E-Governance - Egad!

Class today was about e-governance. Again, the professor spent a good deal of time explaining to us the basics, what e-governance is. As time passed he did a high level review of the broad plan that India has for establishing good and effective e-governance. It is a pie in the sky kind of plan. It has many noble tenets and idealized goals in it, such as, envisaging the SMART concept (simple, moral, accountable, responsible, and transparent), but fails to provide an execution plan to actually get any of the plan accomplished. Given the basic infrastructure problems within India, like the fact that the electricity drops off without notice several times a day, it seems unfathomable that a grandiose plan such as theirs can be pulled off. There are too many people without the basic necessities of life - no shoes, no homes, no money, no jobs, we are talking hundreds of millions of people. The elite few who are educated and have access to money and power are out of touch with the reality of the majority. The majority, I am sure, could care less about e-governance and the government's plans. They would just like to have clean drinking water, a toilet that flushes, and a roof, instead of a tarp, over their heads. Give the people that, and then maybe India will stand a chance in becoming a global economic force with which to contend.

Tonight was our going away dinner at the Metropole hotel. Everyone dressed in their finest. The women in the sarees they had made while here, and the men their new handtailored suits. Everyone looked terrific. The meal was very good, but I am sooo tired of Indian food. What they consider delicacies and favorites are not what I would choose. One of their favorite desserts is made with shredded carrots and sweetened condensed milk (I think). If it weren't so overly sweet, it might actually be good, but instead, it makes my teeth melt.

The professors, Mr. Dwarakanath, and Ramesh were all there. They presented us with a group picture as a momento and a SMD-IMD jacket as a going away gift. It was a wonderful evening and a grand way to end our stay.

Back at the hotel, a bunch of us gathered in the conference room and played Apples to Apples. It was a blast, and was a nice final touch to have so much fun with a great group of people before leaving Mysore.