And back to... Ahmedabad…

this time just for a few hours to present at an Entrepreneurship Conclave from Nirma University, one of the best business schools in the country, and its MBA students.
10 min presentation but... to finish up in the end teaching a Social Innovation Class for a few 60's that had requested it.

A wonderful interaction with very smart and selected students, highly educated, well spoken, and some well travelled.

At the end of the day, waiting by my taxi door, I see that one student that had taken care of me the whole day....taking his shoes off.

I do not pay more attention to it than that, until he bows in front of me and reaches out for my feet.

Which in India is the highest mark of respect mostly for elders (which I hope is not yet my case!!!) ... for parents, grand parents.

I felt completely overwhelmed and took him back right away.

Understanding his gesture a few seconds after, I told him: "if you really want to give me a mark of respect, send me one of your social projects one day… one you will developed from ideas we discussed today...you will make me really proud of that afternoon I spent with you…"

Then center of Ahmedabad: from rich students to poor kids... one rickshaw filled with school kids, tons of school bags hanging on the side...

Poor kids in the pole too, bur everywhere beautiful smiles!

And then off I went to my 3^rd night train in a week! This time heading south… to Mumbai!

But not before having met with consultant Pathak from Eco Agro Green, solutions for poor communities… at the train station of Kalalur an hour or so, discussing solutions for outskirts of town, pro-poor solutions…

Dreams of implementation of pro-poor solutions filling my mind... did not slept much that night... had to wake up at 5am in any case! at a junction north of Mumbai...