The seminars on mexico organised by EEPC at chennai and jullunder were well attended
These were to promote participation in INDEE in mexico city ( details below)
I was encouraged by the continuing enthusiasm of old exporters and the fresh interest by the new ones
I should admit my admiration for the spirit of enterpreuners and businessmen from punjab who make me more optimistic
of course, everyone was thrilled with the liberalisation of visas
In Jullunder I met a young Brasilian, Rafael, who is working/interning with an Indian metal sheet company Metlonics
Rafael is enjoying his work and life in the little city of chandigarh
He opted for this to broaden his vision and experience
who would have imagined a Brasilian coming to india for business experience?
hold on... one more Brasilian Eduardo Rosa is interning with an Indian law firm in delhi
he is also here to have an " Indian Experience" and he is keen to promote business with Brasil
Who says Brasilians dont take india seriously?
of course, these brasilians miss something in India..
no prizes for guessing...
earlier there was a Miss venezuela who worked for a couple of years with Garware plastics in Mumbai
she was promoting exports to latin america
Well, here is another way to promote exports to latin america... recruit latinamericans
It is happening the other way also
A chilean co has recruited an indian pharma executive to source supplies from india as well as to market them in latin america
When i was reflecting over this change in the mindset of these new brasilians, there comes a young American student from Cambridge University, UK ( ex- stanford) to meet me on Brasil
she said she is doing a PhD on indo-brasil Trade
what?..
i asked her
is it for a full Phd or for a small part.
she says in perfect portuguese
no senhor... full fledged Phd
and she has an authentic brasilian accent, having lived there for 2 yrs .
She is more Brasilian than many Brasilians in her spirit
Her name is Cassandra Sweet...I call her as Miss Dozinha
Is this not proof enough that even the world outside is taking note of our affair with brasil !
For those of you who want to explore the caribbean market, here is an opportunity
An Indo-caricom economic Forum is going to be held in port of spain 5-15 august
besides an exihibition of products, there will be workshops on pharma , SMEs and pharma as well as a dialogue with caricom trade and industry ministers
for info and particption pl contact our high commission in port of spain
Monday, July 18, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
discovery of a new author Laura Restrepo
I have just finished the novel
The dark bride( la novia escura ) by this colombian author.
I felt at home...ie in latin america
it is a typical latino fare
with a puta as the heroine
Laura has handled the puta theme admirably, like Jorge Amado of brasil and the master of this theme.
The story involves petroleros, poverty and prostituition
there is humour, irony,provocative and evocative descriptions.
Of course love of the putas and love for the putas has been juxtaposed.
sprinkling of philosophy and scattered nuggets of wisdom appear here and there
the inevitable love is defined and refined
amidst the wretched and miserable lust
The half Indian girl enters audaciously the world of puteria
without a peso, she commands the cartpuller to take her to a puteria
transforms herself into sayonara, with whom everyone falls in love
But she falls in impossible love with one miserable worker and becomes amanda
What a character..strong..able to disconnect heart and mind...opening the heart knowing the risk of breaking it
sayonara is memorable
and what more, sayonara meets her lover on the bank of River Magdalena
the same river in which the hero of Love at the time of cholera ( gabriel garcia marquez)takes his bride on a honeymoon cruise after having waited and married her after 70 years of age. The same Rio magdalena in which Maqroll ( alavro mutis novel)embarks on a risky journey upriver for the saw mills.
I am going to read the other two novels of Laura
The dark bride( la novia escura ) by this colombian author.
I felt at home...ie in latin america
it is a typical latino fare
with a puta as the heroine
Laura has handled the puta theme admirably, like Jorge Amado of brasil and the master of this theme.
The story involves petroleros, poverty and prostituition
there is humour, irony,provocative and evocative descriptions.
