For us, however this was not an issue since it is the last day before deadline and presentations and all groups are working hard to complete their videos. My group decided to spend the day at the sister campus in Gandhinagar, which was just like the philosophy of the great man himself, a very peaceful place. Being a fairly newly established campus, it was very neat, clean and modern, but construction still going on at several locations around the place.

So, our day started with a 45 min bus ride from the Ahmedabad NID campus which delivered us straight into the start of the local republic day ceremony at the campus. After standing completely straight with our arms resting alongside the body in respect for the national anthem (no saluting or hand on the heart!), we went for the daily coffee at the national coffee house chain “café coffee day” aka “CCD”, before getting down to business.

Rest of the day was spent in an IT room filled with the latest Mac computers and no Aircon, discussing the movie, recording voice-overs and editing film. Of course, the mandatory chai-breaks were still apparent accompanied by some cookies and hanging out in the warm sun. At dinner time the film was finally finished (efficiency really grew by time in our group) and before facing the chilly night in an open rickshaw we stayed for a nice dinner with the impressive baking of the chapati bread on the inside surface of a burning old oil barrel.

 Robert and Kristine at the breakfast!

Hang out before lecture

Lecture time

We had the due to keeping up the working pace the week before, a lot of things done on the theoretical parts finished. The efficient first week lent us to believe  that the scenarios, synopsis etc. for the movie should be a rather quick thing to throw together (oh so wrong we were).

Brainstorm session

After many hours of discussing which kind of scenario we should portray in our movie project. We started the job of trying to create a movie narrative.. The discussions were tough and we really immersed ourselves into the lives of our protagonist. We started to imagine what he eats for dinner, how one of his journal entries would look like and what the slogan for his company should be!

Working on the narrative

By 2300 the majority of background and synopsis were ironed out so we could start on doing storyboards and narrative. That also took its time, the last members of the group left the NID campus close to 0300. In the end we really felt that the results were a highly qualitative and collective effort! So time to focus on the actual moviemaking!

Some chilling out after a long day (night)!

Markus Pihl
SSES White label student

After just over a week of staying in Ahmedabad it seems like I’ve got the routine down… But alas breakfast is where any inkling of routine stops: Everyday in Ahmedabad seems to have a new rhythm to try to master until you realize there isn’t a rhythm, just time and space and somehow the pieces must fall in place. The total antithesis of this lagom concept that has been shoved at me in Sweden for the last year. Lagom is literally and figuratively miles away in India.

Around every bend it seems that there is one extreme or the other: “Too much spice” or “so little money!” are the chimes daily from our group. This juxtaposed to the daily images of people with few clothing on their backs and other with countess layers of bejeweled saris.

You soon become familiar with the consistently inconsistent ‘rythm’.

Once we buckled down to some group work, it was interesting to see that several members of the group have picked up signs that there is a new breed of Indians whom despite an often calm facade, are actively redefining where they stand with their identities.

There are signs that a new class is emerging whom are less preoccupied with the dogma of the past whilst not being anything less then proud of their heritage. Whether this is towards balance or simply just another contradiction to add to the list is yet to be answered, but I don’t think it will take 50, 20 or even 10 years time to see what is to come of it.

Kendra Williams
Stockholm University
SSES White Label Student 

Six of us rented a driver and a car for the day. Our first destination, after about an hour ride, was the Adalaj step well. It was built more than five hundred years ago. Fine sculptures and designs of the step well had of course captured my eyes, but the heritages that we were about to visit after this are what I would call magnificent.

The “Rani ki vav” step well

The “Rani ki vav” step well in Patan was our second destination. It was built around a thousand years ago and has a tremendous 64m * 20 m * 27m dimensions. The entire step well is carved with different forms of gods as a dedication to the supreme god Vishnu in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism and is still very well preserved. I felt like travelling in the time capsule by simply witnessing such a majestic piece of art and devotion.

It was three in the afternoon after the “Rani ki vav” step well and we realized that “maybe” it was time for lunch… so we told the driver to take us to somewhere we could have food, our message was however somehow misc-ommunicated (which was not surprising anymore after spending one week in Ahmedabad…) and the driver drove us to our final destination – the Modhera Sun Temple directly.

