Learning India

Making sense of the subcontinent

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Communication, On the Job

Book Review: Doing Business in 21st Century India

Doing Business in 21st Century India

Gunjan Bagla’s Doing Business in 21st Century India is the best book out there for the person heading a business unit in India, overseeing an expansion process, or wanting to start a new venture. Expatriates on work assignment and casual travellers can gain some good insights from, but the biggest value comes for the person who has to keep the full business picture in mind.

Bagla covers an overwhelming scope of information in only 200+ pages. He is a consultant who works with companies who want to expand and improve their India operations, and you can see him demonstrate his expertise. In each section of the book, he delivers the most poignant advice and keeps the applications relevant.

(Listen to my podcast with Gunjan Bagla here.)

The book covers the following topics:

  • Introduction to Indian Business
  • Cross Cultural Communication
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Legal and Accounting
  • Travelling and Living Tips

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Daily Living

Taxes for Expats in India

Taxes

 

Taxes for expats in any foreign country are a serious matter. This article is the result of thorough research, but you should consult a specialist to determine your best course of action.

 

Do I have to pay taxes in India?

If you made more than Rs. 2,50,000 in a single financial year from any Indian source, OR if you were a resident of India during a financial year, then you must file a tax return.

The Indian financial year is from April 1st – March 31st.

 

How do I determine my residency in India?

There are three classifications of residency for non-citizens or expatriates. They have strange names, so we will call them Peacock, Tiger, and Elephant for now. Answer the following questions to determine what you are. The answers to these questions should be supported by your passport. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Daily Living

My Luxuries of India

Luxuries

 

Some things about living and working in India are ridiculously hard. But other things are ridiculously amazing.

I took the last week to write down all the ‘luxuries’ I experience – great things about living in India that I am very thankful for. My list could be a lot longer, but it would be great if you could add your own to this list!

 

  • We had a friend stay with us for a few days and her mother sent her with a massive box of murukkus.
  • We took a five-minute drive to the beach to have a picnic, and the kids had a blast playing near the waves.
  • We rode in our small car with four adults and five children and no car seats.
  • They sell Magnums right on the beach, as they will in heaven.
  • I have six potential methods of transportation to get to my office that is 10 minutes away (walk, auto, taxi, self-drive, share auto, bus).
  • While some rental and real estate prices are very high, we live in a fantastic place for much less that I would pay in the US.
  • We have a great maid/cook who comes to sweep, mop, wash the dishes, and make food three times a week.
  • Our maid’s son needed to see a doctor and my wife sent out a message on a Whatsapp group to ask for help from others on the floor. Within ten minutes, one of our neighbors was there, explaining to her how to get to a good doctor she knows in her area.
  • I went with my kids to a shop to get a present for a kid’s birthday party. They gift-wrapped it at no extra charge while my kids played with their toys.
  • At the birthday party, a Muslim friend asked, “Is Sarah a Christian name or a Jewish name?” We had a friendly discussion rooted in religion that was not awkward or had any tension.
  • My wife called the grocery store while we were driving and arranged a home delivery of some items (at no extra charge). We left money with our trustworthy maid who paid for the items when they were delivered.
  • The owner of the same local grocery store led my four-year-old son around his store as he read out his grocery list to the owner.
  • Our flat arranged a dandiya dance one evening and we all had a really great time.
  • I went for a long run with friends from our flat followed by some fresh tender coconut water (see photo above).
  • Every Saturday, my family goes to Sangeetha, a nice south Indian restaurant where the sambar and chutney taste different every time. We order three to four rounds of food and it is delivered hot to our table within 10 minutes.
  • I can put all of my shirts in a bag, give it to a lady as I drive out of my apartment, and she will return it with all the shirts nicely ironed and folded. All for about US$0.06 a shirt.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: #IndiasNotIndia, Indias By...

Indias By Language

If you ever need a reminder of the diversity of India, just take a look at any currency note. On the back, you will find the value of note in fifteen languages, along with English and Hindi.

Currency Note

 

India’s languages are perhaps the most telling way that this is a country of countries. It is possible that you could have a room of four or five Indians and none of them would be able to understand the other.

 

Why should I care about the languages of India? Don’t they speak English well enough?

It’s true that most Indians that you will do business with speak English at a high level. In fact, most of them speak at least three. Understanding the linguistic talents of Indians will give you a lot more respect for their abilities and make you less likely to correct any inconsequential errors you notice.

