After a two week long stay in Australia, the very thought of getting back to the routine was sickening and mentally tiring. Would I ever find any philanthropist ready to sponsor my trips and not expect any return on investment? Ah! If only wishes were horses, then beggars would ride on it.

Swami Vivekananda once said “Think of an Idea, make it your dream and let it be your blood, skin and everything that you think of and then let go, it will automatically happen.” I found this statement to be quite true in my case. I had chosen China as my country for project during my CCM class. I always wanted to know more about this sleeping giant, the land of Confucious and Tao and above all the land of the famous dragon. Sadly while countries as small as Timor or Senegal are often found a place in the news, the print media have not cared to use as many column centimeters as required to write about China given its geographical size and population. After my trip to Korea and Australia I was asked to fly to Beijing. I could not believe that my dream would become a reality so soon. At Cisco Singapore I had a friend by name Helen Bee hailing from mainland China. She did her graduation in Beijing University and we always used to have regular conversations about the similarities and dissimilarities between the Chinese and Indian societies. I was really amazed to know that the Asian giants shared a lot in common. The only difference probably according to me is the means of expression. Helen Bee had a lot to talk about the political situation and her opinions about the current Chinese government. She always used to talk about the lack of proper media system which gave unbiased news. It is understandable given the fact that the media is wholly controlled by the communist party/government. She recollected Tinnaman Square massacre, Cultural Revolution and how people had immense faith on their leader chairman Mao Tse Tung. Mao was considered a larger than a life figure and he had a huge following during the Cultural Revolution. When ever we used to discuss this topic over lunch, Helen Bee used to get animated and one could see her with her eyes sparkling. She was amazed that as Indians we could remain as a largest democracy with so much of religious, linguistic and cultural divide and yet coexist in harmony. She taught me a couple of words in Chinese and in turn I taught her a few in Tamil. It was amusing to see her twist every single muscle in her facet to say Nanri (Thank you in Tamil). Our discussions were mutually beneficial, it was a first hand information about the political divide and the actual scene in main land China and the problems they face. It is hard to get such minute detail even if one tries to browse the net. I am really indebted to Helen for sparing her time and answering all my questions with utmost patience. I could not claim to be an expert but at least I became confident that I knew something about the Chinese to strike a meaningful conversation in future.

I was all prepared and eagerly waiting for the ‘D’ day. I bought a map of Beijing at the airport and made a list of all places I wanted to visit. I should confess that I viewed the trip to China not as an official one but as a golden opportunity to know more about the country. Unlike my previous trips to Korea and Australia surprisingly I did not encounter any problems either at the immigration point or at the airport. I took a taxi to the hotel. I was under the impression if I could manage to survive in Korea, China should not be a big problem. However my first hurdle started with the taxi driver. He did not understand even a word in English. Unlike the Korean counterpart who spoke in broken English at least, the Chinese taxi driver looked at me as if I had come form some other planet. I tried al tricks to make him understand, I showed him the address of the hotel with the hope he would recognize but little did I realize that he did not know to read English. If it were some other country I probably could have relied on my sign language skills, but how am I to communicate the name of the hotel even though in English sounding like a tongue twister. Moreover Chine being a language with three different intonations for each syllable and even if a single syllable is pronounced differently the meaning would change. I tried locating the hotel in the map but in vain. Finally I tried various combination of pronouncing the name of the hotel and one among those worked and I saw a smile returning to the taxi driver’s face. The taxi finally halted and I looked out of the window with a sigh of relief that all my communication tricks finally paid of. I did not want to waste even a single minute as son as I checked in at the hotel. From the word go I wanted to venture out. I picked up my camera and tripod and left the room. I was told at the reception that the Forbidden City is only a ten minutes drive from the hotel. The receptionist advised me to take the underground train. The easiest option for me was to take a taxi but I decided against it and wanted to try the public transport. I bought the ticket but as the station had two platforms I did not know to which platform I had to go to board the train. I tried explaining to the ticket collector and she like the taxi driver looked at me as if I had descended from some other planet. I felt for a moment that I should have taken a taxi but I tried to rely on my survival skills. The ticket collector had the presence of mind and took me to the railway network map and then pointed out to the place where I had to alight and she directed me accordingly. It was only then did I realize that mere academic knowledge is of very little use if it could not imbibe survival skills. I looked at the lady and said Shishien – Thank you in Chinese and she smiled at me. By the time I reached the place I found to my dismay that the entrance gate to the Forbidden City remained closed for the public. I was just looking around like a lost kid and felt mentally tired to overcome the language barrier ;two experiences of one with the taxi driver and another with the railway ticket collector were enough for me. I was not prepared for another encounter! Suddenly I felt a hand around my shoulder and the last thing that I wanted was to get hauled up by the police for breach of law. I turned and saw a boy and girl. The greeted and spoke to me in English., introduced themselves as art students and enquired to know which country I belong to and how long I would stay. I was not sure whether I should divulge any information about me to them. I was hesitant and guarded in my initial response .Later I found them to be genuine and harmless. After few exchanges, they invited me to view their painting at the art gallery inside the Forbidden City. They took me around the art gallery and tried to explain each painting with detail. Only later did I realize that it was nothing but a marketing gimmick. The girl told me that the proceeds through the sale of paintings were intended to provide scholarships to poor students. She parted with the information only after bought a piece of their work for150 RMB (900 INR). I came to know later from my colleagues that I was so naïve to have paid double the price for the piece Mankind might be divided and distinguished along geographical, political, ethnical and cultural or on the grounds of religion language etc., but remain the same in their traits and emotions ; compassionate, generous, charitable and empathetic on the one hand, anger, hatred, greedy deceit and cunning on the other are common to everyone in some measure without any exception I set aside my above thoughts after a while. I was comfortable talking to them in English and they provided me with a lot of information of tourist relevance. I expressed my desire to visit the great wall and the girl told, since her uncle is a guide with the government who could speak English could help me visit the place. I gave her my contact details and left the place. I was not sure if I did the right thing by giving her my contact details but luckily everything turned out to be alright. The weather was very cold at -3 deg c and unlike in Korea strong cold winds blowing across was spine chilling. In my excitement I left the hotel without the thermal ware. I was almost frozen and my hands become numb. I realized my folly and decided to return to my room. Strangely, all on a sudden I saw a group of people gathering near a place: I become curious and asked the girl who sold the painting to me the reason for such a movement among the people. I was informed by the girl, that the people had gathered to witness the Change of Guard ceremony and the flag would be brought down everyday at 6.00 Pm. Significance of the event began to sink in me, the moment she mentioned the name of the place as Tinnamen Square, a place of Martyrdom of the Chinese students who rose in revolt against the Communist repressive regime and as a consequence were massacred; the place had now become a tourist point of attraction and as well as for the other foreign nationals. Though the change of guard ceremony by itself was spectacular, what was intriguing was that no one was allowed to stay there within a radius of 3-4 Km and everybody was asked to leave to place.

