Blair McIntosh
Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia, Reimagining India with IndoGenius
Introduction
Kia ora! My name is Blair McIntosh and I am completing a Master of Arts at Auckland University. My current research focuses on reconstructing the history of tea and sugar in New Zealand – a story that cannot be properly understood without engaging with the lives, hardships and aspirations of Indian indentured labourers who cultivated these foodstuffs in the first place. When so much of my research has focused on the dislocations this system of indentured labour caused, I am humbled to finally connect my research back to its roots.
Getting the chance to spend six weeks soaking up all the sights and lessons India has to offer, particularly with experienced guides, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I feel immensely privileged to be part of the PMSA 2024 cohort, and look forward to all the experiences (and friendships) my travels to India will bring!
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An Ode to Coke Man
Throughout our travels in India, the most ubiquitous advertising we encountered were massive billboards for soft drink companies endorsed by Indian celebrities. One of these billboards for Coca-Cola—featuring a particularly memorable ambassador I started affectionately naming “Coke man”—followed us throughout our six-week journey. It became a running joke on the trip that I would be…Continue…
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Learning to Be the Change
The best way to find yourself, Ghandi is often quoted as saying, is to lose yourself in the service of others. Despite its humble origins, this quote has become a common aphorism, repeated in schools, charities, religious organisations and the pages of dubious self-help books the world over. But what does it really mean to “serve” others?…Continue…
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The Adventures of India-na Jones in Hampi
Having spent the first ten days of our whirlwind tour of India immersed in bustling cities, innovative tech startups and vibrant streetscapes, I was not prepared for how dramatically different our next destination would be. Instead of bright neon lights and honking auto-rickshaws, Hampi was an expansive green landscape of rice-paddy fields and palm trees, interrupted only by towering mountains of red granite…Continue…