Where am I? Seriously

Conversation I:
“We invest in small scale healthcare firms. The target is to invest $1 and convert it to $5 in 5 years”.
“Is it not too ambitious?” (that’s me)
“No not at all. Here this is possible”
“So who invests in you guys?”
“Philanthropic organizations from the US. There are a lot of them actually.”

Part of Conversation II:
“I am targeting to work at a PE shop in a couple of years, primarily in the renewable energy sector. I am going to work for the Boston Consulting Group in three months but meanwhile I am working at this VC firm now”

Well, this was last nite in Hyderabad while seated in Row 111 at the new cricket stadium where the first Indian Premiership League game was being played by the home team (they lost badly by the way). I was seated with a Harvard, three Stanford, one ISB grad(s) and an ex-Citicorp-Portugal COO. All of them were (or had worked) working for a VC firm based in Hyderabad. At one point it felt like I was on a forum or a bar in the US discussing future career options. The occasional chanting of the crowd, the partly built stadium, and the music were the only evidence that I was in India. It certainly made for an interesting evening. I got to know a lot about VC firms and micro-finance in healthcare and education as applicable to emerging economies.

The game itself was ok-I can’t relate to the excitement of the fans but it was entertaining. Rumor was that the 15 or so Caucasian cheerleaders, who got up periodically to dance on a small stage on the field, were current Washington Redskins cheerleaders. The crowd seemed to be into it. I paid $25 equivalent to sit where I sat and it was not a bad view. There is lots of optimism that this league will not only survive but generate loads of revenue. Remains to be seen.

Other tidbits from India (Hyderabad):
-The traffic seems to be ok so far. Of course I’ve avoided the rush hours. Much to my surprise I’ve been driving with relative ease here so far.
-I love the fact that I can get fresh fruit and fresh fruit juice at the drop of a coin and for a relatively cheap price.
-Bought two books so far and they seem to be good-one’s on derivatives trading and the other is my Amartya Sen at Harvard.
-I’ve been able to go running on 2 of the 3 days I’ve been here so far. Disappointing part is that I seem to tire after only 2 miles. I need to address this soon. I have a 5K coming up on May 10 in Philly.
-I like the serious/plain/matter-of-fact tone of the CNBC India anchors. None of that Kramer and Kudlow crap from CNBC in the US.
-Summer seems to be hot but I’ve managed to avoid spending time in the heat.
-The wifi card seems to work fine here. It’s a bit slow for uploading/downloading large files but otherwise web-browsing is relatively fast.