I did not want to expose myself to the inclement weather any further unprotected. I returned to the hotel and had a Chinese body massage. It was quite relaxing and as I was about to retire, I received a telephone call from Peter. He had called to confirm that he would come and pick me up from the hotel, for my intended visit to the Great Wall of China.

Though completely exhausted I did not go to sleep; instead I began positioning India and China in the balance. Both the countries are comparable in terms of size and population, but are poles apart in the realm of political divide. While we are recognized as the largest democracy in the world, China prides itself as the leader of the Communist world, after the demise and disintegration of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The complex of Sino-India relations that have looked up since 1988, after an era of hostility and mutual distrust since the 1962 war, when the Chinese took over more than 30,000 square Km’s of Indian land along the northern border and the lingering memory of the crushing and humiliating defeat still continue to impact the collective Indian Psyche, and could not be wished away easily, not withstanding the periodical boarder talks. Over the years relations between the two had acquired a new dimension in the eyes of the global society given the two countries’ emergence as the two fastest growing mutually competing economies.
The transformation was quite visible in the case of China in every sphere of its economic activity. I must admit that our progress is quite tardy in comparison As I drove along the highways from the airport to the hotel and during my visits to Forbidden City and Tinaman Square and return I could feel that everyone was seemed to be in a tearing hurry as if there would be no tomorrow to be a part of the reform process..The slew of reforms initiated by the communist government during the last two decades had entirely changed the mindset of every individual .In terms of infrastructure and efficient public transport, Beijing is certainly five to ten years ahead of Delhi or Bombay .In its endeavor to earn market et economy status from the global society the communist regime which sang hosannas all along to the planned economy, realized that linguistic barrier would act as an impediment to their reform process. The Chinese people are therefore encouraged and exhorted to learn English and other foreign languages .In Beijing, the Olympic Games have given the learn English drive added urgency with “Olympic English” classes mushrooming in virtually every neighbourhood .Regular English –speaking classes are held in parks and English song performances are televised. I was lost in such thoughts and as a result I went to sleep very late in the night.
I woke up however early next morning and was eagerly awaiting Peter’s call.
Peter came to my room and escorted me to a mini cab in which there were already four occupants. It was a family of four and had come from Estonia. After a few minutes drive we were joined by three others. They were Portuguese nationals employed in an Investment bank in Shangai. I was initially under the impression that I would be part of a Group of Chinese People or people from other parts of China. Never had I imagined that I would be joined by people from different parts of the globe; an Indian (myself) and Estonian family of four and three Portuguese and guided by a Chinese national, transcending boarders. After exchange of pleasantries we shared our experiences of or visits to other tourist points of attraction and about the people, the culture, the impact of reforms etc.