A person’s ‘mother-tongue’ is a very special and intimate part of their being. It is quite rare for an outsider to be able to recognize someone’s heart language. If you can show that you care enough to know even just the name of someone’s first language, you will build a lot of relational capital.

Finally, it is important to recognize that when you work with a group of Indians, you should insist on people using a language that is universally known and most comfortable. For example, if you are working in Chandigarh, and everyone speaks Hindi except for you (and they are not comfortable in English), then the onus is on you to up your language skills. However, if you are in Chennai with a group of Tamilians and a few northerners mixed in, you should insist on the team using English and not Tamil for the sake of those who will feel uncomfortable and left out.

 

Wait, I thought everyone spoke Indian?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, Into India, Transportation

Do you speak Air Horn?

Horn Language

 

My dad liked to play this joke growing up. When we were driving and he saw someone he didn’t know doing some yard work outside, he would roll down his window, honk the horn and wave. Being a small mid-western town, people would usually wave back, assuming they knew the ‘honkee’. Dad thought this was hilarious. (Like most fathers, Dad’s jokes were really only funny to him.)

His trick worked because in my culture, a horn honking meant only one of two things. 1) I am six inches away from hitting your car, or 2) Hello, I know you.

In fact, when I was back in the US for about two months, I heard someone honk a horn a total of four times over sixty days, and two of those were at me for my poor driving skills.

Here in India the horn is, shall we say, more loquacious?

Here is a handy guide for understanding the meanings of the Indian horn.

 

 

The Single

Short, subtle, proper. Used by passive drivers to calmly communicate unimportant information to neighboring cars.

 

Possible meanings include: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Into India

14 Indianisms You Should Start Using Now

Indianisms

You have probably spent some time on the list of over 110 Indianisms that I recorded over the past few years. It has been a fun project to stop and make a note when something sounds slightly off to my American ear.

However, I have a feeling that the term “Indianism” gets a bad rap. It has some automatic negative connotation and is seen as a bastardization of the Queen’s English.

In my opinion, I think many Indianisms actually improve on existing English usage, and some of these innovations should be standard across the English-speaking world. So, I’ve given some thoughts here on which ones I think are better, and which ones aren’t.

Immediately, I must admit that this list compares American English with Indian English. I am fully aware that a large chunk of these words are British in origin and may still actively be used there.

In selecting which phrases where superior (American or Indian), I used the following criteria. A phrase is better if:

  1. It has no direct equivalent
  2. It uses fewer words
  3. It has fewer troublesome alternate meanings
  4. It makes more logical sense to use
  5. It makes communication clearer

[Read more…]

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, On the Job, Podcast

Episode 12: Carissa Hickling

Podcast

 

“Bureaucracy is a lot of little people trying to follow the rules as they interpret it.”

 

Meet Carissa Hickling, Mumbai’s own Whisky Lady, and the 12th guest on the Working With India podcast. Carissa runs her own consulting firm, and has been in India for over 20 years.

In this episode you will hear:

  • The benefits and limits to being a foreigner in India
  • How to take 5 years to remove money from a Provident Fund
  • Why ‘suggesting’ something be done doesn’t usually cut it in India
  • When it’s ok to blur the professional and personal lines

 

You can reach Carissa on

 

You can listen to the show in this player, or through iTunes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Filed Under: Daily Living

The Minimalist’s Guide to Staying Healthy in India

Staying Healthy

 

One of my favorite quotes from Patrick De Ridder’s podcast episode was about street food:

“Maybe you are not sure about the quality of the food. Have it. Get violently sick. Get better.”

There are two kinds of approaches to staying healthy in India. One is Patrick’s caution-to-the-wind perspective. The other is the person who brings their own hand sanitizer to a five-star hotel and insists on seeing the seal being broken on their mineral water before drinking it.

If you are more of the second type, this article isn’t for you. Nothing personal against these people, but it’s just not something you can keep up if you are going to enjoy being in India for a long time.

This is the ‘minimalist’ guide to staying healthy in India, for those who prefer to live a little dangerously, but don’t want to be stupid about it. If you follow this advice, you will thoroughly enjoy your experience, but be warned that most of us have had a stay or two in the hospital as well.

 

Cover Your Bases

Before you come, check out the vaccination guide and get acquainted with hospitals in India. These are things you don’t want to find out about too late. If you take prescription medicine, bring a good supply of what you need, but basically every medication can be bought here as well (and for much cheaper).

 

Food-born Illnesses

Rule #1 [Read more…]

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© Neil A. Miller, LearningIndia.in, and Madras Media Marketing LLC 2013-2015. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.