Of course love of the putas and love for the putas has been juxtaposed.
sprinkling of philosophy and scattered nuggets of wisdom appear here and there
the inevitable love is defined and refined
amidst the wretched and miserable lust
The half Indian girl enters audaciously the world of puteria
without a peso, she commands the cartpuller to take her to a puteria
transforms herself into sayonara, with whom everyone falls in love
But she falls in impossible love with one miserable worker and becomes amanda
What a character..strong..able to disconnect heart and mind...opening the heart knowing the risk of breaking it
sayonara is memorable
and what more, sayonara meets her lover on the bank of River Magdalena
the same river in which the hero of Love at the time of cholera ( gabriel garcia marquez)takes his bride on a honeymoon cruise after having waited and married her after 70 years of age. The same Rio magdalena in which Maqroll ( alavro mutis novel)embarks on a risky journey upriver for the saw mills.
I am going to read the other two novels of Laura
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
cafe means more than coffee in latin america
While walking around in the centre of the city of Santiago,capital of Chile, one can see legs through the glass windows of cafe. Man cannot resist. You walk in. oops! what do you see... pretty young chicas (girls in spanish) dressed 0.1 percent. They smile, welcome you and take you to your seat. They ask what coffee you wil have. They mean strong or weak. The coffee comes in the slender hands while the man feasts his eyes.Just sit down, relax, listen to music and take the coffee.Not expensive. just about a US dollar. Forget it . it is just coffee . nothing more. no alcohol .. no nothing. These cafes are called as " cafe con piernas " meaning "coffee with legs ". These are proper, decent places , not something seedy. The idea behind this is to animate the tired and exhausted men coming from work and send them home in good spirits. . Who says the Chileans are less latin and more European?
In Saopaulo,(Brasil) there is a famous cafe called as " cafe foto ". Dont get dressed up for the photos while taking coffee. There is neither coffee nor photo there. It is the best night club of Brasil with 50-60 gorgeous garotas ( girls - in portuguese). There are a few such other cafes in the city which are more intoxicating and addictive than coffee.There are a number of customers in these cafes with special cards like the frequent flier miles cards.
This reminds one of a Venezuelan joke
what does a Russian man do after sex?..... takes vodka
what does a French do after sex?...... takes cognac
what does an American do after sex ?.... smokes
what does a venezuelan do after sex ?
oops .. he goes home
Coffee is used to describe the skin of people in latin America
coffee colour means blacks
milk colour is whites
coffee with milk is mulattos, mixture of whites and blacks and browns
so we from India are "cafe con leche"(coffee with milk) colour.
Coffee is the drink of all classes of people of latin america, unlike in India where coffee is the drink of the rich people, while the poor classes are tea-drinking. In many offices, shops and businesses, coffee is kept for free self service.
In cafes, when you order coffee, the waiter will ask you ..what coffee?...guayo, negro,negro corto, negro largo,negrito,maron oscuro, maron claro,marroncito,cafe con leche or cafe cortado .so many varieties depending on strength, proportion of milk and colour.In general , cafe serving in latin america is small but it is strong.In many offices and shops they keep coffee near the visitors room for people to help themselves.
In saopaulo "cafe carioca " means weak coffee. It is the way of paulistas ( people of sao paulo ) making fun of the easygoing people of Rio de Janeiro who are called as Cariocas. The other comment about Cariocas is that their week starts on Tuesday and weekend starts on Friday. In Brasil, breakfast is called as " Cafe de Manha " which literally means morning coffee
Coffee in small cup is "cafezinho" in brasil and "cafecito" in the rest of latin america, which speaks spanish. One of my favourite books is called as " A cafecito story " written by Julia Alvarez from Dominican Republic. It is based on the real life story of her husband , an American who developed an organic coffee plantation and helped the small coffee farmers of Dominican Republic
The politics of Saopaulo state of Brasil in the eighteenth century was described as "cafe con leite" ( coffee with milk ) politics. It was a period of stuggle for power between the rural landlords who owned thousands of acres of lands of coffee and sugar plantations and cattle ranches and the emerging urban industrial and business class who processed, traded and exported coffee, sugar, milk and the meat. Guess how much each cow in Brasil has as grazing area... eight and half hectares ! The landlords prefer to have large cattle ranches , since cultivation of crops is a botheration and avoidable work.