The Modhera Sun Temple

A glimmer of hope shone through as we saw a restaurant located right next to the entrance of the temple, but we ended up with merely a cup of chai (Indian milk tea) after blindly waiting for 15 minutes realizing they did not serve food anymore (again, another “miscommunication”).

Carrying an empty stomach, we then headed to the sun temple. It was also built around a thousand years ago as a symbol for Anahilvad Patan to restore valor and power against its invasions from Mahmud Ghazni. I had a very strong feeling about the place since I went to a mini-version of it before in a theme park called “wonders of the world” in China and I never thought I could have the chance to see the “authentic” one someday in the future but I just did! It was such a relief to just be there and I guess it was a good place for meditation too!

It was already six in the evening when we decided to head back so eventually in the entirely trip we had not had a proper meal except some snacks and fruit on our way… It was no easy Sunday but it was definitely one of those days you can tell stories about to your family and friends!

Hok Ting Yau
Master student in Bioentrepreneurship. Karolinska Institutet

The heritage walk started sharply at 8am at the Swaminarayan Temple. The sound of the drums outside the temple felt like a announcement of the amazing day to come. The tour took us through the streets of the old city of Ahmedabad and through hidden temples. I felt like I was in the city for the first time and all the streets seemed to gain a new interest. Two and a half hours later the tour was finishing at the impressive Jama Masjid Mosque.

The heritage walk guide had told us about a Rajasthani market that we then decided to try out. Once in the market we were greeted by two marvelous rajasthani dancers that guided us through the rajasthani handcrafts: leather shoes, pottery, hand made textiles…

Our adventures in the afternooncontinued at the Adalaj step well and the nearby mosque. When we were trying to get back we were faced with a group of autos but not one driver, which got us talking with the locals – “Where are the drivers?”. It was a high point of the day! The kids from the surrounding area had just finished their classes and they saw in us the chance for some extra fun in a regular Saturday. Shaking hands, practicing their English, taking some photos… Looking back I am happy it was hard to get some autos to drive us back!

As the afternoon was not nearly over and the fact that we woke up at 7am was getting to all of us, a coffee place was the next destination. By coincidence… it was again near another market! Obviously we had to check it out! Once more we put on our best negotiators masks and equipped ourselves with bargaining tongues. Some great shopping! I got three pashminas!

But the clock was ticking and soon it was 7 pm. It was time to go back to NID for the party the students had told us about. We had been told that the Lohri party in NID would be fun, but nothing had prepared us for what was about to happen! The bonfire was lit, the students had decorated the basketball field with coloured paper bunting, kites and swings, the ambience was perfect! The students mess had been transferred downstairs and a BBQ dinner was being served outside under the stars. It started slow with people gathering but soon everyone was there and the party was about to start:

And how do they party in a dry state (no alcohol is allowed in Ahmadabad)? They started with some dance performances from the students and an amazing Rajasthani puppet show. Slowly everyone got into the party mood and the performances were toped up by a group of students that had prepared a choreography to the soundtrack of the latest Indian hit movie “Ooh la la ooh la la Tu Hai Meri Fantasy!” that I used as title for this post. It was impossible to resist! They started inviting everyone to dance and soon everyone had been infected by the energetic moves and spontaneous laughs. It was absolutely magical and no one could stay still in the vibrant mix of Indian music. The day started early and finished late. But we had one last adventure on our way home, our very own rickshaw record: all 6 in the same auto, plus the driver. Ahmadabad rocks!

Fernanda Torré. 
Master Student. Experience Design. Konsfack.  

The role of tourist, mesmerised by rich and buzzing India, is difficult to shrug. That we make reference to India, a huge continent with scores of languages, religions and geographies as one culture perhaps signifies the ease of feeling overwhelmed as a visitor here. But we have a job here, we are not merely tourists and today with a clutch of trends in-hand the four working groups really kicked into gear. Authenticity is on the lips of NID; in cool working corridors, behind the Mogul ruins and lurking at the bottom every plastic chai beaker!

