Darrell's India Trip: Day 11 In India

Day 11-January 13, 2014

Today's post will be short...simply because I am tired. A lot of traveling and plenty of visits has worn me down. Our day started off on the Infosys campus where we met one of the head educators here at the Infosys-Mysore location. This particular location is the main training center for Infosys. There are currently about 14,000 associates being trained at this location.

We started off with a lesson on the Development Center where everyone is trained. Then we went on to discuss how the training works and how the trainers update the content to stay current with today's technologies. The trainees here become residents for a rigorous 6 month training. Since they live on the campus, there are all the amenities of a resort here.

Following our meeting and presentation, we had a beautiful walking tour of only a portion of the campus. But what we did see included sports facilities, a store, salons for men and women, one of the 7 food courts, a pool, an impressive gym and the huge Development Center Building 2, that was as beautiful as Mysore Palace.

Lunch was not something I am proud of. Our afternoon visit was to the University of Mysore. The only possible place to eat was a McDonald's. It had been 7+ years since I had eaten at a McDonald's & I really hate them with a passion. But instead of going 12 hours without a meal, I had no other choice. The menu is completely different & I decided to try one of their India only Veggie options. So I ordered a Masala Grill Sandwich. Let me tell you it was McAwful. Horrible bread with sauce all over it. Even the fries didn't taste good. It was truly a McMiserable meal. Even though it only cost me about $3...it still wasn't worth it.

Right up the street was the University of Mysores's International School of Information Management (ISIM), India's only iSchool. We received a great reception and introduction to the ISIM from Dr. Shalini Urs. She told us all about the great program she established at ISIM and all the courses that are offered. The highlight of our visit was when we sat down for about 1.5 hours with the students of the ISIM and discussed issues that affect both University of Maryland's iSchool and ISIM. It was a very pleasant and engaging conversation that covered many different topics such as ISIM's international student body, information management and I got to answer many of the student's questions about public libraries in the US at great length.

The University of Mysore also has a collection of great museums in the building directly across from the ISIM building. So the faculty sugested we tour the museum and a couple of the ISIM students joined us. Cameras are not allowed inside so I did not even try to take mine in.

After our visit at the University of Mysore wrapped up, we then headed to a place called Brindavan Gardens nearby. The attraction is famous for its array of water fountains & then at 7pm the lights come on to illuminate the fountains. Since this is a dry time of year, the fountains did not shoot up as a high as normal but we still enjoyed our visit in the relaxing park. We also took the time to enjoy the view from atop a hotel that overlooks the Garden.

Random Pics for the Day