This past week, I had the opportunity to travel to Deoghar / Banka / Kolkatta as part of a marriage party. Flew down from Bombay to Calcutta, took the cab and a ride to the howrah station, then to Jassidhi (Deoghar).
It was a really cool trip (someone like myself travels) all the time, but then it is more fun to travel interiors then maybe to Delhi. I had a chance to see interior india specially Bihar at close quarters. I was pleasantly surprised. The roads were really awesome like how Texas roads used to be around 10 years. Miles and miles of endless roads going from places to places. In south bihar population is limited and one thing that really strikes out is the sense of hygiene. No garbage or plastic bags or any tobacco / gutka packets. I believe Plastic use with little regulation is going to destroy India and some economic decisions towards the same should be taken (not ban plastic but mandate higher thickness such that it gets recycled).
Banka was a typical like tier 4 town of India almost close to a village but it was awesome, did not know so many people know about Banka, it is very close to Bhagalpur. Deoghar is a very religious place and is one of the cleanest cities I have seen after Connor in the South.
All in all, I am very bullish on Bihar and things are changing very rapidly. One thing that stands out is the coverage of Vodafone (telecom operator), they had network coverage in such remote places that it made me want to call up senior management at Vodafone and tell them you guys rock (heck it was better than what I get in Bombay) :).
There is huge potential in the eastern states and those who harness the high energy will make so much money from these areas is not even a joke. It is literally money waiting to be picked up from the street, what Americans feel about India, I feel about Bihar, a land of high opportunities and big marketplace.
More later,
Shiva