This morning all four groups were out in Ahmedabad for the second trend hunting session. And although there was a contingent visiting ‘Ron’s tailor’ for rather more objectified reasons, that’s the beauty of trend forecasting – trends are everywhere! With the great role of ‘floating helper’, I have jumped into most groups today – joining in with the pulling apart of huge trends like consumerism or piecing together weak signals from feelings about supply and demand chains to ‘micro believers’. Whether sitting in the cool mess hall or hunched around a trend matrix on the big lawn, today feels like kick off, energy levels are flowing, the slower and anticipatory air of polite group chat has given way to excited and frustrated discussions, ideas are colliding, feelings are finding ground. The afternoon presentation of trend matrixes to the whole team and faculty was a insightful glimpse into what each group has been up to and how differently individuals are approaching the same task.

With the promise of dinner on the luscious roof terrace at the House of MG the birds swarmed above the campus in their usual pre sun-setting ritual, students hurriedly dodged the bird-poo raindrops only to be distracted by a velvet monkey watching the spectacle from her tree and then a litter of puppies tumbling out of the plant border. This place is as real and surreal as the the mind decides, and no doubt tomorrow morning my mind will once again slowly decipher the pigeon flirting on our aircon unit from raindrops of a stockholm window-ledge and I will leave the soft dream world in search of the time and temperament of authenticity.

Emma Rose Metcalfe, Experience Design Group and SSES White Label Student

Title quote: Buckminster Fuller

” It is simple we take what is good from the western society and everything that is bad, we leave it (then a big smile) ”  

“Can we please take a photo?”  proud I got and a little smile I made, until ” Can we please only have Mr.Bollywood on the picture!”

“Can you see all the oranges in the tree?” I, guess. ” Can you see all the trees in the oranges?” 

6 p.m ” When are we going to cook dinner?”  – “in 2 hours”  (6,5 hours later…) -”mmmm…”

Random, A bit bizarre, Chaos, Profound, Connected, Searching for the present, Wonderful, Friendly, Sustainable without using the word and the beautiful colored line that creates the order in the chaos, India.

Being inside a swarm of bees may feel a bit chaotic, but if you look at it from a distance the swarm of bees creates the most stunning patterns.

Love, Emil

Emil Wallnér.
Stockholm University.
White Label student SSES

My trendspotting team

Today we got down to business and hit the streets of Ahmedabad for our first trendspotting-session! My team consists of four NID students and three SSES students. In terms of transport, we rode in style since one of our team-members owns a car. As a first destination, we chose an urban area of Ahmedabad that is currently going through heavy gentrification. Lower class apartments are becoming condos and office space, while small shops are being eaten by larger chain stores and franchises. We interviewed the managers of a “Peter England” outlet, which is a popular franchise for decently priced American-inspired casualwear. The manager was quite positive to the franchise which provided him with a well known brand. However, he believes that his customers shop western style clothing out of necessity since they need them for their jobs. During festivals and other opportunities for self-expression Indian consumers still prefer traditional Indian clothing. This is reflected in quite cyclical sales for vendors of traditional Indian fashion. Interestingly, this particular store had replaced a full bazaar of traditional one-man businesses roughly 8 years ago. My team also interviewed the manager of a dry cleaning service. He was quite skeptical regarding if Ahmedabad could accommodate his small scale business in his future. Therefore, he recommended his son to move to Mumbai instead of taking over the business. Finally, we visited an outlet called “Jade Blue” which offers an assortment of hybrid Western/Indian clothing, including a smoking jacket with classical Indian embroidery. Is this an artifact of the West/East convergence our world seems to be heading for?

Lunch consisted of a cheeseburger. In predominantly vegetarian Gujarat, cheeseburger really means cheeseburger. It literally featured an extra piece of cheese where westerners would expect meat.

Indian immersive experience

After spotting enough trends for one day, it was time to immerse ourselves in Indian culture. The NID-organized cultural immersion started according to standard Delhi time, i.e. 30 minutes late. We were greeted by drums at traditional Indian clothing. All Swedes got their appearance indianized with shawls, flower necklaces and bracelets. We were also handed a delightful coconut drink while being introduced to customs and festivals in India. The immersion was centered around several Indian festivals and included

