The internet cafe in the basement of Oberoi is Wi-Fi thanks to Cisco. Had NASSCOM tipped us about the number of facilities on offer, I would have been able to keep up with this blog starting Feb 2, and not Feb 4, day one of NASSCOM.

Quickly:
On the flight, we finally landed with 15 delegates as opposed to 23. Some excused for Eid prayers [how can we miss it?], some wanted to come via an 8 hour flight via Dubai [okay, so shopping is great there, now get over it], and some just plain didnt turn up at the airport. To the president of PASHA, Jehan Ara, who has worked on this trip with immense grit, this was unfair.

Landed safely in Mumbai. Oberoi is exactly as it was in Colombo, classy, luxurious and buzzing with activity because of the on-going conference. Lovely water lilies all over the place. The two-hour ride from the airport to the 'necklace' where Oberoi is - far from it.

The city is as I heard, a mass of shanty towns, high rises, smart indians walking, driving or catching the bus to work. There is a sense of megapolis here that I've experienced in london and Rome. And that does not include Karachi because we are so small comparitively. Not sure though if i should add Rome there.

So Day 1: Dec 2 was light.
Trying to think back at it is like thinking back 2 years and not 2 days. There were no garlands of marigold as I expected. But the overall hospitality and reception every where we mention the word 'pakistan' and 'tech delegation from karachi/lahore' is spontaneous and more than welcoming. we only went out for dinner and a walk to a khappa [vegertarian] followed by masala tea at the Taj opposite the gateway to india. Mmm..mmm!

Day 2: Dec 3
2 hours to SEEPZ and 2 hours back. We lost considerable amount of time on the inaugural day of NASSCOM 2004. The inauguaration wasnt until the evening but the visit to 3 local tech software houses and one hurriedly\[badly] put together visit left us out of breath and exhausted. At the inauguration, the mood was celebratory = INdia has arrived, we are a brand and we have a billion dollar club to celebrate it. I heard most of the speeches and laurels, well deserved all of them.

And I wish one day a delegation of media ppl can visit a PASHA annual forum to appreciate all this from Pakistan.

Day 3:
In progress. Rushing to set up interviews, connect with and to people and spread around copies of Spider. More later. It is unbelievably great to be in Mumbai right now.