Intellectual Stimulation

I just came back from a talk at hubby's university. The talk was given by the Indian Finance Minister, Mr Chidambaram, who came here at the invitation of the biz school. Though his speech was so-so(probably because it was drafted by a bureaucrat), the Q&A session was really interesting. The Finance Minister demonstrated great charisma, intellect and an amazing ability to memorise statistical figures. Through this session, I learnt that there were actually about 2.5 million Indians living in the US(which explains why there are so many Indian students here), and that the income tax revenue for India has increased by 33% in the first half of this year. India is also the only country which will have a working population that is large enough to support its population of retirees all the way till 2040. I can't help but be amazed at the economic might of India and the strong determination of the nation to become a world leader in future. Sad to say, there should be more non-Indian students attending such sessions because it is such an eye-opener. In fact, after the talk, we bumped into some Indian friends outside the auditorium and all of us ended up commenting on the talk by the minister. I really appreciate such opportunities at the university where I can get doses of intellectual stimulation by learning about world affairs and exchanging views with like-minded people.