Urban Cowboy
 Today was extremely busy as my fellow pupils and I conducted three meetings with experts in Indian entrepreneurship. Among the places visited were The National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business development, Amity University, and finally the Global Institute of Management and Technology. Everywhere we visited we were met with extremely warm greetings and overwhelming hospitality. Topics covered today in our lectures included India’s transition into a competitive market, challenges faced by Indian entrepreneur’s, differences between American and Indian corporate cultures and unique challenges Indian women may face as entrepreneurs.We had a chance to meet with several college age students and even had over ten surveys completed, however, the most exciting part of today’s excursion was the commute on Delhi’s bustling and chaotic streets. The roads we traveled had predominantly three lanes and were rather well paved (even though you would not know from the lack of suspension on our bus) but the lanes were merely suggestions. Motorists regularly rode four, five, even six vehicles across in one direction. There were small cars on the road but most people road motorcycles or scooters. It is important to note that in India, apparently, motorcycles are not just reserved for single passengers.
Entire families fit onto a single motorcycle, some even sitting sideways.
Along with motorbikes and cars, the streets of Delhi also served bicycles, rickshaws, tractors, carriages, and cows. Cows are sacred in Indian culture and wander freely throughout the city. We spotted several cows casually resting on the median of a six-lane highway, we aptly dubbed these urban bovines “median cows.”
Traffic signals were few and far between, and intersections were traversed only when someone had the courage to drive into oncoming traffic encouraging others to follow. Traffic police stood on elevated platforms and signaled directions to their colleagues who fearlessly stood in the middle of the road armed with nothing but their gloved hands. The whole exchange reminded me of a game of double-dutch with potentially lethal consequences for misjudgment.
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