India: Exotic, Exciting, Beguiling and Incredible

Over the years, I’ve developed many close friendships with Indian nationalities, including classmates from the Asian Institute of Management and colleagues from the publishing, tourism, and IT-BPM industries, who have regaled me with stories of home. Both my daughters have visited India separately, Cara with her best friend Amanda to attend the Holi Festival, and Bea to attend the wedding of her friend. I promised myself I would visit India one day.  

I was thus elated when my friend Priyalashmi Murugesan, president of the Indian Women in Enterprise, asked me to join the Philippine Delegation to the 1^st Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show (UPITS) as media representative. I agreed immediately and applied. Once I was approved by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), I bought a ticket and started the paperwork for securing an Indian visa. 

As a quick background, during the pandemic, a group of enterprising Indian women set up an organization called Indian Women in Enterprise Philippines (I-WE) to nurture, mentor and grow women to their full potential. I-WE approached Women’s Business Council Philippines (WomenBizPH) which I then led as chairwoman to explore how we could work together.  

Formally launched in March 2021 and supported by the Indian Ambassador to the Philippines and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (FICCPI), I-WE’s intent is to be the voice of Indian women in business in the Philippines, akin to the thrust of WomenBizPH to inspire optimism and create opportunities for women. It was thus natural for our two organizations to become partners and to support each other’s projects and events.  

A flagship project of I-WE is their Tech2Transform, a digital series designed to empower women MSMEs post-COVID by equipping them with access to finance for expansion, mentorship from industry experts, and relevant tools to support digital growth. Three of Tech2Transform’s best and brightest graduates from the first batch joined the Philippine delegation: Ericka Evangelista, Jen Subang, and Kavitha Subramaniam.  

Ericka is founder and fashion designer at Ericka Evangelista House of Fashion Design, which specializes in wedding gowns. Kavitha Subramaniam is co-founder and creative head of ICETREES Global Services Pte. Ltd., an EduTech-online company offering tutoring services for children 5 to 16 years old in arts, chess, coding, science and math in all levels of curriculum (IB, IGCSE, K12). With business interests in technology, agriculture, construction, cold chain and trading, Jen Subang and her husband Dom run Agri-DOM Solutions which is making agriculture sustainable with the use of drones.  

Ericka, Jen, and Kavitha all agreed that Tech2Transform was a changemaker in their businesses, and were thankful to the Indian Women in Enterprise for accepting them into the program. They credited T2T with giving them the training and the vehicle needed to transform and fast-track their businesses.

The other members of the Philippine delegation of buyers were Rina Yang Yang who heads her own logistics firm based out of Dubai; founding partner of Core Capital Carlo Chen Delantar who invests in promising startups; freelance advertising and marketing professional Sonia Mansukhani-Bhardwaj, who owns restaurants like Vana’s Home of Indian Curry and Biryani, Queens at Bollywood and Heckle and Jeckle Kitchen and who recently established her own events company; employability skills and vocational education consultant Sucheta Joshi; and entrepreneur Beena Advani of Optics who chairs I-WE Philippines. Joining later were Yukta Karamdanchani who owns Mustafa Mini Mart and who recently opened Desi Palace-Makati; and Mike and Cathy Turvill, wellness resort and farm tourism destination owners of Nurture Wellness Village, Nurture Farmacy, and Spa & Wellness Professionals.

On the way home, I asked for feedback on UPITS.  

Everyone commended the Hon. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath for organizing the UPITS to showcase the state’s diverse industries, innovations, achievements to the world. By bringing together all of UP’s attractive products and services in one grand trade show, and coupling this with knowledge sessions, craft demonstrations, specialty regional cuisines, cultural programs, fashion shows, and more for an immersive five-day experience, UPITS presented a powerful platform for businesses to go global.