We visited the tombs of Ming dynasty, the Great wall. The sight of the Great Wall was breathtaking and climbing at -3 degree centigrade was a challenging and exhausting experience. The Chinese imperial palaces and buildings had three different entrances. The middle entrance was for the emperor and the other two were for his subjects. The Chinese architecture was simple and every single color and brick had a reason behind it. The roof painted in red symbolized good fortune. The walls were painted in yellow symbolizing earth. The roof of every palatial building will have symbols of animals. They denoted the ranking of the official who stayed inside the building. The highest was nine animals and found only in palaces were the king lived; the dragon represented the king a fictitious animal with a body of the snake, paws of an eagle, horns of deer and the face of an horse symbolizing power and authority. The symbol for the queen was the peacock.
Ancient Chinese worshiped nature, they had separate temples for the Sun, Moon and other gods. The King prayed at the Tempe of Heaven for bumper crops.

Shopping in China could be real fun. I had been to the silk market where counterfeit products were freely sold.. Every product there is considered to be counterfeit. Any tourist who visits Beijing should not miss the Silk market. I went along with my Canadian friend Mike and enjoyed the shopping experience. The girls at the shop literally lure or drag you into the showroom. The always quote a very high prize initially and we were advised to slash the prize nearly by 70%. The means of bargaining was by using a calculator. The shopkeeper enters a prize and we had to enter ours and that is when the game starts; yes it is literally a game. The shopkeeper tries o reduce the number by a fixed percent and you keep incrementing the number from what you initially quoted and finally land up at a point beyond which not agreeable. Even though negotiations world over happens this way, using a calculator in China in the 21st century was something unique. The quality of the product is generally claimed to be bad, nevertheless a great experience, bargaining and negotiating with the help of a calculator.

I cannot claim by my visits to these countries, for a short duration of not more than 2 weeks, I had gathered enough inputs regarding the culture, living style, economy but I it had definitely helped me change my narrow perspective about our country.

I was on my way back to Singapore and Messrs Leo Png and Ian Savage the instructors(they were the trainers for the program conducted by Cisco) from a training company of repute accompanied me. We became really close and spent over five hours together at the airport and were discussing about the effectiveness of training programs in the corporate world and ran into heated discussions at times about the various mode of training methods. I reached Singapore at 01:00 Am and I had a flight to Australia on the next day at 08:30 Am. I had very little time to pack and I left all my winter clothing at Singapore. I picked up a few T -Shirts and shorts and it was a great relief because the temperature in Australia was around 35-38 degrees. I was eagerly awaiting for my intended visit to Australia from the day I was informed of my travel plans by CISCO, because I have a few friends there and the very thought of spending time with my schoolmates after a gap of four years was quite exciting. I boarded the flight to Sydney and reached around 8.00 Pm

“Hi Mate, how are you!” that’s how I was greeted at the airport. The Aussies were very warm, friendly and welcoming. The Aussies were very strict in observing the immigration rules. I was waiting to pick up my baggage and suddenly felt something unusual. I heard some puffing noise and somebody smelling at my pants. To my surprise, it was a sniffer dog, part of the bomb squad. My friend Venkat was waiting for me outside and was eager to meet him after a long time. I picked up my baggage and as I was about to leave, suddenly from nowhere a lady appeared and enquired Whether I was carrying food stuff or any other article made up of or containing sand .I did not comprehend for a moment and then realized that I was carrying an extra pair of shoes. I was then directed to appear before the quarantine counter where my baggage was checked including the pair of shoes. I was then allowed to go. I was wondering at that point of time, how insecure the world had become. Increasing globalization and trans border trade come with the attendant risk of anxiety and safety. What a plight and where are we heading. I then passed through the immigration thereafter without much ado and literally ran dragging my baggage to meet Venkat who was waiting for me for more than two hours. After exchanging pleasantries, we drove home and his wife Vijaya whom I was meeting for the first time was ready with dinner of rice, sambar and potato curry. I heaved a sigh of relief and even before I sat before the dinging table I felt quite heavy a relief from Bipin Bap and Kimchee! Venkat had instructed Vijaya to cook Potato curry as it was my favorite dish. So nice of him to remember and it made me feel that I am blessed and there are people around me who are really loving and caring. While Vijaya retired for the day after dinner and went to sleep, we remained awake the whole night recalling our childhood from the day when we first met about our friends, our deeds and misdeeds. On many occasions both of us were partners in mischief and pranks and ran into trouble those days. Venkat stays in a suburb far removed from the city. A row of individual bungalows of the Aussies lined up on either side of the roads built in the English style with lawns in front and garden in the rear and the exterior exposed bricks t as we drove from the airport presented a picturesque sight. They were very few apartments in that suburb. As Venkat was staying only in an apartment, I did not have a chance to visit an individual house which attracted me. While we were driving home from the airport, I saw number of hoardings with bold captions – Restrictions level 4, water shortage, do not water lawns or wash cars. It suddenly occurred to me if it were in Chennai, then the caption in the hoarding would have included – Do not bathe! the effort of global warming and the natures sweet revenge of mankind, I was ruminating.

