10 (pretty) good excuses as to why I have not blogged in over 3 months...

10. Taco Bell, Bangalore consumed my thoughts for over a week. I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't as good as what they cook up in the good ol' USofA but it was definitely worth the 1000 Rs. transportation cost to get to and from the Tbell and 600 Rs. of deliciousness including (but definitely not limited to) chocolate quesadillas, crunchwrap tacos and FOUNTAIN DRINKS! By the way, yes there were auntys in saris there, too.

9. Meggie, Farber & Lauren did South India. They visited Chennai, it was hot. It was also so great to see them and take them around the 'Nad and Kerala! Look out for a guest post soon :)

8. One month in Rajasthan during the hottest time of the year! I spent one-month on a pilot study in Northeastern Rajasthan (May-June) studying consumer preference and household decision drivers to purchase (or not purchase) filtered drinking water, in partnership with Sarvajal, a social enterprise based out of Gujarat. Um, yeah. I also drank a lot of really bad water, went to the really gross Rat Temple outside Bikaner and wore a bindi everyday. 

7. I'm really bad with directions. Much of my time spent on my scooter is spent asking for directions from random auto-wallahs or, more recently, paying auto-wallahs to follow them to my desired location with them continuously checking to see if the crazy person who owns her own vehicle is still paying to follow an empty auto. I am. That being said, I think getting lost took away from my blogging time. There, I said it.

Okay, actually Sunil is from Rajasthan, but I wanted to include this picture because he's like the sweetest.guy.ever and also, coincidentally has the best.mullet.ever.

6. My mean flatmate made me move out. Check my FB statuses from the month of July and you'll know what I'm talking about. That is all.

5. The World Cup! Even though games were at midnight and India, with its 1 billion+ population can't put together a team that can qualify (don't even get me started), the world cup was still a celebrated event in Chennai. We managed to watch at least a dozen games...favorite one hands down was watching Germany vs. Spain at the Indo German Cultural Centre when I was supporting Spain. Awkward turtle. Least favorite was when I had to leave the snowy TV with awful reception at the International Airport in Chennai to catch my International flight to Germany where I asked the first person I saw in the morning who had won the final and was given a deathly stare. 

4. Karma Bar & Lounge. I'm not sure if they know this, but they have revolutionized Chennai's late night scene. Open until 4 (or 5) am, Karma offers bottle service for (1500 Rs.), has pleather booths, a stripper pole in the middle of the dance floor and plays awesome Bollywood & Hip Hop. Does it sound like I'm working for them? Cross your fingers and maybe I will be...DJ Rani? Also, it pays (literally) to have a friend who works for Chennai Live who gets free passes from Karma like all the time. Ah-mazing. Thanks, Pooja Cutiepie (that's her name err email address).

3. The triple jump. Worst.decision.ever was my ticket home from Chennai through Frankfurt AND Washington DC. Aside from the 4 hour wait on the tarmac in Frankfurt (due to broken AC, missing part, low fuel, lack of snacks/water, no terminal available to park, etc. etc.), I was sitting on a flight that was like from the middle ages without a working reading light and a video screen that only showed 4 movies that had to be rewound every 3 hours. WTF?!

2. Chennai Round two. Yep, believe the hype. I'm going back to Chennai and continuing my stint with IFMR. Bring on the Rhapsody happy hours...and clean drinking water projects and fresh fruit and design work and scootyin and, and more!

1. Pooja Does America. In the words of Ahicks, I am doing America. Toledo to DC to NYC back to Toledo to Las Vegas (tonight!) Catch me if you can...! :)

Amazing bus trip from DC to NYC...almost like many of bus rides in India. Um, not. Wifi, free water and bathrooms on board = heaven.

The #1 best way to learn to make curd!

This might be considered by some to be a shameless plug. It is. 

It might be considered by others to be a lazy post. It is.

It also may be on its way to becoming a viral hit. Cross your fingers and enjoy the video.


mmm Curd!

Do it yourself: Curd in the Kitchen from Kirsten Anderson on Vimeo.

3 of my favorite things slash blogs about my job...

Below are a few recent blog posts I've written that describe what I've been up to in the past 3.5 months...(btw, all come with the right amount of gloss, positivity and importance that any "professional" blog entry ought to convey).


Blog entry #3. Using fancy Apple software and new media to put a communications spin on unresolved (and slightly boring) issues that have been at the forefront of health and environmental issues in the developing world.

Blog entry #2. Conducting "Design for Social Impact" workshops at a design school and IIT conference in South India.

Blog Entry #1. Writing (and ranting) about Indian culture, development issues and some things in between.


I know, I know. I don't talk about work often (or usually, at all), but I figured I should (probably) try and change that. Also, I thought this might be a perfect time for a shameless plug for my recently completed project and newly written blog entry (see #3).

As a research consultant for the Rural Market Insight team at the Centre for Development Finance my work is to look at renewable energy sources and access to clean drinking water through products and services that are being developed for those living at the "bottom-of-the-pyramid" aka the BoP* in rural India. I tend to come at this from the point-of-view of the user – emphasizing the importance of understanding user-behavior and pushing user-centered design to help socially oriented businesses, investors and NGO's serve this population more effectively and treat them as consumers should be treated.


*In general, I feel the term, "BoP" is fairly derogatory and basically pretty offensive while at the same time describing a really really large percent of the global population. Regardless, I use it here to exemplify the "lingo" that many market-based solution advocates are taking (RIP CKP) and to connect what I do with how many international social entrepreneurs and investors talk about and refer to this cross-section between business and development.

