I wonder how one can crack passwords at the Oberoi? My Centrino's woken up from its slumber and detected a hotspot nearby. But my Explorer wont budge until I put in a Guest password. Darn security. So this and future entries are likely to be offline since I do not forsee walking out to Link Road [25 minutes] for the comfort of my favorite cybercafe. Plus my concious won't allow me to pay Rs.200 for an hour to the great Oberoi. Uh..uh.
As it happens there was no lunch. I wandered upstairs and ran into Jehan and Nadeem, with Priya from Rediff.net. As soon as I saw Priya give an alert look in my directions, I saw the questions coming. "Zunaira, I want your point of view on what its like for working women in Pakistan as a journalist". I ducked, slid off the table, put on my best diplomatic expression [which isnt that good] and said "You have to be street smart.." and rambled for half a second before cleverly passing the buck in Jehan's direction. Early on, I had realised I was the loudspeaker in this 'careful' delegation. When in doubt, step out. Not sure how much and what I say would be misquoted in India [paranoia] so I've kept my wisdom to myself. I'll put it in a PDF file one day and email it to her [mental note].
The interview wound up, we woke up to the fact that we still had no tickets. Jehan was ill. Nadeem doesnt look fit for running [sorry Nadeem] so I darted back to the basement. It took us an hour to finalise who was going. There would be 11 of us, Anwer and Navaid of Kontact are due back in Karachi tomorrow. And I can't tag our friend from Millennium Software. On an impulse, a unanimous decision was reached to return by the 10:30 flight tomorrow night. Sheesh. No one in this delegation wants to breath.
I finally spotted Rita Terdiman, VP Gartner Group. I had requested NASSCOM to pin her down for a brief sitting for Spider but as with most conferences, the PR agencies are too busy shuffling speakers from sessions to hotel rooms and I'm left looking up every American woman at the conference, which btw, aren't too many [phew!]. Rita was sitting next to a grinning Indian when I pounced on her [literally]. Flashed a copy of Spider, told her we HAD to meet and waited for her to do another Diana Farrell. She gawked at the magazine in her hands and asked me whether this was an... "an Internet magazine from Paakistaan? How interesting.. look young lady, journalists are grabbing me wherever I go. And I have no idea what my timetable is like...so why don't you see if I'm around at 7 in the lobby". Apparently Rita was skipping the Grand Gala Dinner. Hmm. Quick decision, miss the final social event of the conference and wait for my chat? I chose chat.
I turned around and came face to face with Anwer and Navaid scooping up cups of cold coffee. Perrfect! The two were bidding us bye bye and I wanted to know what they were reflecting on. Anwer looked particularly red in the face but Navaid as usual was a-okay. Without giving them a chance to say no, I led the way to the Media Speaker's room and got them talking. Anwer and Navaid were more or less in agreement. The level of sophistication they had witnessed at NASSCOM, the event, the networking and their interactions with other delegates here has been by far world class. Anwer feels there is considerable dependence from the private sector on the government to move things forward and this he hasnt seen in India. Both these gentlemen are looking forward to starting their call center operation soon.
Had just about given up on the Sun CTO interview when I noticed the confused PR guy looking in my direction. Still no lunch, I asked him if Matt Thomas was good and ready. Relieved he directed me to the Business Center. Had a superb session with Matt and his Indian counterpart who happily showed of the new Linux-based Java desktop...first looks: super cool! The interface got me...you can drag, drop, pull windows like child's play...awesome! I WANT THIS NOW. Get techies to start talking about the fineries and they do it splendidly. I don't know where the hour went. And I'm not a techie. Matt has the distinction of having been to Pakistan on a 'flying' visit [lahore]. I can't believe I was sitting there also trying to sell Pakistan but that's exactly what I have been doing the past 3 days. Perceptions about security and the level of IT penetration at home are completely warped. Maybe Matt will find himself coming to karachi in another 5 years, who knows. Have asked for a copy of the CD which is being distributed with magazines all over India, other than being picked up by a few states for their e-governance programs.