The next day, Venkat took me to Minamura falls and Kiama blow hole. It was a long walk through the forest to the water fall and it was a splendid sight with water flowing down the hill. Singapore does not have any natural spots. Everything there is man made and that showed the difference. It was a 200 Km drive from his apartment and both of us were in our own world, listening to Iliyaraja and Rehaman. Venkat is an ardent music lover, music runs through is family with both his parents being musicians (Carnatic).

I preferred to stay in Venkat’s apartment for my duration in Sydney rather than stay in a five star hotel in the city. During my stay, I traveled in the local train to get to work. I observed certain interesting traits of the Aussies. Unlike the Koreans who were mostly silent and reserved, the Aussies were very vocal, critical and at times bordering on cynicism. Even though we had conducted the same training across various locations, the Aussies were a difficult lot to convince as they thought differently. The training sessions were very interactive and they were not afraid to shoot the instructor down if they were not convinced. It was also a cultural shock to see them putting their legs on the table while the sessions were on. I have heard about such behavior from my cousins and friends who studied in the US, but this was the first time I had witnessed it.

In the evenings Venkat used to take me around Sydney and I had the opportunity to visit the famous Opera house, Sydney Harbor Bridge and other tourist points of attractions. I was really fascinated by their countryside, the individual row of houses with stables and caravans. I found the Aussies to enjoy water sport the most and motorboats were found in practically every house. The Aussies carry their motor boats to their caravan and go for long hours during weekend.

Work and pleasure seem to co exist in the Aussies nature. They don’t work after 5 pm in the evening. They have a unique concept 8:8:8 way of living – 8 hours of work, 8 hours entertainment and 8 hours sleep. I wondered whether; back in India we could have such luxury.

After a memorable and exciting week long stay with Venkat, I left Sydney with a heavy heart. From Sydney I boarded a flight to Melbourne to stay for the weekend with my schoolmates Mayur and Shyam. We were classmates during 11th and 12th. They had come to the airport to pick me up; for a moment I could not recognize Mayur: he had put on more than 20 kgs of weight, since I met him in Chennai two years before. Mayur was also staying in a suburb and to my surprise in an individual house. I fell in love with the environment. I had initially planned to stay only for 2 days in Melbourne and after seeing the environment I decided to extend my stay for a week. I immediately called Singapore airlines to reschedule my flight.



We started making plans for the week and all of us were really thrilled. The first in the schedule was a drive to the Great Ocean road. The drive is still etched deep in my memory. The sight of the mighty ocean on one side and mountainous range on the other and to wade between the two is breathtaking. I was lost in thought and wondered, why do we play a spoil sport with nature with construction of so many skyscrapers, malls and theme parks all nothing but a bundle of concrete jungle. Any number of visits to such malls and monuments do not give one the satisfaction that one gets if he is amidst nature.

I was eager to find out about traditional music. It had become an habit to pick up traditional music from the countries that I visited. Korean music was quite different. Their rhythm pattern is different from others. It was quite difficult for me to appreciate at first and after repeated hearing, I was able to comprehend the pattern. I wanted to pick up some Australian traditional music and Mayur and his friends asked me have a try on Dijiradoo the name sounded funny! Bu when I happened to listen to a CD named Earth Rhythms with Dijiradoo playing a major part it was really musical and was quite different. I bought a miniature of the instrument which in appearance looks similar to our traditional flute, the only difference being there aren’t holes in the dijiradoo. The sound from the instrument was captivating and even made me dance in a trance.

The Aussies are health conscious beyond the comprehension of an average Indian. They have sand witches for lunch and spend their remaining time of their lunch break at the gymnasium or engaged in jogging. They have their shower and resume their work. The Aussies are quite friendly and even though racism does prevail in their society they are quite accommodative and make you feel at ease.
Since my friends were away at work, I decided to go on a package tour. I signed up for a one day tour to Philip Island to watch the penguin parade. After a short distance travel by bus, I was quite enthused to travel in a train powered by steam engine across the mountainous range. During that trip I also had the opportunity to touch the udder of the cow milk and drink the fresh milk, feed Kangaroos, witness shearing of sheep, watch pandas lazing on tree tops and finally gaze at the parade of penguins

Korea – Seoul: I did not know what to expect when I landed at the Incheon international airport, as I had very little knowledge about the culture and living style of the people of Korea, excepting that it had successfully conducted the Olympics games and a leading player in automobile and electronic sectors.. A couple of websites browsed did not throw much insight save focusing on tourism. Having lived in Chennai all my life, where the temperature is hot and humid throughout the year, my only concern was about the Weather. Prior to my departure from Singapore, I was sufficiently warned that the temperature will go below sub zero during February and I was asked not venture without woolen clothing.

