Friday, March 22: Delhi Debrief

I added the MGH IHP "Quick Look" to the shelves of college memorabilia.

With the campus visits and internal flights over, it has started to feel like the final stretch. I'm finally on a sleep schedule resembling the one at home and going to the hotel gym regularly. We had one last piece of business to complete, a visit to the US-India Educational Foundation headquarters. The bus picked us up after breakfast and drove us the short distance to USIEF. Along the way, the view confirmed our initial impression of this Delhi neighborhood from last night's bus ride. The streets are wide and lined with trees. Security walls run the entire length of both sides of the street with guards marking the entries to embassies and government. The traffic is slightly more controlled than in other cities.

Reshmi facilitates our final reflection.

On arriving at USIEF headquarters, we reunited with Adam, the director who greeted us on the first day in Mumbai and finally met Priyanjana, the coordinator who managed all the communications about visas and itineraries. We also heard from a representative of Education USA, a State Department-sponsored service that provides free counseling for students seeking to study in the U.S. They represent all accredited universities and help demystify the selection and funding process, which must seem as foreign to Indian students as the Indian universities first appeared to me.

Karen and Jay in front of the India Gate.

We reconvened in the USIEF seminar room, which I noticed had been configured like the other ones with glasses of water and snacks on the table, for the final debrief. Memories of all the campus visits swirled in my head as I tried to draw out common patterns. One takeaway is how serious Indian institutions are about higher education. Many of the schools provide excellent education at affordable prices. The downside is that the high-quality universities can't keep up with the demand from so many bright Indian students. Only about 190,000 Indians study each year in the U.S., so the capacity for growth is enormous. We also observed how, at a time when U.S. universities are cutting humanities, Indian universities are investing in liberal arts. They recognize that engineers need to understand the world they are designing for.

A statue of Vishnu

After lunch at USIEF, the bus brought us back to the hotel for afternoon downtime. Many members of the group decided to visit a nearby market for another round of shopping. Three of us decided to visit some nearby attractions. We started at the India Gate, a memorial to fallen soldiers in 20th century wars.  The monument formed one end of a promenade like the mall in Washington, DC. The middle path was shut to automobile traffic as thousands of Indians took pictures, rode in paddle boats, and bought food from vendors.

We took a rickshaw to the other end of the mall where the Ministry of Defense has its offices in imposing, sandstone buildings. We couldn't enter those or the President's palace or Parliament, but walked by and took photos of each one. From there, we went to the National Museum. For a country as rich as India in history and culture, the museum did not meet world-class standards. The artifacts were aesthetically outstanding but the presentation didn't always provide sufficient context to appreciate them. Still, we were glad we went.

Our neighbor in Delhi

On the walk back to the hotel, we passed a colony of monkeys. It wasn't until we arrived at this most urbane of Indian cities that we see monkeys on the sidewalk. We had about an hour to clean up and change before the bus returned to take us to dinner at USIEF headquarters. In the time we were sightseeing, the caterers had transformed the lawn in front of Fulbright House into a dinner venue. They invited Fulbright fellows currently living in Mumbai, representatives from the Indian government, and U.S. Embassy staff to meet us and hear about our experiences. I always find it fascinating to talk to people in the foreign service. They are never in one place for more than two years, and they get to see a side of countries unavailable to tourists.

Adam, the USIEF director, took the microphone before dinner and introduced our group to the crowd. Apparently, earlier in the day, he had asked some members of the Seminar to select a spokesperson. I hadn't heard the request, but on the bus after lunch, the group nominated me to speak at the dinner on their behalf. After Adam's remarks, he called me forward to represent the group. I added my thanks to USIEF staff and the institutions that hosted us. I thanked the Indians assembled for extending us their hospitality and assured them that our experiences will lead to lasting relationships.

Adam, the director, introducing us.