After the surprise visit to Mahesh Bhatt’s office, the Durgadevi
Saraf Institute of Management Studies had another surprise awaiting us. When we reached the Institute,
we were welcomed by the students with a red “tilak” and garland. Lunch was
offered to us by the wonderful team at the institute after which the
institute’s professors, Prof. Rakesh Singh, who was a top notch researcher,
scholar, and a gold medal winner in Economics, and Prof. V. S. Gireesh spoke to us about
Doing Business in India, Rural Marketing and the challenges and opportunities
of marketing to the Indian population at the bottom of the pyramid.
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| A Dabbawallah |
The surprise
came shortly after that in the form of the arrival of the Dabbawallahs.
Everybody was excited to see the Dabbawallahs of whom we have heard so much
about and done case studies about. The Dabbawallahs were simple but witty
people, who were proud to talk about their daily routine. It was surprising to
know that their work was recognized internationally first by Prince Charles before
the local government took any initiative to acknowledge their contributions and
efforts. It was also surprising to know that out of the three Indians that were
invited to Prince Charles’ wedding, two of them were the Dabbawallahs and their
visas were arranged within 3 hours of applying. The Dabbawallahs were simple people, content
with their work, not willing to complicate their system by further expanding and
not worried about external competition. Their simplicity, honesty and
dedication to their work have led to their success and all the recognition and
awards that they have received.
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| A girl selling postcards on the streets of Mumbai |
After the visit, the tired team had a long 2 hour drive in the Mumbai traffic. While stuck in traffic, we were able to see the other side of Mumbai- of slums in between high rise buildings and of children trying to sell anything from postcards to flowers to mineral water. We drove over the Bandra-Worli Sealink to reach Hotel Trident at
Nariman Point, which had a beautiful view of the Mumbai's Marine Drive. After a scrumptious
buffet at Frangipani, we decided to check out the night life in Mumbai. We ended
the day rejuvenating at the “Liv” which was recently awarded as the Best Nightclub in Mumbai by the Times of India.
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The UM team with the Dabbawallahs |
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