forced into engineering, medicine or other mainstream professions against their will, their true inner talents in music, dance, the arts, or sports are completely quashed. My dream is to start a Foundation that would fund the dreams of Indians that dare to be different. I want to reignite the souls of the youth of this nation” – a 16-year old rapper and basketball player preparing for the IIT entrance exams in Kota, Rajasthan.

7 days. 7 cities. 700 dreams. Those were my instructions as I began an exciting road-trip across the interiors of India, from Bhopal to Jaipur, with a mission to lead a team of 9 dream catchers that would capture the hopes, dreams and aspirations of Indians from all strata of society. Armed with little more than a zealous interest in what makes Indians tick and an insatiable quest to make a difference, we set out to learn about the dreams of every seemingly ordinary man, woman and child we would come across. We wanted to know about the biggest dreams for their lives, but also transcend to larger spheres of influence by asking about their dreams for their communities as well as the country as a whole. Why? To help create the first of its kind qualitative database of dreams, a database that could be used by leaders in government, business and the development sectors to generate ideas that would support the realization of common dreams, be it through changes in public policy, development initiatives or enterprise solutions for new products and services to better serve the people of India. This is the Dream:In Project.

Dream Journey Montage

Much has been written about and talked about what Kishore Biyani would label “India 1” i.e. the top 10% richest Indians that have already “made it”, as well as the great emerging Indian middle class that already is and will continue to reshape the consumption patterns and the politics of the country. Their needs and wants are understandably of great interest to businesses and policymakers alike. Then, there is an almost invisible segment of Indian society, which incidentally constitutes a vast majority of Indians, whose needs are underserved at best, or at worst, overlooked completely. This is “India 2” that serves “India 1” as house-servants, drivers, cooks, security guards, shop-keepers etc. , and “India 3”, which is the rural poor of the country. When I embarked on this project, I wondered how much India 1 really knows about India 2 or 3. There is in India a large and perceptible divide between the haves and the have-nots. That divide is not merely an economic one; it is a deep psychological divide that often prevents the haves from relating to the have-nots. How much do you really know about your maid and the circumstances in her life that made her what she is? When was the last time you asked an auto driver or a street vendor what his aspirations were? Did you ever wonder if a poor farmer in a small village could have dreams with implications for the entire country? Yet, each of these individuals has a dream, which cannot be ignored. They need to speak in their own voice, and not always be spoken for. They need to be heard. They need to be seen. For, if we are to create an India of our dreams, we need to have a shared vision. If we are to have a shared vision, we need to understand the dreams and aspirations of all of our fellow citizens, so we can march towards a common reality. It is our common dreams that give us a common beat to march on. This is what I believe, and this is what motivated me to be part of the Dream: In project as a team-leader, dream catcher and dream scholar.

The brainchild of Spread, a vertical within Idiom, one of the largest and innovative design consultancies in India, the first phase of the Dream:In project had over 100 dream catchers, students with a design, management or communications background, cover the length and breadth of the country by road. Each team of ten consisted of one team leader and 3 sub-teams, each with a spotter, a reader and a framer. The spotter would spot the “dreamers” and engage them in a conversation to gently draw out their most cherished dreams. The reader would document the entire conversation in a journal, and the framer would capture the dream on film with a video camera.

Our journey began with a 30+ hours train ride from Bangalore to Bhopal in a sleeper class compartment. The adrenaline rush of the task before us, and the camaraderie between my team members, was more than enough to keep us in high spirits and be amused rather than annoyed at the state of our compartment, which was dirty, frequently visited by mice and roaches, had no water in the adjoining toilets and no blankets to keep us warm through the freezing cold night. Once we reached Bhopal, however, and got into our van, which was to be our home for the next 7 days, the worst was already behind us. Though our experience continued to be no more luxurious, as we frequently ate at road-side dhabas and stayed at budget hotels or ashrams, our personal comfort became the least of our priorities. Besides, these adventures, which is how we viewed them, only added to the richness and authenticity of our overall experience.