My first encounter with the Korean immigration officer was not really pleasant. I greeted him with a smile as I gave my passport and immigration papers. His response was cold and mechanical; He snatched my papers, looked at me with a frown. I thought that I might have committed some mistake while filling up the forms. I was keeping my fingers crossed. The officer started making changes even without explaining where I went wrong. The last thing that I wanted was to be hauled up by the Korean Immigration officials. If it were so, I was wondering and praying whether I would be able to communicate that I am a pure vegetarian. Eventually, I thanked my stars since the official did not create major problems and I was literally running towards the exit lest the official change his mind and call me again.

I breathed fresh air as I came out of the airport lounge and took a taxi to my hotel. I initially had problems communicating with the taxi driver and later I realized that I was talking at a fast pace and more importantly I was talking to him in English. I reduced my speed and tried to convey to him in broken English and found that the taxi driver not only understood what I said, he seemed to enjoy my conversation. I wondered that, how true it is to say that language is only a tool for effective communication and speaking it in a proper way on certain occasions makes it difficult for many to comprehend. What is more important is to get the message across and not bother about grammatically correct sentences. I suppose this holds good for everyone who is visiting countries where English is not the medium of communication.

It was a long drive of about ninety minutes from the airport. During the drive we were generally talking about the roads, the traffic around and to some extent about the people and their living style. Though I was engaged with the driver, half way I started worrying whether he was trying to act smart by driving down to a long and circuitous route to claim extra money (An Indian Mindset). I relied on my intelligence and started locating my whereabouts from the route map that I picked up in the airport. By the time I could figure out where I was, I realized that I was completely lost. It is not only women who could not read maps (A title of a popular book) there are a few men like me who cannot read them as well when the map is in Korean. I kept asking the driver how long would it take and he neither seemed to bother or understand. At last the taxi halted in front of the Jingua hotel.

I was gasping for breath, struggling to count the number of zeros when the driver presented the bill. He demanded payment of 2,600,000 WON, equivalent of 200 SGD or 6000 INR. I had no other option but to pay him, as I could not argue with him effectively (How I wish it was India). I later came to know that my colleague from Singapore paid only 65000 WON. The staggering difference, I realized later was due to the fact that I traveled in a car in the luxurious sedan.
After this ordeal it was time for lunch and I began to worry of the very thought. My colleague Gavin Luke Tan from Singapore assured me that I could have Bipin Bap without any trouble. I wondered Kiska Bap. Gavin told that Bipin Bap - rice served with vegetables is a traditional Korean dish, and served it with Kimchee. Kimchee is sort of a pickle and it is nothing but radish soaked in Vinegar, oil and traditional spices. After I heard my friend explain the ingredients I was a bit relieved, though sceptical about the oil that is used. The Koreans use a peculiar oil which gives their dishes a strong odour and taste. It was only then did I realize that vegetarian means rice served with vegetables, sometimes boiled and sometimes just raw. I gathered that in this part of the world i.e. in most of the south East Asian countries Vegetarian food includes both fish and chicken and only red meat is considered as nonvegetarian. While I was enjoying my dishes sitting on the floor in the traditional Korean way, my other friends ordered for Cow’s intestine, Octopus and some internal organs of a pig. I somehow chose to ignore the dishes being barbequed in front of me and busy engaged in trying to grab a few pieces of my dish using chopsticks. I was feeling awkward and uncomfortable with the chopsticks and wished if I could use my hands, instead I used fork and felt greatly relieved.

Next day at office I was introduced to a beautiful lady byname was Hwa Jin Kim. She had graduated in Bio technology and was comfortable in conversing in English. She was kind enough to explain more about the Korean culture and their living style.

Hwa Jin told me that the Koreans are more of a patriarchal society and the power and decision making authority rests with the head of the family. The Koreans still prefer a joint family system and they respect rank and power. They prefer to be addressed by their official designation followed by their first name. For example (Director Lee). She also taught me a couple of Korean words; Anion – How are you and Chink Goo – Friend. I tried using them in the market and none of them seem to understand because of my strong Korean accent!.

I found the Korean language quite interesting because the people tend to have more pauses between words and the last word in a sentence is normally stressed which make is quite musical to hear. My one week stay in a land where English is not the basic means of communication and where even ordinary vegetarian dishes are considered as delicacy was really memorable. I wanted to visit the countryside to see how it appeared, because I believe that a country’s true value and wealth remains only in the rural side and not in their cities. All the metros look alike, be it in Singapore or Mumbai or elsewhere, with skyscrapers, highways and shopping malls. I never found them to be anything exciting or interesting. It had never impacted me. I decided that next time if I happen to visit any country I would try to be far away from the cities, to experience the real value and the living style of the people at large.

