Over the past weekend, Bank of America in Hyderabad had its Founders day. We were invited to an event that was explained as a fashion show. I expected a small celebration with mostly business minded associates and executives showing up for support however, what I witnessed nearly brought tears to my eyes.
Let me start by saying the operation here in India was 35 strong 3 years ago. Last year they reached 2000+ and by the end of this year are expecting to be 6000 strong across 3 different business locations. India is growing fast as a productive democracy and it’s youth are maturing even faster as their insatiable appetite for American and Euro icons drives new industry. Malls are popping up everywhere, with American brand name clothing selling for top dollar as fast as it can be stocked. The operations in India are staffed by the top IT minded 20-30 year olds India has to offer. Bank of America Continuum Solutions “BACS” just won Hyderabad’s top IT company award for 2007.
When Gulshan and I arrived for the function we found a very large and beautiful auditorium had been rented for the function. There were cars and security everywhere and we immediately had the sense that this was bigger than we expected. Once inside, we found some 2000+ Bank of America associates anxiously awaiting what we thought would be a dry business function providing needed but unexciting information about the history of BACS in India however, the curtains opened to a thunderous roar of cultural & body pulsing music like I’ve never experienced. Bank associates in there 20s performed a multitude of amazing high energy dances at a dizzying pace that didn't let your adrenaline stop for nearly 30 minutes. Well dressed associates peviously in their seats were screaming and standing to cheer on the extremely talented dance group made up of Hyderabad employees. As I understand, they only practiced for 2 weeks in a training room to put this show on. I was in awe of the beautiful costumes, the thought and energy put into this show. Then Avtar Monga, the head of BACS, came on stage and spoke to the audience. You could immediately feel the respect in the air and the change of tempo. The associate here get what he’s done and are proud to work for our company. I was truly moved.
After Avtar spoke, the fashion show started. It featured associates dressed in many beautiful clothes as well as a well thought out segment that compared Hollywood to India’s Bollywood. There were two screens , one on each side of the stage. One would show a film like “The Godfather” and on the other would be the Bollywood equivalent. Associates would walk down the isle clad in the appropriate dress for the comparison and get ear popping cheers & applause. It was funny, appropriate and a lot of fun!
You could really feel the energy and the youth that night. There creativity and support for the company was amazing. After the show, everyone, and I do mean everyone went outside under tents to eat. This brought me back to the chaos that I so often see here as people funneled into and out of lines to get food. People cutting and pushing to get what they want with no regard for personal space or what Americans would think is manners. Amazingly however, the Indian people are so passive and sweet, that nothing stirs them. I’ve never seen anyone mad nor have I see aggression or dirty looks while I’ve been here. Its just a different world.
After we ate, you could again her music pulsing so loud that your heart beat synched with it and I felt compelled to look into it. Gulshan and I followed the signs to a massive basement under the very large auditorium. There were already about 1000 bodies jumping to techno versions of regional Indian music like Rajasthan, Telegu, Bengali & Punjabi. It was amazing to see and fun to be around. I’m a huge fan of the Matrix series. Not because I think Keanu Reeves is a great actor but because of the mind twist that the human body could be harvested as batteries. I like well thought out Sci-fi like this or StarTrek. I know I’m a geek but hey, that’s why I’m IT J Anyhow, in the final movie there was a scene where the underground city called Zion dances in its entirety to heart pounding cultural music and everyone is involved and giving 100% to the music. This is what I witnessed and the image that it conjured. It was moving to say the least and nothing like the clubs I visited in my own youth. One really interesting aspect of the dancing is that due to the culture here, it was almost exclusively people dancing in groups. When it wasn’t group dancing it was men together and women together.
In all it was a very exciting night and showed me another side of the people here I hadn’t see. Truly passionate about their culture, extremely creative and proud to work for the company. To be honest, I was envious in a way that we don’t have this passion back in the states. Christmas parties and local functions get passed by for budget and a host of other reasons.
Our culture and our company could use a pinch of the spice I’ve tasted here!
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