Dear Reader

During the spring of 1995, Apple Computer approached me with the prospect of setting up a software development center in India. India had lots of engineering talent and a skilled culture of consulting engineering. Would I go to India and set up a division for Apple? Although of Indian descent, I had never lived in India, and didn't speak any native languages. Nonetheless, I took the job, and had the adventure of my life. What follows is a journal of that adventure. 

I  wrote about what I found interesting, or what was around me, or what was funny.  To those who find the experiences similar, or funny (and many do), I ask you to share your story.

Sadly, others, finding difference with the journal, question my accuracy, veracity, agenda, and parentage. Really! India is a land of extremes. Extreme joy and extreme sadness. Extreme beauty, and extreme squalor. It generates passionate views and passionate people.  All I can offer in return, is a disclaimer.

Accuracy and Veracity:

All events in this journal are as truthful as I can make it. Where needed, names have been changed.

Agenda:

I wrote this journal to convey something of the expatriate experience. I wanted to record what it meant to slowly become used to a culture unknown to oneself, and totally foreign.

However, if you came to City of Boiled Beans from the Yahoo Travelogue section, you may be expecting a guide to the sights, sounds, and smells of India. Yahoo's category for this site is  as travelogue. While some sights and sounds of India are covered, what follows isn't a travelogue or a guide to India - it would be a herculean task I am ill-suited for. I'm sorry, I simply don't know the location of a good paan shop near Fatephur Sikri.

Thanks to all the readers who have sent me their stories, their knowledge, and their interest.  Your letters continue our education about India and Indian culture.

Ashok