That visit didn't start off auspiciously. Blame it on the Boston accent. As I reached the T, the Boston subway, I encountered one of the scores of volunteers who were stationed there to help visitors in the city for the convention. I needed to get to Kenmore and said as much. I was politely and helpfully pointed to a train, which proceeded in exactly the opposite direction, into Boston's twin city, Cambridge. The problem was that Bostonians pronounce Kenmore as Ken-moah, and the volunteer though I was referring to Kendall, the station near MIT.
This time round, fortunately, there was no confusion. We had to reach Harvard (or Hahvahd to a speaker of Bostonese) Business School. Now, strangely enough, while the Harvard campus is located in Cambridge, the B-School is actually in Boston, the Charles river dividing the two. We got there fine, for the India Conference.
Now, Boston harbors a wealth of New England history. But just as Bostonians lose their the "r" when they speak, they also lose their years. It's one of the youngest cities in America simply because of the number of universities that thrive here (there are more than a 100 in the metropolitan area), Harvard, MIT and Boston University just three among them.
That's the reason the Boston Brahmins of the 21st century actually inhabit the academic world. In fact, some of them may really be Brahmins, Indian Brahmins, because of the number of Indian academics and students who have flocked to this city.
When I visited the Harvard Business School, I asked one of the professors there why it had taken so long to set up a Research Center in India. The response was that since there were already so many Indian professors at Harvard, there was a sense of domain expertise on campus without needing to up a satellite center. In fact, several Indian professors study the Indian economy closely, looking at issues as diverse as the competition between India and China or the rise of social entrepreneurship in India.
Harvard Business School also bustles with Indian students, those who have come from India as well as Indian Americans. And over the last couple of years, they've organized a successful India Conference at the School, where keynote speakers have included the likes of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Wipro chief Azim Premji.
The Conference looks at various dimensions of the Indian economy, from infrastructure development to the rural sector. Curiously enough, this year there was even a panel on Bollywood and the Indian entertainment industry.
How significant the Indian economy has become recently was evidenced, contrarily, by the lower number of participants at the India Conference 2006. One of the student organizers pointed out that even three years ago, there were few opportunities for those intrigued by India's potential to interact with experts because of the paucity of such conferences. Now, these conferences, conventions, seminars, et al, have become so common that many would-be participants were "conferenced out" on India. That overload is a good thing because the Indian economy has entered mainstream consciousness with force.
More importantly, I think, the Indian faculty and student body at places like HBS are seized with India. Not only are the professors involved in initiatives in India, many business plans being hatched by budding corporate chieftains are India-centric, like one we were told of about online consolidation of the Indian travel industry.
Boston natives call their city Beantown, and quite clearly many denizens of this city are full of beans about India.
first published:March 18, 2006, 03:49 ISTlast updated:March 18, 2006, 03:49 IST
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The last time I was in Boston was in 2004, when the Democratic National Convention was held there.
That visit didn't start off auspiciously. Blame it on the Boston accent. As I reached the T, the Boston subway, I encountered one of the scores of volunteers who were stationed there to help visitors in the city for the convention. I needed to get to Kenmore and said as much. I was politely and helpfully pointed to a train, which proceeded in exactly the opposite direction, into Boston's twin city, Cambridge. The problem was that Bostonians pronounce Kenmore as Ken-moah, and the volunteer though I was referring to Kendall, the station near MIT.
This time round, fortunately, there was no confusion. We had to reach Harvard (or Hahvahd to a speaker of Bostonese) Business School. Now, strangely enough, while the Harvard campus is located in Cambridge, the B-School is actually in Boston, the Charles river dividing the two. We got there fine, for the India Conference.
Now, Boston harbors a wealth of New England history. But just as Bostonians lose their the "r" when they speak, they also lose their years. It's one of the youngest cities in America simply because of the number of universities that thrive here (there are more than a 100 in the metropolitan area), Harvard, MIT and Boston University just three among them.
That's the reason the Boston Brahmins of the 21st century actually inhabit the academic world. In fact, some of them may really be Brahmins, Indian Brahmins, because of the number of Indian academics and students who have flocked to this city.
When I visited the Harvard Business School, I asked one of the professors there why it had taken so long to set up a Research Center in India. The response was that since there were already so many Indian professors at Harvard, there was a sense of domain expertise on campus without needing to up a satellite center. In fact, several Indian professors study the Indian economy closely, looking at issues as diverse as the competition between India and China or the rise of social entrepreneurship in India.
Harvard Business School also bustles with Indian students, those who have come from India as well as Indian Americans. And over the last couple of years, they've organized a successful India Conference at the School, where keynote speakers have included the likes of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Wipro chief Azim Premji.
The Conference looks at various dimensions of the Indian economy, from infrastructure development to the rural sector. Curiously enough, this year there was even a panel on Bollywood and the Indian entertainment industry.
How significant the Indian economy has become recently was evidenced, contrarily, by the lower number of participants at the India Conference 2006. One of the student organizers pointed out that even three years ago, there were few opportunities for those intrigued by India's potential to interact with experts because of the paucity of such conferences. Now, these conferences, conventions, seminars, et al, have become so common that many would-be participants were "conferenced out" on India. That overload is a good thing because the Indian economy has entered mainstream consciousness with force.
More importantly, I think, the Indian faculty and student body at places like HBS are seized with India. Not only are the professors involved in initiatives in India, many business plans being hatched by budding corporate chieftains are India-centric, like one we were told of about online consolidation of the Indian travel industry.
Boston natives call their city Beantown, and quite clearly many denizens of this city are full of beans about India.
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