Our days were intensely grueling with each day starting at 5am and ending at midnight or beyond, as each day we set out to cover up to 200 miles, and capture as many dreams as we possibly could along the way before the sun set in (we were not carrying any sophisticated devices that would allow us to get good footage in the absence of natural light). As the team leader, I had the added responsibility of springing my troops into action, waking every one up at the crack of dawn, being an appropriately tough task-master to make sure everyone met their daily target of interviews, and most importantly of all, that everyone understood the gravity of the project. This was not a travel excursion, and neither were the many dreamers we interviewed caricatures for some curious anthropological study, no matter how far removed their lives were from our own. Whether it was a chai-wala, a street vendor, a beggar, a victim of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, a house-wife or a farmer, each was a real person with a real story and a real dream.

Reflecting on our journey, several observations come to the fore. One, everyone has a dream. As we were to learn, it did not matter how rich or poor, or young or old one was, each had a dream. If they did not dream for themselves, they dreamt through and for their children. A poor farmer in Rajgarh told us that while he has come to accept the day-to-day drudgery of his life as a farmer, what excites him most is the thought of training his daughter to become an athlete so that one day she could compete in the commonwealth games.

Two, everyone likes to share their dream. We were amazed at the generosity and the hospitality with which we were welcomed every where we went as people invited us into their homes and into their lives, forming a deep bond with us in a matter of minutes as we enabled them to give voice to a dream they had been nurturing for a long time, but never had a chance to share before. Perhaps, no one had ever cared enough to ask. “No, thank you”, said Ramu, a potter earning Rs. 300 a day from making and selling clay pots at the side of a street in Bhopal. So touched was he when we came to speak to him, that he ordered chai for all of us, worth Rs. 30. A small sum for us, to be sure, but for Ramu, it was 10% of his daily wage, yet he was adamant in not letting us pay for the chai. I wondered how many of us would spend 10% of our daily income on a stranger.

Three, the simple act of sharing one’s biggest dream is empowering for ordinary Indians. Each interview ended with the dreamer holding a slate identifying the dreamer by number and location, and looking straight into the camera to vocalize his or her dream. When Laxmi looked into the camera, and said, “My name is Laxmi and my biggest dream is become a doctor so that the people in my village don’t have to travel for an hour to for the nearest health clinic”, with a quiet but powerful resolve, I couldn’t help but notice the glimmer in her eyes. Maybe that small act had given her ownership of her dream, and imbued her with the confidence that she can, indeed, go after her dreams with all the gusto that she can muster.

“Go farther, stay longer and come back,” were the words of wisdom I got from a development practitioner when I first landed in India, “if you really want to understand Indians and share those learnings with the rest of the world.” I now realize how true that is. It is incumbent upon us make the countless invisible Indians visible to the world by sharing their stories in their own words, their dreams as they see it, so we can realize a vision for India that is built from the ground-up.

As a next phase of the project, we held a Conclave in Bangalore from February 16th – 19th. The Conclave included leaders from the government, business and the NGO sectors, all of whom were present with the singular goal of reading and synthesizing the dreams of Indians, and brainstorming ideas for transforming those into common, transformative and inclusive realities. For everyone involved with the Dream:In project, our shared dream now is to help realize some of the game-changing ideas that emerged from the Conclave, and take a small step towards creating the Indian of our dreams. To be continued…

Source: Logo http://www.girleffect.org//

No! It’s not a new age version of “If you let me play” – the classic 1995-Nike ad that extols the benefits of girls playing sports!

No, it’s not even the next edition of one of Nike’s famed shoe line.

So, what is it then?
Before I begin, please take out a couple of minutes and watch the video below:

[http://www.youtube.com/v/WIvmE4_KMNw?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00]

“Invest in a girl ……… And you’ve changed the course of history”, the video scrolls as it emphasizes the power of teenage girls to unleash a powerful ripple effect.

And so a decade and a half after Nike celebrated the powerful force of girls on the sports field, it is now using “Girl Power” once again, but this time as the miracle cure to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges in health, education and development.

Girls? Are you serious?!

Image courtesy Central Asia Institute.