Instead of checking in to any of the sessions, I once again docked at the Media Center to see who's addressing who. Jehan walked in followed by Shahida, Naeem somehow fitting in the picture too [which hasn't been] and Owais accompanied by Lutfullah Sahib, Navaid and Anwer. NASSCOM was finally meeting the Pakistani delegation at 4. With 1o minutes to go, we all sat around in a circle and I sent a holler Naeem Ghauri's way. Only yesterday, the gentleman had told me his company was looking for partners in India. Overnight, this partnership according to FT and BBC had transpired into full fledged ownership. That Naeem had chosen to boast of his ambitions to the gora press irked me. I didnt have to waste 15 minutes of my life asking why he wanted to be on this trip if he was going to play poker with me on info. So before the delegation knew what was happening, Naeem and I were in the middle of a heated argument. Who said what with what effect? Indeed. We closed the argument on a friendly enough note. As far as I'm concerned: never take a pakistani businessman on his word. Still not sure whether his deal has come through in aquiring an Indian firm or is it mere steam to generate interest in the NetSol stock.
Kiran Karnik, Som Mittal and [?] Chairman Mastek finally came across at 4. It was actually quite surreal. While I balanced my recorder from one person to the other in the circle, it struck me for the first time that these were businessmen, no pakistanis and no indians. They were talking interest, in cooperating, collaborating -- jargon one expects to hear on a first meeting. While there was no paper signing [mere exchange of good will and gifts], and no confirmation when NASSCOM might visit Pakistan, certainly the level of interest between both parties is equal. Group snaps plus individual snaps later, NASSCOM was heading for a closing. I got a pat on the back from Kiran [ahem, ahem!] for all the soldiering around I did with the delegation.
The closing was a typical press conference. The Indians recounted why the backlash against outsourcing would not hurt their interests yet they were addressing the problem [Hill & Knowlton outtaboys!].
The Malaysian networking event was cute. I dont know what happened there because I was too busy stuffing myself with the fried stuff floating around. Seeing a potential eater [no, make it BIG TIME eater], the entire squadron of bored waiters rushed at me with their loaded delicacies. I barely exchanged hello with dear Vickram Crishna sitting with Jehan and Shahida before grinning at each waiter, nodding my appreciation at each offering and munching away. I dont think I care to recall exactly what I ate within the span of 20 minutes but given it was India, it couldnt be anything with scales, which is fine by me. The Malaysians also offered free drinks which I couldn't use.
Back in the room, Shahida and Sadia were deliberating group chemistry. I checked energizers and made my way to the lobby. Rita showed up at 7:15. Thank God I chose chat. She asked me if I was sure I wasnt going to sell anything to her, I gave her a sardonic look and said not today. I only wanted to tag her on a couple of pointers: a) why in the age of information saturation, should any one believe any source that is mapping countries as hot beds be it Gartner or some unknown researcher, b) Gartner's presence in India and c) the next big tech havens. An interesting conversation ensued over credibility in the information age and before I could stop myself, I was talking about the CNN effect, framing and old school media theory. Rita was curious to see an 'independent, liberal young woman' still willing to live in Pakistan and had plenty of questions about the political climate at home, Osama and perceptions about America abroad.
At 8:30, me, Shahida and Sadia sneaked out to Jazz by the Bay - a useless scam of a karaoke place which charges a Rs.150 cover price, serves average food and the most horrendous school band as a combo. We heard our most favorite tracks slit from cover to cover in the most merciless, gut-squelching way [except when somebody had the sense to put in a Tears for Fears CD] until we literally stumbled out in the cold, night Mumbai air. Aaah. The ladies thought ice cream and a ride on the ronga by the beach should put a good end to the conference and for Rs.50, it wasnt too bad. There was some commotion by the beach -- a film shoot. We stood around for a sec before heading back to the Oberoi.
Crisis at midnight: Jehan is definitely ill and so is Lutfullah Sahib. We need to transfer tickets and cancel some. Shahida has decided she would rather stay back to meet a potential client. In the middle of this, I'm wondering how many will find their way to Bangalore tomorrow morning. We've made frantic calls and discovered a wandering travel agent who has promised to to do the needful ticket changes.
Its nearly 3:15. Need to stay up until 4 so I dont miss the taxi ride to the airport. I'll be at the door. If there's enough people going, I'm tagging along. Hate Shahida for sleeping in her bed, soundly.
