Arriving

South Asia was the lead story in most major newspapers the day I left the States, and an earthquake -- not an economy -- consumed my mind for much of the 20-hour journey from Dulles to Delhi.

We were greeted by Namrata, my husband's cousin's wife (sisters-in-law would be the Indian extended family parlance for our relationship). On the ride home, she told us she had been out of town when the quake struck but the workers at her garment factory all evacuated because they were so scared. And this was miles away from the epicenter, so we can only imagine the fear and grief of millions of others across the subcontinent.

Post photographer Andrea Bruce has been dispatched to Islamabad, so the visual elements of this blog might be delayed for a bit. I'm spending today sleeping off the jet lag and watching Naya bond with her new babysitter.

I've also been scheduling meetings with the folks we will meet here, often trying to be squeezed in among their travels back and forth between Northern Virginia and India. Just a few examples: The CEO of Fairfax-based Tech Books was in Delhi when I wanted to meet him in Fairfax. Our planes -- mine to Delhi, his to Dulles -- literally crossed paths. Meanwhile, the head of Pune-based Maximize Learning, which was just acquired by Tech Books, will be in Fairfax when I will be in Pune next week. And then there's a staff meeting this week at Reston-based Approva Corp., luring much of the company's employees in Pune. Luckily, I will catch them just as they return.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though, as this economic and cultural bridge is exactly what we hope to tap into in the coming weeks.

I confess I haven't been outside too much yet to report on any immediate changes I am seeing in Delhi. I was last here in January 2004 to speak at a conference of India's diaspora. (Here, they are best known as NRIs, for Non-Resident Indians, or, more derisively, Not Really Indian.) On the way from the airport last night, we passed a new mall under construction, which surprised me since I have heard repeatedly that malls are not doing that well here.

Finally, my inbox yielded the following proof that companies really define the new Indian landscape. An executive sending me directions wrote:

If you are coming down NH-8 from Delhi, take a U turn after you see the Convergys Building on your left-hand side.  Then take first left after the U turn. You will pass TCS Towers and Polaris Building on your left-hand side.  Take left in front of the Flextronics building. At the T junction, take a right and you will find our office on the right-hand side of the road.

In India, a street's name might not be as dependable as a company's.

By S. Mitra Kalita |  October 11, 2005; 2:34 AM ET  | Category:  In Delhi
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