Yes, it is true! When a girl is educated, she ensures that her children are educated. When her health is taken care of, she ensures that the health of her entire family (and in most cases her community) is taken care of as well. When she starts earning, she invests almost all of her income back into her family. And if we support girls, they support their families and other girls and this support eventually spreads throughout their communities, i.e. when girls thrive, the whole community thrives. Thus investing in girls sows the seeds for transforming the world around us. THIS is the GIRL EFFECT!

Ah, haven’t we always known the emotional quotient inherent within our women – be it our mothers, sisters, girlfriends or wives – they always CARE!

Yet, despite her proven potential, she is the first one in her family to drop out of school; the first one to make any sacrifice and the first one to start helping with household work. Evidently, we have not invested enough in their potential!

So what is Nike (and the Girl Effect) doing?
Nike and the Girl Effect focus on keeping young girls on the path of education and investing in two critical areas of women’s development – job preparation and income generation. With these crucial interventions, the Girl Effect aims to break the cycle of poverty that girls in particular and their families in general go through.

The Nike Foundation has, for FY 2011, committed over $50 million in addition to the $36 million already invested in girl-centric programs around the developing world – ranging from Ethiopia to Bangladesh, and from Brazil and China to India. In addition to this, they have also managed to partner with organizations such as The NoVo foundation (which has committed around $45 million – the largest grant since receiving $1 billion from Warren Buffet).

While investing in girl-focused programs is an important facet of the Girl Effect, another equally significant component of the coordinated effort is to apply Nike’s expertise, network and assets to enhance the effectiveness of the many programs that have caught their eye. And by way of meticulous, reliable and consistent measurement of impact, the Foundation will be able to not only build the capacity of existing programs but also sow the seeds for far greater investment from other development agencies.

That all right, but why is Nike doing this? What is in it for Nike?
These are questions that pop right away when one sees large multinationals, especially those who may have had a brush with bad PR (remember Nike sweatshops?), attempt to address developmental challenges.

But wait a minute, notice that neither is it branded as Nike’s Girl Effect, nor can you see (cleverly used Nike orange aside) their trademark “Swoosh” in any part of the campaign.

Nike believes that not branding the effort as Nike means that it shape public policy and government intervention in development without skeptics claiming that it is driven by commercial interests or business needs. Moreover, the Nike Foundation also claims that Nike does not have significant business interests in the countries at which the Girl Effect is aimed at.

Even without explicitly linking its brand and products with the Girl Effect campaign, Nike has managed to captivate global audiences with this campaign (evident from the 1.8 million views of the viral videos) and inherently link itself with this cause. And despite being damned for labor issues in the past, Nike’s efforts to address social problems of the developing world has improved current and prospective customer perception. In the annual Global Good Purpose survey (2010) conducted by Edelman, a US-based public relations agency, Americans ranked Nike among the top three companies that place as much (or more) importance on supporting a good cause as they place on bottom-line.

This effort shows that private enterprises, even as they seek profits, can explore ways to innovate and address social problems of the world. And benefits attained from these efforts are mutually beneficial. While on one hand they address developmental challenges, on the other hand they make businesses more responsible and improve customer perception.

Oh by the way, I’m A GUY for THE GIRL EFFECT!
Please visit www.girleffect.org to join the effort/effect.

Sources:

www.nikefoundation.org/files/The_Girl_Effect_News_Release.pdf

Stuart Elliott, The New York Times, published on Nov10, 2010 available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/giving/11VIDEO.html

www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/…/6_Nike_CRR_Foundations_C.pdf

Meet Bina Behera. She is in her early fifties. She lives on the outskirts of a small village in the Khurda district of Orissa. She earns approximately Rs. 100 a day making small handicrafts and selling them to a local trader. She became the sole bread-winner of the family six months ago after her husband repeatedly fell ill from all kinds of water-borne diseases to the point where he was completely bed-ridden. Over the past year, she has spent upwards of Rs. 10,000 on health-care bills for her husband.

