India– Cultural Immersion

Professor Ravi Bapna’s class from the Carlson School of Management’s Executive MBA program visited India.  I spent one morning– three hours from 9-12– doing a ‘cultural immersion’ class.  We discussed history, customs, culture, music, dance (with a performance at the end), and had a great interactive session.  They asked tough questions about all the things that stare us in the face: the filth, the beggars, the slums, the traffic.  But what surprised me was that they seemed to intuitively ‘get’ the contradictions that make up this crazy country of ours.  Why do people seem so content amidst such poverty– that type of thing.  They sang ‘Vande Mataram’ in chorus, wore sarees and discussed cuisine.  Here is a photo of the lovely ladies