Ahmedabad, India: Week Two

This past week started off with a trip to IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ahmedabad University) in search for electrical components for my project. Much like Olin, Ahmedabad University is a newly establish institution. It came to be during the summer of 2009 and has rapidly grown since. The engineering department is currently located in the Amrut Mody School of Management's building, but is projected to move into a building of it’s own by the end of August. In search of these components, I made my way to the electronics lab. The lab, which is maintained by current Ph.D. students, was fully equipped with oscilloscopes, power supplies, soldering stations, and some general components. After inquiring about my parts, we found out that what I needed is not locally available, so we had to order it from a distributor in Bombay. For the remainder of the week, I continued work on the different projects that I have been assigned under the Institute of Life Sciences. This worked out well because the projects are all at different stages of development, which allows me to smoothly move between projects.

As my first two weeks of being in Ahmedabad came to a close, the weather took a turn for the better, as the hot and dry spell was broken. The late monsoon rains were welcomed by everyone from the city. Because of these rains on Thursday night, our cook canceled. This resulted in a late night trip to Maruti Dining Hall, a rooftop restaurant that served unlimited authentic gujarati cuisine. Gujarati food is famous for being sweet, salty and spicy at the same time. This concoction of flavors was something that I experienced for the first time.

Enjoying the view from our balcony of the first rains of the season.

Devouring the Gujarati Thali from Maruti Dining Hall.

Full variety of delicious food. 

On Friday night, we went to a concert put on by Going GaGa, a student run music group from Ahmedabad University. They only played songs composed, written or sung by A. R. Rahman. One of the most popular musicians of this generation, he has been a part of many instant classic songs to come from India. If you are interested, here is a link to a performance by A. R. Rahman that the student group also performed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FKEy_RWwQk.  
  

Celebrating Dr. Rishi Shanker's birthday in the office.

The view from the Gandhi Ashram. 

Going GaGa's live performing.