It was the coffee export economy that created the deep divisions between the privileged elite and impoverished rural masses and caused revolutions in central America even as late as the 1980s.The Coffee dynasties of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua held political power during much of the ninteenth and twentieth centuries.The period from 1880 to 1930 was the golden age of the coffee elite in central america. In 1895 majority of the national legislators of of El Salvador were coffee growers. At the turn of twentieth century, coffee was the primary export, the foundation of wealth, the determinant of social status and the arbiter of political power in most of central america.
Coffee is the most important cash crop of Latin America which produced 63 million bags (60 kgs) out of the world production of 109 million bags in 2001-02. Brazil is the largest producer in the world followed by Colombia. These two countries account for 39 percent of the world trade in coffee. In the case of Colombia, coffee was the main export commodity in the past but now petroleum and manufactures have overtaken coffee.
Guatemala wass known as the "Coffee Republic" as it depended upon coffee exports as the main source of foreign exchange .These days the emigrants bring more dollars than coffee.
With 15 billion dollars in annual sales, coffee is the world's most valuable commodity after oil, providing 10 nations with over 50% of their foreign exchange.
While i was ambassador in Venezuela i introduced " Cafe con Visa " for Venezuelan business visa applicants. The visa is made ready by the time the visitor finishes coffee with the marketing Officer or Ambassador.
In Saopaulo,(Brasil) there is a famous cafe called as " cafe foto ". Dont get dressed up for the photos while taking coffee. There is neither coffee nor photo there. It is the best night club of Brasil with 50-60 gorgeous garotas ( girls - in portuguese). There are a few such other cafes in the city which are more intoxicating and addictive than coffee.There are a number of customers in these cafes with special cards like the frequent flier miles cards.
This reminds one of a Venezuelan joke
what does a Russian man do after sex?..... takes vodka
what does a French do after sex?...... takes cognac
what does an American do after sex ?.... smokes
what does a venezuelan do after sex ?
oops .. he goes home
Coffee is used to describe the skin of people in latin America
coffee colour means blacks
milk colour is whites
coffee with milk is mulattos, mixture of whites and blacks and browns
so we from India are "cafe con leche"(coffee with milk) colour.
Coffee is the drink of all classes of people of latin america, unlike in India where coffee is the drink of the rich people, while the poor classes are tea-drinking. In many offices, shops and businesses, coffee is kept for free self service.
In cafes, when you order coffee, the waiter will ask you ..what coffee?...guayo, negro,negro corto, negro largo,negrito,maron oscuro, maron claro,marroncito,cafe con leche or cafe cortado .so many varieties depending on strength, proportion of milk and colour.In general , cafe serving in latin america is small but it is strong.In many offices and shops they keep coffee near the visitors room for people to help themselves.
In saopaulo "cafe carioca " means weak coffee. It is the way of paulistas ( people of sao paulo ) making fun of the easygoing people of Rio de Janeiro who are called as Cariocas. The other comment about Cariocas is that their week starts on Tuesday and weekend starts on Friday. In Brasil, breakfast is called as " Cafe de Manha " which literally means morning coffee
Coffee in small cup is "cafezinho" in brasil and "cafecito" in the rest of latin america, which speaks spanish. One of my favourite books is called as " A cafecito story " written by Julia Alvarez from Dominican Republic. It is based on the real life story of her husband , an American who developed an organic coffee plantation and helped the small coffee farmers of Dominican Republic
The politics of Saopaulo state of Brasil in the eighteenth century was described as "cafe con leite" ( coffee with milk ) politics. It was a period of stuggle for power between the rural landlords who owned thousands of acres of lands of coffee and sugar plantations and cattle ranches and the emerging urban industrial and business class who processed, traded and exported coffee, sugar, milk and the meat. Guess how much each cow in Brasil has as grazing area... eight and half hectares ! The landlords prefer to have large cattle ranches , since cultivation of crops is a botheration and avoidable work.
It was the coffee export economy that created the deep divisions between the privileged elite and impoverished rural masses and caused revolutions in central America even as late as the 1980s.The Coffee dynasties of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua held political power during much of the ninteenth and twentieth centuries.The period from 1880 to 1930 was the golden age of the coffee elite in central america. In 1895 majority of the national legislators of of El Salvador were coffee growers. At the turn of twentieth century, coffee was the primary export, the foundation of wealth, the determinant of social status and the arbiter of political power in most of central america.