Spring Health International, founded by Paul Polak, with the goal to provide clean and affordable drinking water to rural areas in Eastern India, partnered with a local shop-keeper in Bina Behera’s village to set up a water kiosk that would provide safe drinking water to all villagers at 20 paisa per liter. One would assume this would be the perfect solution for Bina Behera’s family, saving them considerable lost income and health-care fees from water-related sickness. But it was not; at least not at first. Why? Bina Behera and her family belong to a community of untouchables, also known in India as Dalits.

When another member of her community went to the water kiosk to fill his jerry can, he accidentally touched the water tap for the 3000-liter water tank. This was considered to be such a grave offence by the rest of the villagers that the shop-keeper was forced to empty out the entire water tank, and perform a ritual to purify the water tank that had been rendered impure by “the untouchable”. Following this episode, not a single member of the Dalit community dared to go to the kiosk to purchase water. Therein lay the problem. Market forces alone cannot be the panacea when there are powerful social forces at play.

Untouchability has marred the social fabric of India for over 3000 years. Largely a social construct, Dalits came to be associated with all occupations that were considered to be impure according to Hindu norms, such as leather tanning, butchering, and manual scavenging (the removal of human feces from toilets without a flush, a practice that, though banned, continues in several parts of India till today). As a result, Dalits were historically banned from entering temples, drinking from the same wells as others, and were required to stay on the outskirts of villages. Untouchability was officially outlawed in 1950 by the Indian Constitution, which gave the right to equality and right to freedom from discrimination to all citizens of the country. In practice, however, prejudice against Dalits has been so firmly entrenched into the ethos of Indian society, particularly in the rural areas, that it has been difficult to uproot completely.

Spring Health had quite a conundrum at its hands. Had it been a conventional enterprise, perhaps it would have looked the other way, and been sufficiently satisfied with providing water to a majority of the villagers that are not Dalits (only 12 out of the 100 households in the village are from the Dalit community.) But, because Spring Health has a social mission of equal and affordable access to clean water to all those living on $2 a day or less built into its business model, it looked for a creative solution, and found one.

Spring Health, at the suggestion of their business and design consultant Idiom, started a home delivery system, allowing the shopkeeper to deliver clean water to the hamlet that houses the Dalit households in 10-liter jerry cans, at a small premium. The shop-keeper was happy to try this method as the extra sales increased his revenues, and the Dalit households were happy as they now had access to an income-saving, and potentially life-saving, resource.

The great thing about a market is that it does not discriminate. Anyone who has the ability to pay for a product or a service can theoretically access it, which is why I am a big believer in market solutions to poverty. However, conventional enterprise may not provide an effective solution when strong social prejudices stand in the way. In those instances, it can become all too easy for an enterprise to simply adapt to, and therefore, perpetuate the power hierarchy in society.  Whether you call it a social enterprise or not (I know Paul Polak would strongly object to calling Spring Health a social enterprise per se), in order for an enterprise to effectively serve underserved populations, it must have an explicit social mission to do so. Only then will it go the extra mile to come up with innovative solutions to the most intractable social constraints that prevent equal access.

Paul Polak and I went to visit Bina Behera to see the results of the home delivery method. At the time of our visit, 5 out of 12 Dalit households were availing of home-delivered water. To our delight and amusement, Bina Behera candidly reported that she and her family were ritually consuming the clean water almost as if it were medicine. As a form of gratitude, or maybe just sheer hospitality, she offered us fresh coconut water, which we drank immediately. Paul reached out his hand to thank her, while I put my arm around her. Little did we know, these seemingly small gestures filled her with great joy. She grabbed my hand tightly and muttered something in Oriya, which our translator later told us it meant, “You are like a daughter to me. I am so happy you came to visit me.” It was then that we realized, that by “touching an untouchable” we had subtly conveyed to her that she is indeed, not untouchable, but our equal in dignity.

Paul Polak and I enjoying coconut water with Bina Behera.

It may take several generations to completely eradicate untouchability from Indian society, but at least with socially-minded enterprise, and the economic empowerment that it creates, we may just be able to give Bina Behera and others like her a fighting chance to avail of the same opportunities as others, and hope for a better life ahead.

For more information on Paul’s work in Orissa, please visit his blog.

