Friday 30 June 2017

Day 25 of Mentor on Road, USA

“Take courage and work on. Patience and steady work— this is the only way.”
-
Swami Vivekananda

Day 25 of Mentor on Road, USA started with a drive from Houston to Dallas which was approximately 239 miles / 385 kilometers. It was a pleasant journey as we came across some scenic beauty and mild rains.
              


Dallas is a major city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. The city's population ranks ninth in the U.S. and third in Texas after Houston and San Antonio. The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position along numerous railroad lines. According to the July 1, 2016 United States Census, the city had a population of 1,317,927. 

The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, and transportation and logistics. The city is home to the third-largest concentration of 
Fortune 500 companies in the nation (behind New York City and Houston).

Dallas' key to growth came in 1873 with the building of multiple 
rail lines through the city. As Dallas grew and technology developed, cotton became its boon and by 1900 Dallas was the largest inland cotton market in the world, becoming a leader in cotton ginmachinery manufacturing. By the early 1900s Dallas was a hub for economic activity all over the Southern United States and was selected in 1914 as the seat of the Eleventh Federal Reserve District.

Fortune 500
 companies headquartered in Dallas include: 

  • Energy Transfer Equity
  • HollyFrontier 
  • Southwest Airlines 
  • Tenet Healthcare 
  • Texas Instruments 
  • Dean Foods 
  • Trinity Industries
  • Energy Future Holdings
Irving is home to 6 Fortune 500 companies of its own, including:
  • ExxonMobil, the most profitable company in the world 
  • The second largest by revenue for 2015, Kimberly-Clark
  • Fluor (engineering)
  • Commercial Metals
  • Celanese
  • Pioneer Natural Resources
Additional companies headquartered in the Metroplex include: 
  • American Airlines
  • Regency Energy Partners 
  • Atmos Energy 
  • Neiman Marcus 
  • Think Finance 
  • 7-Eleven, Brinker International 
  • Primoris Services 
  • Radio Shack 
  • D.R. Horton
  • AMS Pictures, id Software
  • ENSCO Offshore Drilling
  • Mary Kay Cosmetics 
  • Chuck E. Cheese's
  • Zales and Fossil
Corporate headquarters in the northern suburb of Plano include:
  • HP Enterprise Services 
  • Frito Lay 
  • Dr Pepper Snapple Group 
  • JCPenney
Dallas is currently the third most popular destination for business travel in the United States, and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is one of the largest and busiest convention centers in the country, at over 1,000,000 square feet, and the world's single-largest column-free exhibit hall.

Our first event was with the members of Indian diaspora in Dallas. It was a fairly interactive session where we discussed about how the US has successfully resolved those challenges in the past which are currently faced by India.

It was very heartening to meet Mr. Kanjibhai who lives in a joint family of 40 people (which includes his 5 brothers and their families) together in one house which is spread over 26 acres of land. When he came to the U.S. for the first time, he only had a few dollars and a degree, like most other Indians. With his sheer hard work and strong work ethics, he has built tremendous economic stature and has gained immense respect.

We met Mr. Jatinbhai from Shahpur who is staying in Dallas from a long time and yet, never misses an opportunity to visit Ahmedabad. He makes sure to visit his old friends and more importantly eat every Gujarati delicacy that comes on the way, whenever he comes to his hometown-Ahmedabad. He also talked about how he loves to go Sardar Patel Stadium in Gujarat just so to have an ice-cream at 10:00 pm with his family. He has built an amazing career as a top management man, working with one of the finest banks of USA.

We met another humble soul, Mr. Saunakbhai, who had a great experience working with AT&T for a long period in his past. He now has his own thriving business of “mukhvaas” - sweet refreshment which Indians prefer to eat after lunch or dinner generally.

We then proceeded for dinner at “Gopal restaurant” where we had mouth-watering Gujarati delicacies. We were glad to see how passionate the employees were for serving quality food to their customers. They are so generous in nature that they sometimes do not charge even a single dollar for a party of 500 people meant for a good cause. We salute such Indians living in the USA.

Overall, we completely enjoyed our food and the conversations. Anyone in Dallas looking for a great Indian food to order in a large quality, I would highly recommend this restaurant.

              



Anticipating a productive day tomorrow.

Jai ho! (Let victory be yours)

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