Coffee is the most important cash crop of Latin America which produced 63 million bags (60 kgs) out of the world production of 109 million bags in 2001-02. Brazil is the largest producer in the world followed by Colombia. These two countries account for 39 percent of the world trade in coffee. In the case of Colombia, coffee was the main export commodity in the past but now petroleum and manufactures have overtaken coffee.
Guatemala wass known as the "Coffee Republic" as it depended upon coffee exports as the main source of foreign exchange .These days the emigrants bring more dollars than coffee.
With 15 billion dollars in annual sales, coffee is the world's most valuable commodity after oil, providing 10 nations with over 50% of their foreign exchange.
While i was ambassador in Venezuela i introduced " Cafe con Visa " for Venezuelan business visa applicants. The visa is made ready by the time the visitor finishes coffee with the marketing Officer or Ambassador.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
adventures and misadventures of maqroll
I have just completed this fascinating book by Alvaro mutis of colombia
when i finished the last page of this 700 page book i wished he had written 7000 pages
the characters, the journey through exotic parts of the world and the humorous and smooth story telling made me like a kid listening to grandpa's stories.
maqroll, the gaviero, abdul bashur and llona have become my companions in journey.
in fact the book is an ideal companion for travels
the character of maqroll is unique.. latino mostly... but unlatino in some respects
one travels with him to
tierra del fuego
orinoco river
up the river magdalena
mines of peru
caribbean waters
northeuropean ports
meditarranean
malaysia....
women. lovers, passion and tragedies
adventures, fatalism, filosofical musings..
ports, jungle, sea..longing for sea
the author himself has confessed that maqroll was like a companion for him and he was following the character like an outsider
my favourite story is
the tramp steamer's last port of call
when i finished the last page of this 700 page book i wished he had written 7000 pages
the characters, the journey through exotic parts of the world and the humorous and smooth story telling made me like a kid listening to grandpa's stories.
maqroll, the gaviero, abdul bashur and llona have become my companions in journey.
in fact the book is an ideal companion for travels
the character of maqroll is unique.. latino mostly... but unlatino in some respects
one travels with him to
tierra del fuego
orinoco river
up the river magdalena
mines of peru
caribbean waters
northeuropean ports
meditarranean
malaysia....
women. lovers, passion and tragedies
adventures, fatalism, filosofical musings..
ports, jungle, sea..longing for sea
the author himself has confessed that maqroll was like a companion for him and he was following the character like an outsider
my favourite story is
the tramp steamer's last port of call
argentina- chile tour 25 april- 2 may 2005
Hola amigos y amigas
I have come back recharged, rejuvenated...as u would hv guessed
my amor and passion have intensified, no surprise !
In the plane and at airports my companion was this fantstic book
Adventures and misadventures of Macroll
by Alvaro Mutis of Colombia
he is a combination of Jorge amado and gabriel garcia marquez
690 pages...i would hv read even if it went on for 5000 pages...
business prospects look better with these two countries
Argentina is putting its act together, taking charge of its destiny with seriousness and sense
Chile, of course is continuing its march ahead of the rest of latin america with solid macroeconomic fundamentals and long term vision
Argentina offers fantastic opportunities for investment in agribusiness, forestry, energy and manufacturing
This is a good time since the economy and prices which crashed in 2001-2 are recovering and starting to go up
what costed a dollar in 2001 is now available for 40 cents
A hectare of land in the interior costs about 1000 dollars...of course land is available at a minimum of atleast 1000 hectares
there is one case of availability of a sheep farm with 10000 hectares for 10 million dollars
any takers...
Argentina has atlast allowed entry of indian pharma. those who export to USA and Europe can register their products. others need to get their units inspected. cost 60000 dollars .
in 2004 our exports to argentina increased to 150 million dollars
Chile has about a million hectares for agricultureand 6 million hectares for forestry. wood could be exported to india or wood could be used for paper pulp.