“Sandeep, Sandeep wake up” I just heard a faint voice coming from the corner, I just thought for a second that it was Nayantara my beloved wife trying to wake me up as usual. I thought to my self that it was too early for me to get up on a Sunday morning, but I suddenly realized that I heard a male voice. I woke up and to my dismay it was not my wife but my colleague Neerav, only then did I realize that I was in my office. I was too tired for the day and have not sleep properly for the past one-week. We were quite busy with the latest product launch, a new variety of the post it notes. The product launch was a mega hit and we had just returned from a bash last night. The CEO of 3M’s Asia operations was quite impressed and during the party he just called me and said “ Sandeep you guys have done a good job, keep it up. I would like to talk to you tomorrow about something very important and lets schedule a meeting at 4.00 pm”. I decided not to think about what he just said and had great fun releasing the pent-up tension and stress. Nayantara keeps telling me that I am a perfect Virgo and give undue importance to perfection. She always accuses me of not having a work life balance and when it comes to work I completely forget everything around me and sometimes even don’t remember to have my food. I always tell her that it’s been the south Indian tradition where men are considered the breadwinners and would have to work really hard to take care of the family. I tried explaining the Hofstede’s Power Distance model, but she failed to understand, she was born in the north India and stayed in the United States for most of her life. She always believed in equality among sexes and never used to agree that the Indian society has still not matured and would take some time for people to grow up and break away from the commonplace thinking. I remember telling her last week that though I belong to a tradition, which has given importance to men and ill-treated women and such a culture was inherited from the Hindu custom, I personally believe in equality and am pretty open minded and this was primarily because of my family values
While I was thinking, Neerav told me that it was time for the meeting that was scheduled at 4.00 pm and the CEO has just arrived. I just told him that I would be back in a jiffy after refreshing myself and it was then I thought, it was nice working with him and I really enjoyed his company from my college days.
Neerav and I entered the conference room and were welcomed by the executive team for successfully completing the product launch. After few minutes of deliberation the CEO looked at me and said
CEO: Sandeep you guys have done a good job and are really proud of your work. As you are aware that the Chinese market is expanding we would require your service there and I would want you to head the Chinese operation and launch the product within the next 6 months.
I just couldn’t believe what he said, it was a pleasant shock, and the first thing that came up to my mind was ‘China”. All that I knew about the country was what I had learnt in my CCM class back in college. My professor used to tell us that China was low on Individualism and high on Long-term orientation, of all the classes that I had attended, I could just remember this. One day when I was making a presentation on China I just remarked that they are lily puts and were interested in eating anything under the sun. After my presentation was over my professor called me into her cabin and just said this “ Sandeep you seem to having a narrow outlook and are pretty much closed minded, if you want to be successful in the field of marketing and if you want to make a life out of International Marketing, I suggest you must get rid of all the stereo types and must accept things as they are”
I tried telling my professor that I had been conditioned and having been brought up in a south Indian family, where thinking leave alone eating non vegetarian food is considered a sin. My mother always quoted the Indian monk, Swami Vivekananda and told me that the kind of food that I take would determine my character and if I eat satwik food I would become satwik. I told my professor that it would take quite sometime to unlearn what I have learnt and accept things as they are. My professor gave me a smile and told me “ Sandeep the sooner you change the better off you would be.”
I just realized that I haven’t taken any steps to change and have the same mental block that I used to have.
I dint realize that the best part was about to come.
CEO: Sandeep you just have a week’s time to prepare yourself and learn more about the Chinese culture and you would have to report next week along with your wife. All the necessary arrangements have been made and you would have to meet MR Chin Chu Che.
The meeting just ended and I got back to my cabin. Mr Chin Chu Che, what kind of a name was that, I never was good at remembering names and have some how managed to survive. The best part of the Indian culture is that there are generic titles that can be used to address a person, for example dada, anna, uncle, aunty etc. and can get away easily avoiding embarrassment. However the Chinese are particular that their names are pronounced properly and even to the extent of calling them with their designated titles. While I was thinking, Neerav came up to me and told me that for the next one week I would have to undergo an orientation programme along with Nayantara.
It was 7.00 in the evening and I decided to leave. On my way home I decided to stop at the nearby bookstore and decided to pick up a book on china and its culture. I was constantly thinking on how I would be able to convince Nayantara. By the time I reached home it was 9.00 and the dinner was laid on the table, she immediately sensed that something was terribly wrong and I was disturbed. I was hesitant initially and finally told her about the trip to China. I thought she would reject it outright and I would have a tough time convincing her but ironically she was quite enthusiastic and excited.
The next day morning we reached the orientation program and as usual were 20 minutes late. In India we somehow follow the Indian stretchable time and I for one would completely agree and abide by this standard. I have never in my life been on time for any occasion, be it my assignments or my marriage I have always followed the Indian version of IST. This I guess can be attributed to the countries sence of time, Indians are generally polychronic and never tend to value their time as well as that of others. I have never been ashamed of being late; moreover Time in the south Indian context somehow does not seem to exist. Whenever I used to attend a social function, be it a marriage or any other gathering, the function generally starts 30 minutes late from the stipulated time. 3M also has an informal culture and the employees are given utmost freedom to do what they want to, the Indian operation unlike the others don’t follow “time’ strictly.
As we entered the conference hall, we saw a small little man dressed in traditional suit and was wearing a light colored tie. “What a color combination” I remarked and Nayantara asked me to mind my business. The man looked Chinese and as soon as he saw us, he got up from his seat and bowed his head a little bit and said something in Chinese. I did not know what to do and decided to extend my hand and just said hello. We were offered a seat and he just introduced himself as Winch Chu Lee. I couldn’t quite get his name, it sounded like some north Indian dish pronounced the French way. I found it quite hard and asked him if I could call him Lee. The answer was an emphatic “No Sir”. In China, people are generally like to be addressed by their family name or sur name and not by their first name. He continued you are not advised to call somebody by their first name unless and until they have asked you to do so. This was my first lesson for the day
Never address a Chinese by his first name, unless and until you are asked to do so.