Held from from the 21^st to the 25^th of September at the India Exposition Mart Limited, Greater Noida, UPITS was co-organized by the Government of Uttar Pradesh and India Exposition Mart Ltd. as part of its bid to create an inclusive and sustainable balanced development and achieve a trillion-dollar economy by 2027.  

The trade show spanned various industries from agriculture and allied sectors, dairy, fisheries, defense, automobiles and electric vehicles, food and beverage, e-commerce, IT and ITES, education, event management, films, finance, FMCG, healthcare, manufacturing, industrial development, tourism and hospitality, culture, power and renewable energy, water, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals, printing, and many more. 

With over 2000+ exhibitors from multiple sectors in 15 exhibition halls, UPITS was a huge undertaking drawing over 70,000 registered buyers from 66 countries. While there were birthing pains and challenges that needed to be overcome, UPITS was a remarkable experience for the Philippine delegation who commended the excellent quality and reasonable prices of the products they encountered, and the business opportunities they discovered.

“We came to look at agricultural drones, and ended up talking to suppliers for defense drones,” said Jen Subang. “There is so much potential for the use of drones beyond agriculture, and we are excited about the opportunity,” Dom averred. Meanwhile, Ericka was enthused about the quality of Indian textiles, the unique traditional embroidery, and the young designers she encountered at UPITS, and was already dreaming of her new fashion line that would marry Indian and Philippine couture.

While business was top of mind for us at UPITS, we were also interested to see more of India, and so eight of us went to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. It was a sublime experience, seeing this monument of eternal love in person. We attended the evening show about the love of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, and inspired, we agreed to leave by 5AM to see the Taj as the sun came up.   

True enough, the Taj was everything I had hoped for. Breathtakingly beautiful, the ivory-white marble mausoleum, nestled on the southern bank of the Yamuna River was just as I had envisioned it to be. We had so much fun taking photos and videos of each other, capturing the magical experience. Ever the romantic, I thought of all the loves of my life as I walked around the Taj Mahal, and prayed for them, and for love to come knocking again.  

Our guide explained that Mumtaz Mahal was the fourth wife of Shah Jahan who reigned from 1628 to 1658. She bore him 14 children, though only six survived. She was a true partner in every sense, advising him on state affairs and even accompanying him in battle. Complications arising from childbirth made her gravely ill, and on her deathbed, she asked her beloved husband to promise her three things: to love and care for their children; not to marry again as another wife may not treat their children well; and to build something in her honor to immortalize their love. True to his word, he spent the next 22 years getting the best artisans to build the Taj Mahal, and when it was finished, he ensconced her in her tomb. When he died, he was buried beside her.

Our guide told us too that one of the children of Shah Jahan took over the empire and incarcerated him in Agra Fort, where he spent the rest of his life looking at the Taj Mahal from his prison tower, yearning to be with her. What an inspiring love story that was!

On the way back to Delhi, we passed by Fatehpur Sikri, a fortified city built by a 16^th century Moghul emperor Akbar as his capital. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the palace is a cluster of buildings constructed of red sandstone that give a glimpse of life then. Akbar abandoned the city after 14 years because of lack of water. It was sportingly hot, and I was thankful for the red Indian shawl I had which I draped around me. 

We also stopped to see Buland Darwaza or the Door of Victory which was built in 1575 by Mughal emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. Considered the highest gateway in the world and a sterling example of Mughal architecture, we did not want to pass this up. It was midday and the sun was bearing hard on us, but we were resolved to see the gate, despite the challenge of having to walk a kilometer to it as the van was not allowed to enter. Ericka and I made it to the steps of the gate, but decided not to walk up as we were literally wilting under the sun. On the way back we saw our companions taking shelter under a tree.

Back in Delhi, we separated ways. Kavitha and I went to the airport to catch our red eye flight back to Manila, though we took different airlines. The rest of the party caught the last day of UPITS. I would have wanted to stay on but work in Manila beckoned.

India was all I had envisioned it to be, and I promised myself I would return some day.  

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