Today, Lokesh took us to his father's constituency of Kuppam, a rural district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Along the way, we passed the Infosys headquarters, a large modern building in the middle of a fairly run-down area.
Our first stop was the Kuppam Punnami Hotel. A bunch of people greeted us there and gave us our itinerary for the day. The countryside was really beautiful.
We then stopped at Kuppam Engineering College, where we watched some videos about Kuppam development. We learned about some of the initiatives of
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu (Lokesh's dad) as part of his Vision 2020: "Our vision of Andhra Pradesh is a State where poverty is totally eradicated; where every man, woman and child has access to not just the basic minimum needs, but to all opportunities for leading a happy and fulfilling life; a knowledge and learning society built on the values of hard work, honesty, discipline and a collective sense of purpose."
This picture was taken inside the Engineering College. It was built just a few years back.
Lokesh's friend Vishnu came along with us today.
Our next stop was the Dravidian University Campus. When we arrived, Lokesh was greeted and given flowers by a large group of people.
After learning about the university and viewing their extensive collection of books, Ed signed their guest book.
Picture with some locals in front of the university.
We had a delicious lunch at the Kuppam Punnami Hotel. They prepared 14 different types of meat and 7 different vegetarian dishes for us. Ed was being careful about what he ate today, given the fact that he had food poisoning yesterday.
Next stop was the Kuppam Medical College. We toured both the college and the 500-bed hospital next door.
Dafina and Vishnu in front of an Indian skeleton.
The "Lokesh Fan Club" continued following us, even as we toured the medical college and hospital.
Even in India, "ragging" (or hazing) is against the law.
Group photo in front of the medical college.
After the hospital, we went to the site where Lokesh is building an Integrated Pack House for
Fresh @, the grocery store chain that he recently started. The first store opened on November 24, 2006, and 8 more stores will open on December 31. This Integrated Pack House sources fruits and vegetables around a 50km radius. It then sorts, grades, and packs these for the retail stores.
Construction is still under way, but it *should* be completed by end of March, 2007.
Next stop: Heritage Dairy Processing and Packing Plant. Lokesh's family business currently includes 40 such plants around southern India. It only takes 24 hours from the time that milk is collected from farmers to the time that it is delivered to the customers' doorsteps. Heritage currently sources milk from approximately 500,000 local farmers.
Lokesh and the plant managers. They also make flavored milk (pineapple, vanilla, chocolate, pistacio, strawberry, and badan) and delicious Indian sweets!
Heritage "brings home health and happiness"!
We also visited some local farmers, from whom Fresh @ is sourcing its products.
The farmer showed us his beautiful cabbage as the sun was setting in the distance.
After a long day, we returned to Bangalore and had a wonderful dinner at Vishnu's restaurant, Andhra Spice.
Along the way, we passed the Infosys headquarters, a large modern building in the middle of a fairly run-down area.
Our first stop was the Kuppam Punnami Hotel. A bunch of people greeted us there and gave us our itinerary for the day. The countryside was really beautiful.
We then stopped at Kuppam Engineering College, where we watched some videos about Kuppam development. We learned about some of the initiatives of Mr. Chandrababu Naidu (Lokesh's dad) as part of his Vision 2020: "Our vision of Andhra Pradesh is a State where poverty is totally eradicated; where every man, woman and child has access to not just the basic minimum needs, but to all opportunities for leading a happy and fulfilling life; a knowledge and learning society built on the values of hard work, honesty, discipline and a collective sense of purpose."
This picture was taken inside the Engineering College. It was built just a few years back.
Lokesh's friend Vishnu came along with us today.
Our next stop was the Dravidian University Campus. When we arrived, Lokesh was greeted and given flowers by a large group of people.
After learning about the university and viewing their extensive collection of books, Ed signed their guest book.
Picture with some locals in front of the university.
We had a delicious lunch at the Kuppam Punnami Hotel. They prepared 14 different types of meat and 7 different vegetarian dishes for us. Ed was being careful about what he ate today, given the fact that he had food poisoning yesterday.
Next stop was the Kuppam Medical College. We toured both the college and the 500-bed hospital next door.
Dafina and Vishnu in front of an Indian skeleton.
The "Lokesh Fan Club" continued following us, even as we toured the medical college and hospital.
Even in India, "ragging" (or hazing) is against the law.
Group photo in front of the medical college.
After the hospital, we went to the site where Lokesh is building an Integrated Pack House for Fresh @, the grocery store chain that he recently started. The first store opened on November 24, 2006, and 8 more stores will open on December 31. This Integrated Pack House sources fruits and vegetables around a 50km radius. It then sorts, grades, and packs these for the retail stores.
Construction is still under way, but it *should* be completed by end of March, 2007.
Next stop: Heritage Dairy Processing and Packing Plant. Lokesh's family business currently includes 40 such plants around southern India. It only takes 24 hours from the time that milk is collected from farmers to the time that it is delivered to the customers' doorsteps. Heritage currently sources milk from approximately 500,000 local farmers.
Lokesh and the plant managers. They also make flavored milk (pineapple, vanilla, chocolate, pistacio, strawberry, and badan) and delicious Indian sweets!
Heritage "brings home health and happiness"!
We also visited some local farmers, from whom Fresh @ is sourcing its products.
The farmer showed us his beautiful cabbage as the sun was setting in the distance.
After a long day, we returned to Bangalore and had a wonderful dinner at Vishnu's restaurant, Andhra Spice.
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