That was a clear blow t my ego I couldn’t quite take it because I had just entered and have still not settled, I looked at Nayantara and she pretended as if she did not notice. I then turned to the gentlemen and asked him if I was right if I called him Mr. Winch.
He nodded and continued.
Sir, in china you generally address people by their surname and it is advised that you address them along with their designation. If for example you are meeting with the director and his name happens to be Shin lee, you would have to address him as Director Shin. In China the power distance is high and people are divided on their caste and the upper section of the society accumulates wealth and it is perfectly accepted as a part of their culture.
I immediately made a note of what he just said. This was one trait that Nayantara admired in me the most. This habit was inculcated from my formative years when I had to keep track of my daily activities. I vividly remember my mother used to scold me for not prioritizing my appointments and my inability to deny an offer or for that matter to say “No” when asked for. I generally take refuge saying that Indians are like this, but that somehow does not seem to be true. I have known couple of my colleagues who have out rightly rejected offers on my face. Only then I realized that this was a trait that I picked from my father and cannot generalize it to Indian community as a whole.
I had no problem with this attitude at 3M, because the organizational culture permits an individual to spent 15% of his time on projects of his interests. The culture is informal and not rigid. I am a person who firmly believes that when passion is combined with a dream and if the person is an earnest seeker, there is no body from stopping him from embracing success, but success eludes a person who fails to convert adversities into future opportunities. I imbibed this trait from my father who encouraged me in all my activities and never stopped me from taking my own decisions even if it meant there was huge risk involved. This individual trait of mine is quite opposite to that of the normal Indian trait. Indians are considered risk aversive and generally like to go with the mass. Even though there is group think among the masses, India is ranked low in uncertainty avoidance, which essentially means that they are tolerant and accommodative. According to Hofstede’s model India ranks low in Long-term orientation and Individualism. I have inherited the trait of tolerance from my national culture and am quite independent which is a factor of my upbringing.
Mr. Winch got my attention and said “ Sir before we proceed I would like to tell you something very important. The Chinese value time and they don’t prefer people being late. I therefore suggest that you keep track of your time and your appointments.
He then proceeded and elaborated on the day’s agenda. What was striking was that there was a segment on 3M’s Chinese culture. I wondered how different would 3M’s Chinese operation differ from that of others.
Mr Winch, was really smart, he could immediately sense what was running in my mind, he told me “ Sir, 3M China’s culture is different from that of the others he continued, Sir as you might be aware China’s power distance ranking is significantly higher as compared to other far east Asian countries. The world’s average score is 55 and that of china is 80, which makes it a country where ranking and designations are given utmost importance. There is inequality in power and wealth in the Chinese society and the society is more likely to follow a caste system that does not allow significant upward mobility of its citizens. This means that a foreigner would find it difficult to break into the existing social group. It would take quite some time to gain importance. The Chinese rank low on individualism and this would mean that they would have a close and committed member group be it family, extended family or extended relationships. Therefore an autocratic mode of operation might not be acceptable to the Chinese and you would have to become socially acceptable and then work along with them. This might not be as easy as it is said yet not that difficult too. As I was telling you the way you might have worked in India could be quite different from that in china.
This was the third continuous shock that I received in a row and it was difficult to take it. However, my culture has thought me one eternal truth that “ one does not get what he desires, he gets what he deserves and wise men accept this and know that this very moment is inevitable and life is too short to be spent worrying”. I got reminded of Ramana maharishis’s quote and told myself that everything happens on the basis of Prarabdha karma.
I decided to take a break and told Mr Winch that I would have to leave as I have an appointment that I had to attend to. He understood my situation and was kind enough to let me go.
On my way back home, I never spoke a word and was driving my car. I was contemplating on what Mr. Winch has just said. I just can’t imagine working in an environment that stifles creativity and where too much importance is given to bureaucracy.
