Here is the WDA stuff I have been doing in India:

1. I had a chance to visit the conference hall at the Nehru Science Centre. The payment for the hall had not yet gone through because I needed to sign off a few papers. I will be withdrawing Rs. 19,000 to reimburse my father for the money. The hall itself, contrary to my prior understanding, does accomodate 210 people. We have the hall booked from 9am to 7pm. We will also have one more room alongside the actual hall for a workshop. So, in total after the keynote speakers are done we will have two spaces for workshops. It is important for us to work around this number.
   The main obstacle I have run across with the hall is that they only allow the in-house caterers to provide food on the premises. Now, the cheapest food option they have to serve us for lunch is a whopping Rs. 500 per plate. That would amount up to almost all the money we have fundraised so far. Since my father’s ex-boss is the chairman of the Nehru Science Centre, I have spoken to him about possibly getting a discount. If that does not work out, we are in quite a fix, because we need to provide lunch, but cannot afford to do so.
2. I had a chance to speak to Mr. Suresh Prabhu regarding his topic for the lecture. The phone connection was pathetic, but I know the working title is “Water: The Next Big Challenge in India.” I am going to his house today and if he happens to be around, I can get a lil more info on the topic. But as of now, this should suffice for the invitation card itinerary. Also, he is flying in from a parliment session in Delhi for our conference on the 19th of March. He has requested to speak in the morning for this reason. I know he said he would be able to conduct a workshop but I do not think this will be possible because he will be flying back to Delhi after the morning session.
3. I think it is best for us to drop Mr. Sebastian as a speaker. This is because he just does not seem all that interested in participation willingly and also his topic is not of the tumost relevance. I am on the look out for another speaker. So far the names I am pursuing are Medha Patkar and Aruna Roy. I am trying my best to get in touch with them ASAP.
4. I spoke to Ajit Nimbalkar yesterday about the speaker topic. He has asked me to get back to him via email and will be getting back to me by next week.
5. Mr. Shyam Divan is currently traveling and will have to be contacted after the new year.

That is my update so far.