• The SSES human pyramid.  In India these are created during ceremonies to portray unity and cooperation. With five tall Swedes as the base, we had no problem gaining a commendable altitude.
• Gujarati ring dancing. Somewhat more intricate than our “små grodorna” dance to say the least. After perhaps ten iterations, quite a few Swedes started to get the hang it.
• Collaborative face painting using powder paint. The amazing amounts of colors that are present during festivals cannot really be portrayed by photos. The spirit, energy and colors need to be witnessed for full appreciation.
• Indian fireworks. These are basically Swedish tomtebloss on steroids used for celebrations in India. We also witnessed some compact (but still impressive) stationary fireworks.
• Henna painting and “find the coin”. While the girls got henna paintings the boys played a game in which you have to find a coin in a bowl of rice. This game is normally played between husband and wife during the wedding ceremony to figure out who has the upper hand in the relationship…

Most importantly, we were presented with an amazing amount of delicious food. The assortment represented food from all of India, but with special focus on Gujarati food. I especially enjoyed the naturally flavored drinks, that were minty and sweet at the same time. Plates and cups were made from leaves and clay, meaning that they are totally organic and can be disposed of more or less anywhere after use. I feel humbled by the hospitality and friendliness of the NID-students so far, they are doing an amazing job at making us feel comfortable at NID. The Indian immersion will definitely be remembered as one of the highlights of this trip.

Overall, I am really enjoying Ahmedabad so far. I love the patience and friendliness of the locals, and have never felt this welcome in a foreign country before. The workshop curriculum has been very insightful, and I especially feel that the intercultural team composition will be very useful while analyzing trends regarding authenticity. I definitely look forward to experiencing more trends and surprises during my weeks in India, and I am confident that I will return to Sweden in a much transcended state.

Elis Kullberg. 
Master student in Industrial Engineering and Management.
Royal Institute of Technology.  

]]> http://trendspottinginindia.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/trendspotting-and-indian-immersion/feed/ 0 ekullberg My trendspotting team Indian immersive experience http://trendspottinginindia.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/diving-in/ http://trendspottinginindia.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/diving-in/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:41:38 +0000 Claire http://trendspottinginindia.wordpress.com/?p=98 ]]> The journey to and from the design school makes a fascinating start to the day. The sun is already high and amidst the bustle of people, auto rickshaws and freely roaming animals are usually a few new sights to savour. Today there was a tree with incense sticks pressed into the bark gently lacing passers by with a sweet aroma. It’s a nice way to start.

Once at NID, chai tea in hand we were quickly diving into the dynamics of Trendspotting with Peter Majanen guiding us along the way. How do you spot a trend from a fad? How do our values impact future trends locally, globally and over time? Lots to unpack.  Having found our groups we start out on the trend hunt tomorrow. Two thought’s I’ll be taking with me: be intuitive more than analytical, and it’s often the most ambiguous and unclear signals that have the highest value.

Post-workshop and it’s time for us to offer the Indian students a taste of Swedish culture.  Having packed our suitcases full of Swedish treats and a few other European surprises there was plenty to share.  Some of us had devised a quiz on Swedish inventions, then there was the opportunity to make a Midsommarkransen, enjoy fika with a vast array of candy including salt liquorice and Daim bars and take part in classic summer games. Our new friends enjoyed the wheelbarrow race and seeing dizzy people trying to walk straight and lower a pen hanging from their waist into a bottle provided a lot of amusement too. Bringing it altogether we all gathered around a freshly decorated maypole for songs, dancing and one last surprise – Surströmming!

Claire Brocklehurst
A Master Student in Experience Design,Konstfack.

While some of us went shopping, others managed to find the bamboo for the Maypole and the flowers and leaves for the Midsummer crowns. After a much longed-for coffee break, time to… let’s see… how about shopping?No sooner said than done! Off we went to 10 Acres, a shopping centre somewhere… nearby. Salwar kameez, kurta shirts, Indian snacks, scarfs, tea, a henna tattoo and a Bollywood film (great ‘dirty picture’!). If you have some time, Google it. Interesting reading guaranteed. A little bit tired after 2 and a half hours of Hindi(maybe?), we left just at the intermission! A Thali plate for dinner put an end to the first day of this exciting “authentic” adventure. Now… everything is ready for an authentic Swedish Experience (yep, surströmming is included!). Can’t wait to see their reactions when we open the can..

Alicia Manjón Garibo
M.Sc Marketing, Management and Society, Stockholm University. 
MBA Hong Kong Baptist University