The past few days I have been feeling that things are finally getting off the ground. Yesterday and today I had my biggest success yet. I have been looking for the managing director of a certain seed company based in Ahmedabad since June. I have known all along that an interview with him will fill in so many gaps that exist in my knowledge of Bt cotton seed production in Gujarat. Over the summer I tried all of the telephone numbers and email addresses that others had given me to contact him, and none worked. I found a vague address or two, but did not pursue that option because I was both nervous about my language skills and hopelessly lost in the streets of this city. Since arriving almost three weeks ago I have been trying more numbers and asking around. A few people called for the phone listing for me and were told that no such listing exists. I went by the student activities office the other day and asked the man in charge with a Portuguese name (who I desperately wish spoke Portuguese, but does not and swears he is 100 percent Indian). At first he tried calling the phone company and they said there was no listing. Then - as we talked I was impressing him with my knowledge of elementary Gujarati - he had the feeling he had heard of this company. He drew me a map to a place where he thought there was a 'famous' seed company. (The heart of this story, I think, is that the search for this man has also been the process of me getting up the nerve to actually talk to him.) The next day I ventured out. I followed the map on foot and past crowds of curious onlookers. Without much trouble I found the site highlighted on the map, but it was a government headquarters for agro-industries support, or something like that. I went in and was sent to talk to the boss. He was surprisingly sweet and helpful. I was given water and offered tea. The boss declared at first that there is no such company, but as I just sat there and told him the name again, he picked up the phone and called the telephone directory – this is the fourth time I or someone else on my behalf had tried this route – but I waited patiently just the same. Only, for some reason this time it worked. He wrote down the number, but no address was given. He then called the number for the company and wrote down the full address. He even told them that I was on my way. He drew me another map and sent me on my way. It was really some incredible luck. I followed that map and again faced some oppressive heat and crowds of curious people watching me stroll by. In no time I found myself facing a sign with the company’s name and I could not believe I didn’t have my camera to get a picture on this momentous occasion. I wandered into the office and introduced myself. I was met with mild curiosity from the folks in the offices and another glass of water. I was called into an office and a man told me that the person I was looking for would be out for a while since he had just had knee surgery. I was again offered water and tea. I left my card and wrote the name of a professor from the US that has written about this man, and there was an immediate spark of recognition. Oh yes, the man said, he was just here recently, I will tell Dr. Desai that you came by to see him. This morning I received a call from Dr. Desai himself saying that he would be willing to meet me anytime and that I should just go over to his house. I set up the appointment for Monday (I need time to prepare for this important interview). I literally jumped up and down after hanging up.

The weather today is like a dream. Hot, perhaps in the upper 80s, with this light breeze pushing the warm air around. It does not seem as polluted as usual. It feels like a perfect summer day in northern California, when it is finally warm enough to swim in the ocean.