Yesterday I got an opportunity to attend a talk by an International lending agency in the coastal city of Bhubaneswar, Orissa. The event marked a big day for me; I had never before attended a session by an international lending agency. The session had some senior officials of the lending agency engaging in a discussion on sustainability in the social sector, this was definitely the best way to start the New Year. I was looking forward to imbibing trends and practices which would guide me to design pilot projects on monetising grassroots initiatives, which would at the least make booting my bills a financially viable proposition to my employer.
I had a huge list of questions which I was ready to demand answers for. I had worked long into the night the day before, designing and contemplating on my world view of the social sector to conjure interventions (questions!!!) which would bring clarity to my existence and also help me give a physical form to the myth of sustainable business.
I choose to wear a crimson shirt to make sure I would be easily spotted in the audience; I also made sure I was one of the first to arrive at the venue. I took the second seat in the third row; I did not want to look predatory. I also did not want them to remember me too well; it would not make for a good first impression if I ever end up questioning the very nature of their existence.
The session started at 10:00, with sixty participants occupying every one of the available seats in the conference room. The session began with the usual hullaballoo, the usual big conference words being thrown around; sustainability being referred to as the holy grail of everything social, an inevitable paradigm shift which was to ordain itself on everything entrepreneurial.
At 11:00 we took a fifteen minutes tea break. I was no longer keen on holding on to my seat; the session was a repeat of every key word which I was bombarded with ever since the beginning of time (in this sector). I decided to socialize, distribute my relatively new visiting card, more of a -I also belong to the same cohort gesture. I soon realized the audience size had swelled to over a hundred with many having to stand through the session. I spoke to a couple of them to understand what is that they were seeking, at this session.
By 11:12 I realized every one of the major social organizations in the region had a representation at the event, most of the practitioners at the event had spent more than a decade in this sector and that they had spent considerable time in the field trying to make their organisation financially sustainable without compromising on their core ideologies.
At 11:45 the floor was opened to questions, I had moved to the fourth seat in the tenth row by now. There was a sudden silence which was broken by a whir; I could barely see the speaker through the maze of hands measuring the entire length of the room. I also let my right hand seek the adventure it was destined for, channelling it through this bewilderment. As I sat there waiting for my turn, the various voices in the room representing diverse developmental organisations made it clear to me that just running a mission centric organisation was no longer enough to survive through this decade.
By 12:05 it was clear that these organizations had gathered today to seek the metamorphosis they needed to survive and grow in this changing climate, they were here to search for the tools needed to redefine their work and their identity. It was no longer enough to be just passionate about the work done by their organisation, they had a sense of urgency to try and embrace new practices, innovate to enhance affordability, lower the costs, show growth potential, demonstrate financial self-sufficiency and work to provide the bottom of the pyramid with greater access to goods and services.
12:15, I was on my way back to work resonating the fear echoed by all the organizations participating in the session, wondering whether I truly understand what it means to guide an organisation on the path to self sufficiency.
I have learned that this new decade has ushered a need for change which is being sought after by both established players in the social sector as well as the novices dabbling with ideas for social change. To address the growing competition, reduction in donor financing, need for optimization of operations and to tap new sources of financing like impact investing and patient capital there is a need for innovation and transformation both within the organization as well as in the delivery of the services. Social Entrepreneurship needs to be propagated as way of thinking than just merely a trend or a phase.

In this train system, impeccably clean trains pull into the station every 2.5 minutes. They carry 1.5 million daily commuters over 100 miles of track to 132 stations around the city. No trash lies on the ground of the station, no rats scurry between the tracks, no one eats or drinks inside the cars, and a clear voice makes announcements over the loud speaker. Despite appearances, we are not in Singapore, or Japan, or the United States. We are in Delhi, India.

India is notorious for its red tape and corruption, especially when it comes to large-scale infrastructure development. The Calcutta metro, for example, the only other metro system in the country, took 22 years to construct and was 12 times over budget due to “political meddling, technical problems and bureaucratic delays.” These characteristic barriers to large government-led projects in India can be cause for pessimism and frustration, and in some cases, inaction.

