Experiencing the Energy of India

On February 26, 2025, a group of 11 students led by A. D. Amar, Ph.D., a business management professor at the Stillman School of Business, met at John F. Kennedy International Airport where they would embark on their 10-day long journey through India.

As a class, we took the 14 and a half-hour non-stop flight to Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport, where we disembarked and made our way through customs and immigration seamlessly. We were met by Rohit Sharma, our tour companion, who never left our side for the entire trip. Immediately after leaving the airport, we went to HR College, where we met with the students and professors.

As intended by the purpose of the Doing Business in India course, students are supposed to learn the model by which business works in India and its surrounding regions; as well as understanding the social, cultural and ethical aspects of the country. Parts of this were adamant, as described in an introduction to the students there. The student advisor highlighted the cultural differences, such as that students being fully supported by their parents. After the introductions, they showed us their Saris and explained the holiday that they were celebrating, Maha Shivaratri—the marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati.

Our second day was commenced with a visit to the Atlas SkillTech University, another large and well-known institute. We met with yet another group of students and they toured us around their campus where we saw the design lab, entrepreneurship school and joined in on a college fair. At the end of the college fair we were given a lesson on street economics and learned about India’s informal business sector. This sector that consists of the street stands on the road-side makes up 80 percent of the economy. We followed this by experiencing the market outside of the college and another well-known one called Colaba Market.

Day three was an early morning start. We left our hotel, Trident Nariman Point, at 4 a.m. to catch our flight to New Delhi. After two hours, we landed in New Delhi and were met by our tour guide for our stay in Haridwar and Rishikesh and then traveled to our next college, four-and-a-half hours outside of New Delhi, in a town called Haridwar. We had a very beautiful encounter with our third university on our trip. A very old college, but one that was very beautiful, we learned about its history and got another taste of the sociocultural aspects of India in the ways we were greeted by our professor and classmates. The students were all very formal and polite and bestowed us with gifts when we arrived. We finished the day by participating in a fire puja on the river Ganga or Ganges, the birthplace of civilization and a holy river.

During our stay in Haridwar, in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, we visited a temple in the Himalayas, where we joined in on a prayer, respecting the goddess, Durga. Monkeys ran around the temple, stealing puffed rice that was used in the ritual, while we took in the view from the top of the mountain. All of the men on the trip got together for a group photo with our tour guide, Rohit, who we all came to love during our trip. After visiting the temple, we made our way back down the mountain, to Rishikesh, where we had lunch at the Lemon Tree—a nature restaurant. At the doors of the building, we were greeted with Buransh Juice, made out of a flower found in the Himalayas that is good for heart health, and absolutely delicious. At the end of that day, we explored a market in Rishikesh, noting the differences to Colaba and how animals are such a part of daily life. From cows to monkeys, or a dog laying in the street, you got used to them just being a part of the routine.

After Haridwar, we arrived in New Delhi for our day of immersion in the daily life of an Indian, where we visited a well-known store that sold jewelry, clothing and many other things. Most of the girls bought Saris for the upcoming trip to the Taj Mahal, everyone leaving with a gift for a loved one of some sort. We experienced just how determined the salespeople were to make a sale. They were persistent and knowledgeable, taking care in their craft. Also while there, we visited the Red Fort that was built 1639-1648, learning that Delhi was the Capital during the period of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the fort, before returning back to Agra, and making the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort.

After visiting the Red Fort and finishing our experience of New Delhi, we also got the chance to visit Bennet University in Greater Noida, located between Agra and New Delhi. While there we enjoyed a lesson from one of their professors on UPI, the payment platform that dominates the Indian economic world, and then a beautiful presentation from our own Professor Amar on his own research. We met with students in the Start Up Lab at Bennet University after a tour and the presentations, learning about the different projects they are working on and the progress of the companies they have started. The next day was our last, and consisted of an early morning at the Taj Mahal, which was the only building built purely for love. Shah Jahan’s three wives lay buried on the premises, and he lying next to his largest love inside of the Taj Mahal. Afterwards, we visited the Red Fort in Agra, where Shah Jahan was imprisoned for eight years by his own son, with a view of the Taj Mahal.

After our last visit in Agra, we made our way back to Delhi, where we had dinner together one last time, enjoying live music and local food, before we made our way to the airport for our trip home. 

The experiences in India, brought us all closer together as a class, allowing us to not only learn about India, the sociocultural aspects of their economies, but also make new relationships.

Categories: Business