The Chinese and koreans r buying lands in both countries
Chilean govt and pvt sector take india seriously as a large and growing mkt
they r even considering defence purchases
the health minister visited India in february and is now organising an indian pharma seminar in santiago. interested cos can contact chilean and indian ambassadors
our exports to chile in 2004 were 100 million dollars. chilean manufacturing is limited , which means scope for whole lot of products.
in both the countries, we raised the visa issue
we hv reqsted them to issue visas without the need for the absurd condition of an invitation
v had a meeting with the croatian foreign minister in santiago
they r privatising a steel mill... she invited indian cos to participate
v were in punta arenas in chile, the southern most city in the world
cold..strong winds..pristine environment ..and close to antartica
two more things found there
one ..sindhis
two.. a beautiful temple decorated with a huge collection of pictures and idols ( like a museum ! ) built by nandhwani family
of course, there r nine night clubs in this city of 110,000.
sure , even if they r Chileans, they r latin americans after all !
I came back in time to cover the Guatemala foreign minister's visit which was successful
he has agreed to do something about the visas
our exports to guatemala were 39 million dollars in 2004
we can easily increase this to 100 million in 2-3 yrs
the guatemalan bz has started looking at india more seriously
this is the time to move in
CII is planning to take a delegation... please join them
another interesting news
in the first quarter of 2005, our exports to Brasil were 250 million dollars
waaaw... if it sustains v will hit the billion dollar button along with mexico
I have come back recharged, rejuvenated...as u would hv guessed
my amor and passion have intensified, no surprise !
In the plane and at airports my companion was this fantstic book
Adventures and misadventures of Macroll
by Alvaro Mutis of Colombia
he is a combination of Jorge amado and gabriel garcia marquez
690 pages...i would hv read even if it went on for 5000 pages...
business prospects look better with these two countries
Argentina is putting its act together, taking charge of its destiny with seriousness and sense
Chile, of course is continuing its march ahead of the rest of latin america with solid macroeconomic fundamentals and long term vision
Argentina offers fantastic opportunities for investment in agribusiness, forestry, energy and manufacturing
This is a good time since the economy and prices which crashed in 2001-2 are recovering and starting to go up
what costed a dollar in 2001 is now available for 40 cents
A hectare of land in the interior costs about 1000 dollars...of course land is available at a minimum of atleast 1000 hectares
there is one case of availability of a sheep farm with 10000 hectares for 10 million dollars
any takers...
Argentina has atlast allowed entry of indian pharma. those who export to USA and Europe can register their products. others need to get their units inspected. cost 60000 dollars .
in 2004 our exports to argentina increased to 150 million dollars
Chile has about a million hectares for agricultureand 6 million hectares for forestry. wood could be exported to india or wood could be used for paper pulp.
The Chinese and koreans r buying lands in both countries
Chilean govt and pvt sector take india seriously as a large and growing mkt
they r even considering defence purchases
the health minister visited India in february and is now organising an indian pharma seminar in santiago. interested cos can contact chilean and indian ambassadors
our exports to chile in 2004 were 100 million dollars. chilean manufacturing is limited , which means scope for whole lot of products.
in both the countries, we raised the visa issue
we hv reqsted them to issue visas without the need for the absurd condition of an invitation
v had a meeting with the croatian foreign minister in santiago
they r privatising a steel mill... she invited indian cos to participate
v were in punta arenas in chile, the southern most city in the world
cold..strong winds..pristine environment ..and close to antartica
two more things found there
one ..sindhis
two.. a beautiful temple decorated with a huge collection of pictures and idols ( like a museum ! ) built by nandhwani family
of course, there r nine night clubs in this city of 110,000.
sure , even if they r Chileans, they r latin americans after all !
I came back in time to cover the Guatemala foreign minister's visit which was successful
he has agreed to do something about the visas
our exports to guatemala were 39 million dollars in 2004
we can easily increase this to 100 million in 2-3 yrs
the guatemalan bz has started looking at india more seriously
this is the time to move in
CII is planning to take a delegation... please join them
another interesting news
in the first quarter of 2005, our exports to Brasil were 250 million dollars
waaaw... if it sustains v will hit the billion dollar button along with mexico
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