But the Delhi metro paints a different picture. It defies the expectations of Indian infrastructure development and has been described as “nothing short of a miracle.” One that has come none too soon for the 18 million residents of Delhi. The first phase of the Delhi metro was completed in 2006, on budget and three years ahead of schedule. In 10 years, 100 miles of track have been laid and 132 stations opened. The process ran smoothly and efficiently, resulting in a train system that is state of the art, not just for India, but also for the world. It certainly beats the metro in my former home, New York City.

Yet, I am confident that the Delhi metro is not merely an once-in-a-lifetime “miracle” and could be the birth of a new set of expectations that will become the norm for Indian infrastructure development. It was not chance, but a few concrete mechanisms that allowed it to proceed so effectively. These strategies can be emulated by new infrastructure projects across India.

First, Indian infrastructure projects are often stalled due to a lack of clarity over which government agency has authority and responsibility for the project. The result is a confusing web of players with no accountability and conditions that are perfectly set up for skirting obligations and passing off blame. As someone working on affordable housing in Delhi, I see this problem play out constantly. Yet in the case of the Delhi metro, full power was given to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)—an agency developed purely to carry out this project—to hire people, give tenders, and control all funds. This did wonders for overall efficiency and for the level of accountability and clarity on roles and responsibilities.

Second, many large scale projects in India start and stall due to a lack of funds. This contributed significantly to the painfully slow progress of the Calcutta metro. Instead of waiting for the Indian government to fund 100% of the project, the DMRC decided to tap foreign investment and secured 60% of the financing from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation. As a result, the speed at which DMRC moved forward was in its control instead of dependent on the periodic release of funds from the government.

Finally, the Delhi metro is one of only 5 metro systems globally that is profitable without government subsidy. It achieved this partly by prioritizing high quality design and construction practices to reduce the need for maintenance and by tapping into alternative revenue from advertising and leasing out its trains for film shoots.

But perhaps more interesting than the magnificent success on the infrastructure development side is the different way in which Delhi’s citizens treat the metro. While Indians pride themselves on their immaculately clean homes, public spaces are traditionally not awarded nearly the same level of respect and care. The streets are littered with trash and spit stains cover the sidewalks and floors of public buildings.

But entering the metro is almost like entering a new cultural context. There is no garbage on the ground, no stains on the train walls, no smell of urine in the corners. It is as if the riders take collective responsibility for maintaining it. It is hard for me to think of another example of a public space in India that is treated this well by its users. Many would not think twice about throwing trash on the ground of a beautiful park, but the metro is a different story.

Even so, there’s no mistaking that we are still in South Asia. The mosh pit-esque crowds are of South Asian size and women clad in colorful saris congregate together in the designated “Ladies Car.” The metro is a retreat from the typical grime of urban India, but it has not lost its Desi flavor.

Why do citizens treat the metro so differently? The only reason I can deduce is that Delhittes take great pride in their outstanding metro and so they take care of it. The metro is a symbol of modern India and its potential to build world-class cities. When I told an Indian colleague that the Delhi metro is cleaner than the metro in New York, he gleamed and exclaimed, “Sweet, let’s keep it that way!” Pride is a powerful thing. Perhaps more powerful than we think.

All this gives me great hope for the ability of Indians to overcome expectations and cut through red tape and corruption in order to build, and then take care of, exceptional infrastructure around the country.

It was the mid of august, and as I sat watching the last one of my girlfriends enter her wedding mandap, I thought to myself if that would also be the next “big event” to occur in my life. Was I suppose to be the dressed up bride, led into the hall by my uncles, all set to be married? Definitely, marriage is a great personal achievement but all achievements in life are not limited to the ones where marriage and work promotions are involved. Personal growth and finding oneself in my opinion is life’s way of preparing one for future achievements. For the past two years in the rush of attending weddings and wedding related events, I had truly forgotten about myself. It does sound a bit cliché but I didn’t give any importance to my own life or to my own self-growth. I knew for one I was unhappy with my job, completely ready to professionally move on, unhappy with just the status quo. Most of my friends had taken the next step in their personal lives and I for the most part felt that they were somehow growing up. I wouldn’t say that I felt left behind but I did feel that I somehow needed to find my own next step. Nothing was holding me back from trying something new except just me. I could have gone back to school, invested money by buying a house, or even could have purchased a new car, all of which at the time were valid but really unappealing options. What happened in the weeks ahead now all really seems to be a blur, but one thing is for sure, packing up and moving to Bangalore where I am today, in retrospect feels like one of the easiest things that I’ve had to do.

