As I leave India, I have a lasting image of change from when I was here before. When I attended the first Map World Forum two years ago, my introduction to India was chaotic and frankly harsh. I traveled through Mumbai, where antiquated machinery moved bags around, and where I was shuffled from one dingy room to the next, pressed into long lines with other bleary-eyed travelers in the middle of the night. The hours-long shuffling toward the domestic terminal eventually brought us all out into the smog-choked night where we transferred to another equally ill-kept terminal aboard a funky bus.
The domestic flight between cities was rather quick, and I deplaned into an ancient looking terminal that was teaming with travelers and locals clamoring for my attention. I connected with fellow travelers and we all stood around as bags and paperwork progressed at a glacial pace, only to be spit out onto crowded streets that introduced a very new sensation of chaos into my life, with cars, rickshaws, motor bikes and pedestrians competing in a horn-blaring stop and start that obeyed no rules.
This time around, I knew well enough to book a more direct route to Hyderabad to avoid the stamina-draining experience of a domestic connection. I transferred seamlessly in Frankfurt and arrived shortly after midnight into a mind-blowingly modern and sleek new airport facility. Gone were the rickety stairs from the plane to the tarmac, instead replaced by a fore and aft gangway that made our plane empty quickly.
The polished and well-lit interior of the terminal was coupled by an efficient passport process that culminated in a reassuringly meaningless security checkpoint that told me that I had indeed arrived in the right country. All passengers were funneled into one security line where two slouching and stern Indians ushered us through a metal detector that beeped away at each passing with absolutely no action other than slowing our forward progress out of the terminal.
The interior was devoid of the teeming layers of bureaucracy that were present the time before, making me feel welcomed rather than feeling helpless swimming through unknown rituals. I quickly grabbed my bag and found my driver without the yelling and jostling for attention that I recalled from the trip before. Outside the terminal was well manicured and almost park-like in its upkeep, with fresh paint and new trees.
I was thrilled by the progress on a new ring road that avoided the city center, with very minimal traffic. Construction was ongoing even though it was well past midnight with large earth movers carving out a path for what looked like a four way highway. The completed stretches were well paved, with transitions to the temporary stretches quite smooth. The new road got me to the hotel in just 40 minutes, when I recall a roughly two-hour trip in the past.
The positive changes left a lasting impression of India on the rise, and point to the importance of infrastructure such as the new road and airport to set the tone for business. I still question what message airports such as Kennedy in New York send about the United States. A positive first impression goes a long way, and infrastructure is a key component of the economic engine of a country or region.