Reasons why Sri Lanka is India 2.0

4. Smiling faces... everyone was so incredibly friendly, always smiling and eager to help. From the kind uncle who provided shelter from the rain to the motorcycle guy who followed us to the Galle fort to make sure we didn't get lost – it wasn't just that weather that was super warm.

3. Gorgeous beaches... a 630 am barefoot stroll along the beach was the best time to see early am surfers catching the waves and the beautiful, trash-free coastline.

2. Casinos! ...after losing 4000 Sri Lanka Rupees (roughly 2000 Indian Rupees) in about 10 minutes, a few "complimentary drinks" later and 4+ hours later, I managed to come out ahead...winning a total of...wait for it...300 Indian Rupees. Believe it or not.

1. Stuffed Rotis! ...I could probably eat a stuffed, fried roti everyday for the rest of my life. Veg or non veg, these rotis were the staple diet of our 3-day mini vacay from reality.

3 household appliances most people can live without...

but I obviously could not.

3. mixey! ...to make lassis + papaya cardamom shakes.

2. speaker system! ...to listen to shitty hip hop really loud in my room + practice my (lack of) DJ skills...sorry, housemate!

1. toaster! ...to eat wheat toast with my hard boiled eggs for bfast...mmm!

But don't worry, I have yet to invest in other less important things like a sandwich maker, living room furniture or a proper maid.

Reasons why Mumbai 6 vs. Chennai 2 (and no, I'm not talking about IPL*)

6. Vada Pav: Delicious, incredibly unhealthy Mumbai carbohydrate speciality. Only was tempted by this recently when helping a friend research for a project about heart disease in India (Thanks, Michi!) Well done, Mumbai.

5. No men peeing on streets: Okay, "no" is probably an overstatement. But, it's quite amazing not having to watch where you step 24/7 slash not having to feel guilty after verbally abusing those who do pee on the streets. Well done, Mumbai.

4. Local trains: Yes, they're as packed as in the movies, even the "Ladies only" cars. I actually found that riding in the regular compartments that I was able to have more inches of personal space due to men not wanting to get yelled at for "crossing the line." Incredibly cheap and pretty good way to travel through Mumbai...NOT during rush hour, that is. Well done, Mumbai.

3. Dharavi Slum Tour: I was hesitant at first, but upon recommendations from friends, I realized it was not only raising money for a good cause but a way to restore my faith in development work. The largest slum in Asia has roughly 650 million USD turnover per year, is a recycling hub for international plastics and exports leather and other goods all over the world. It was really an eye opener. Well done, Mumbai.

2. Totos: An amazing "mechanic garage" themed bar seemingly run by a group of Uncles (one of whom walks around with sunglasses on). Draught beers, young good-looking crowd and servers in bright orange overalls. Well done, Mumbai.

1. Metered Autos: Probably the best thing about Mumbai. No bargaining, no hassle, no problem. Auto-wallahs are willing to go anywhere, whenever and are even super helpful when you don't know the exact location of the destination (take that, Chennai). Well done, Mumbai.

Everytime I go Mumbai, I like it more and more...it's definitely a city that grows on you!

(Chennai's 2 points come from– 1. Manageable street traffic and 2. Bhangra/Bollywood night @ Pasha, a dance club in the Park Hotel).

*IPL = Indian Premiere League, which is India's 3-year old national cricket league. My first cricket match is next Wednesday...go Chennai Super Kings!

Most ridiculous mama & papa bhatia quotes from our recent vacay in Kerala*

7. "I didn't assume, I overheard."- papa bhatia referring to a couple (who have been married for 4 years) on our tea plantation walking tour in Munnar as "newlyweds" without having ever spoken to them. "4 years of marriage is still considered newlyweds; you are newly married until you have been married for 5 years," my father, clearly a marriage expert, further explained to the couple.

6. "South Indians must really like gold."- papa bhatia commenting on the sheer number of roadside billboard advertisements for gold jewelry.

5. "It's not that we don't like your current flatmate, but if you had a ring on your finger, we'd like him a lot more." - mama bhatia's response to my concern they don't like my current (male) flatmate, even though they have never met him.

4. "Did you bring any oil?" - papa bhatia trying to be funny in conversation with a Saudi Arabian medical resident on a boat tour of Periyar Tiger Reserve after finding out where he was from. "What? It's a very funny question," he rebuked after a look of terror swept over my face (no pun intended).

3. "The food here [in Kerala] is much better than the food in Telugu."- papa bhatia on comparing Keralan food to the food they ate on their tour of Tamil Nadu last year (yes, papa did mean Tamil Nadu and btw, Telugu is a language spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh).

2. "Sorry, we meant 'Tamilian food.' It's just that we consider everything south of Delhi to be 'south India.'" - mama bhatia trying (hard) to justify papa bhatia's earlier comment.

1. "We're SO happy right now."- mama & papa bhatia exclaiming between bites of fresh tandoori roti at our last lunch after 5 days of Keralan parotha, Appam and Phulka (which was apparently too long for my Punjabi parents).

p.s. Mama B- thanks for all the goodies you brought me from the USofA :)

*Kerala is beautiful! In addition to the 24 hr. mama & papa bhatia entertainment, the greenery, abundance of coconuts at every corner, delicious seafood curries and variety of boating trips available, Kerala made for good photo taking opps and a welcomed diversion from city-livin.