I applied to the Piramal Fellowship program one day while sitting at work on a fluke, and I remember thinking that I would be really lucky if I could get past the first interview. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe that I could, but rather thought that other candidates were probably far more suited for the position. I figured that getting selected would just be too easy, and to be honest, things did never just come that easily to me. But to my surprise, things were really that simple. Within a short span of three weeks, I went from applying for the program to booking to my air tickets. I couldn’t get over this feeling that things were truly meant to be. Not to sound like a sappy love story, but things just did fall into place. At the time, I had an expired passport and no visa but that somehow to worked itself out. This really did just feel like my next “big event”. It wasn’t a wedding, or a new car, but rather a chance to take my next step and grow as an individual in a new country. It just coincidently happened during a time when I was searching for something, anything that would point me in the proper direction. The best part was that because things did happen so quickly, I didn’t have the time to sit and ponder on the decision. I couldn’t talk my self out of it in any way because there wasn’t enough time for that.

Now as I sit here and reflect back on that mid august day I can’t help but think that coming to India was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I feel that this opportunity has created a sort of “ a ha” moment for me and to a certain extent has made me realize that just as my friends have started to evolve in their own lives and relationships, I to have done the same.

Think India’s finest social entrepreneurs and imagine working directly with them on tackling India’s most pressing challenges? Add blending your groundwork with academic analysis and learning from some of the world’s leading academics on social entrepreneurship. Above all, feel constant honing of your business and leadership skills as you immerse yourself in the budding social enterprise landscape. Sounds incredible?

Well, that’s what the Piramal Fellowship is about!

It’s about hard work that makes a real difference, difference not only to the organizations that fellows work for, but also to themselves in order to build the next generation of leaders; ones that marry the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru (social impact) with the principles of Manmohan Singh (market economy).

Hard work for sure, that’s possibly why none of us realized how quickly the first month has passed by. It has definitely been intense and exciting, but it did not pass by without posing numerous questions. Should a social enterprise always target the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP)? What if they don’t focus on the BOP but improve the lives of people hitherto unaffected by the breakneck progress of the Indian economy post-liberalization, will they still be considered a social enterprise? Can social enterprises ever be part of an industry similar to the IT-Industry or Telecom-Industry? What happens to the marriage between profit & social impact when faced with a do or die financial situation? Divorce?

With the journey still at the tip of the fellowship, many of these questions remain unanswered. However, I have not even an iota of doubt that the answers lie at the end of this remarkable journey. And that, I believe, is the fortune that awaits at the bottom of the Fellowship. Till then, I am going to savor the whole experience, the successes as well as the challenges, no matter how big or small they are.

In the midst of all the intense and exciting work, the first month has also thrown in a lot of personal challenges for all of us, from a severe bout of flu for one to constant movement of base with disrupted internet/phone connectivity for another. It has also brought about several personal successes, from leading a team across India capturing people’s dreams and aspirations to leading the delegation of one’s organization at a prestigious awards ceremony, from working on Christmas Day and bringing smiles to a hundred women to building the company’s first efficient supply chain ‘tracking system’. Whether it is the challenges or successes, what helps you cope is the support of your fellow fellows™ – the ones you hi-five during successes and the ones whose shoulders you fall upon during times of distress. And therefore, an important aspect of the program and perhaps the real fortune at the base of the fellowship is the relationship you cultivate with your fellow fellows.

So what happens when five such fellow fellows, who are as passionate about exploring India and her intricacies as they are about market-based solutions for social impact, get together? From the way things have begun, a hell lot of fun amidst all the hard work I can guarantee!

Welcome to the Piramal Fellowship Family!