Passage to India

I moved here because Sandwell decided to establish a design office in India, and I was offered the opportunity to set up the office.

The first thing I did was travel to major cities to select a base for our operations. We selected Mumbai since it is the business capital. Think of New York but with triple the population.

The biggest shock was the amount of people, the summer heat, the traffic and the lack of infrastructure. The crowds on Sundays at the beach are like a fireworks night in Vancouver.

The best thing about being here is doing business in a country that is changing so rapidly.

The biggest challenge has been red tape, be it a private business, government or just the small street vendors. You should double the expected completion date for any job,
although no contractor will ever admit to any delay.

The people are very friendly, honest, religious.

The pace of life is slow and relaxed for many, but the local labourers have to work more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week to make ends meet.

The standard of living is unfortunately very low for most people. The middle class is rapidly growing, but the slums of Mumbai are known around the world for their deplorable living conditions. Living here has made me realize how little we really need to live comfortably.

The food is very hot and delicious. It is paradise for vegetarians as half of the
population is vegetarian.

What B.C. could learn from Mumbai is to enjoy and participate in all our cultural diversity. Also, to stay cool in traffic. Here, there are millions of cars, huge potholes, no
road regulations that anyone follows, but still you rarely see an accident.

What they do better here is live with limited resources. People deal with power cuts, water cuts, fuel shortages, living in small, cramped apartments, but they manage to live with dignity. This is something we can learn from.