Seeing Another Side of India While Working for an International Corporation
Arjun Varma | August 18, 2008
Arjun Varma sips on a Pepsi in a glass bottle, a favorite treat in India.
When I visited India previously, it has always been on a vacation with my family to visit relatives. This is the first time I have come by myself and for work, instead of leisure. I wanted to do an internship in an international workplace environment, as it is interesting to be a part of a totally different culture and see how things are done in the office. India seemed like an ideal place to do an internship, as it is, along with China, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world today.
So I am doing a summer internship for eight weeks with PepsiCo International in New Delhi. I am 19 years old and a sophomore at Sixth College majoring in economics. I am working in the marketing department here, in the headquarters of PepsiCo India. This will hopefully be a beneficial experience for my economics studies at UCSD.
One of the most interesting aspects of being an American teenager with Indian values and a cultural background is that I get to see two sides to everything here in India. What seems so unimportant to the average citizen here would be viewed by any American as extraordinary, such as cows walking in the middle of a highway, or a van that's supposed to seat eight passengers filled with 17 men as it drives by.
Also, as a non-resident Indian teenager from America, many people here react differently to me. Some treat me with extra care and respect, while others exude a haughty attitude. I have learned to adapt to the ways and customs of people here, making every effort to make sure that I do not come off as culturally ignorant, just because I am from the United States.
Once people realize that I can't speak Hindi fluently, it is not very difficult to figure out that they automatically assume that I have no respect or knowledge of my own heritage. I have signed up for Hindi lessons, as not being able to converse in my native language is very frustrating.
Varma poses in front of a poster.
I have now seen a completely different side of India, one that I have always been sheltered from before. Here, there is a very wide gap between those who live comfortably and those who live in poverty. Unfortunately, the wealth distribution is extremely skewed, and those who live in poverty make up the majority of the country. For example, I am picked up every morning by a driver who takes me to work. In the office, everyone is educated and speaks English. There is someone who comes and serves me coffee, or Pepsi. My every little need is taken care of by the servants, the chef or by the chauffeur. Living the good life here has its many benefits.
But when I was informed that I would be sent by the office to a different part of New Delhi, about an hour away, I knew I had to prepare myself for something different. When I say different, I mean opposite. All of a sudden, I was dropped off in a market by myself, to go meet and spend the day with Pepsi pre-sale representatives and those who deliver the products to various vendors. I spent four days in the street markets here, learning how distribution works at all levels. I rode in trucks, squished between seven or eight guys. It was a very new and eye-opening experience. From constantly being indoors where it is air-conditioned, I had to get used to spending a week outside in the middle of afternoon, in the dirty, hot and humid climate.
On previous trips, I always saw slums and villages through the window of my family's car. However, on this trip, I am watching as cars drive by and I am in the midst of a filthy and dirty market with mosquitoes taking full advantage of my sweet American blood. Despite all the unusual occurrences, I am enjoying my time here.
Varma in the PepsiCo office in New Dehli.
I always carry my camera with me wherever I go, and I came to discover that it has one other important function in addition to just taking pictures. I was able to show the pre-sale representatives with whom I was working pictures of my family, including pictures of many Indian cultural events I had experienced in San Diego. When they saw my family, my friends and me wearing Indian apparel and participating and celebrating Indian holidays and functions, they were astonished. Suddenly, it seemed that even though communication was difficult because of the language barrier, we had taken a huge step in getting to know each other.
I feel this experience is amazing for me mainly because it's so exciting. I got to ride on the back of a motorcycle throughout heavy New Delhi traffic across the whole city. I traveled to different cities in India, representing PepsiCo and surveying customers and distributors —and much more.
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Arjun Varma works as an intern at PepsiCo in India. |
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