Namaste India - Namaste IIMA

When I started my exchange studies at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad three years ago, I was really excited about the adventure. After some time, I got more familiar with India and learned also about the many layers of inequality, unexplainable complexity and the constant chaos. In the end, I shortened my trip with a few days, because I wanted to leave this stressful country behind me.

However, it was this constant stress that made my exchange in India a meaningful experience. Seeing and partially also experiencing the rooted inequality triggered my interest in grassroots entrepreneurs innovating with only scarce resources. I wrote my master thesis about the topic and one year ago started with a PhD project to continue with my research. Now I am back at IIM-A to do field work, collect data and work with local researchers (more about this in future blog posts).

Despite everything, I am really happy to be back! Lots of memories come back – the time we got lost trying to find the bus stop of our night bus, studying in the library, partying in various dorms, eating breakfasts at the Marriot hotel, travelling and all the places I’ve seen, hanging out at the Alpha One mall, and so on. And on the campus, the restaurants are still the same and the people who work there are the same. The same chai guy makes still that amazing chai – all these years I have not been able to find chai that would have been even slightly as good as that chai! The same fruit guy is still on campus making fruit plates, sandwiches and juices. The guards at the entry gate, in the library and at the female dorms are also still the same.

The Indian students are still studying hard and exchange students planning their next trips. The university has accepted again 70 students, mostly from Germany, France and Italy, but also a few from Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Poland. I met a handful of the exchange students already, and also my dorm mates are very friendly and helpful. The studio-type apartments are for married couples, so I am staying in same student accommodation as last time I was here. This way I get to meet local students, and I have already been invited for lunch to meet everyone from our dorm. So, even though this is not for studies but for work, I want this to be a equally memorable experience.