We reached home and I asked Nayantara to get me a cup of coffee and curd rice. I was born and brought up in south India and not a single day passed without eating curd rice. I felt really uncomfortable the whole day because I dint get my quota of coffee and curd rice. Meanwhile I just picked up the book that I had purchased and decided to keep myself informed before I get ton class tomorrow.
To my dismay the first thing that I saw when I opened the book, were pictures of Snakes, Scorpions, Crabs and a few un identified objects. The text below read
“Chinese delicacy”. The very thought and sight of the picture was nauseating and to add o to the situation Nayantara arrived with a bowl of curd rice and coffee. I just couldn’t hope that she would get the dishes at this time of the hour. I was completely lost and did not feel like eating.
It was only now that she spoke a word, “Sandeep, why are you being childish, you need to understand that every culture is unique in its own way and it is only upto to you to accept and adjust. I am sure when Chinese come to India they would feel the same way as you would when they see a white liquid mixed rice, I am referring to curd rice.
Sandeep you need to grow up and widen your horizon as your professor used to say. While you were reading I just spoke to Jayanth, he is my friend and an expert in cross-cultural management. He said that, “Chinese are very courteous and give importance to relationships and would respect other people’s views. If we just go by the Hofstede’s model, we wouldn’t be able to visit any country in the world. No doubt the Hofstede’s model does explain the cultural aspects, but we might have to keep in mind that not all the people fall under the model and the immediate society and family also influences peoples behaviour.
A foreigner who visits China should be bit more sensitive. He should take utmost care that he doesn’t hurt their feelings. I do understand that Sandeep might not like the food that is being served, he has the liberty to accept the food but not have it, and this would ease tension and will not be considered as an insult”.
Moreover, “Sandeep” she said “ A person like you who appreciates and follows the spiritual path which seems to be running in your family stream, I think you would have to be happy to know that even though china is considered an atheist country where the state lays down definite rules governing religion, there seems to be many tradition religious practices like Zen, Buddhism that you might be interested in. You would also be surprised to know the china also has an old tradition and culture that they respect and cherish.
I felt relieved after hearing Nayantara speak and was feeling really hungry and decided to eat the curd rice that she bought for me. Next day morning, I took utmost care that I reach the conference hall on time. Today’s programme was to cover the topics on the dressing style, body language, and gifts.
Mr. Winch told us that the Chinese generally prefer traditional suits with light colour ties and he also warned me that I should abstain from wearing bright colours. Speaking about their body language he said that, when they tap their feet, it symbolizes anger and when they put their index finger on their nose they are communicating “that it is me”. The Chinese prefer gifts and have the tradition of declining the gift three times before they accept it.
The next few days passed and I had learnt a lot about China and its culture, I felt very comfortable and confident that I could be successful in handling the assignment and would be able to launch the product successfully.
At the end of the day I realized that what is more important is not where you go, when you go and what you do there, what is important is that we must have an open mind and accept things around you. Finally, I realized that even this boils down to the eternal truth that I learnt from Ramana maharishis’s teachings “ this moment is inevitable, there is nothing that you can do to change what has actually happened, therefore accept and move on."

An Attitude with Gratitude

I called my professor, Shobana mam today from Singapore and I was cribbing about my Job. She patiently waited until I finished the entire story and then asked me to have gratitude and make that an attitude. She told me that there are people who earn very little and don’t enjoy anything at all. How true. What am I doing? I am seeking for something that is not rather than embracing what is. The difference is between what I desire to what I deserve. As long I don’t observe this futile exercise, I am sure I cannot be happy.

Oh divine, give me the power to appreciate all your work and deeds. I am sure you cannot create crap and you wont perform an action if it is not warranted. Let all this not be mere words. Let me understand what I am now saying and live with it.

How encouraging to know that somebody thinks about us..oops me!

But where!!

I was shopping at an antique store which was selling statues of Buddha, and I suddenly happen to hear a voice from behind which said “Vanakkam”. To my dismay, when I turned back it was a Chinese guy. I wanted to show that I also knew some kind of Chinese and told him “Nee how ma” (How are you). After initial exchange of pleasantries, he was describing about the Statue that I was holding in my hand. I wanted to buy a statue of Avaloketeshwara and he started relating the similarities between the Indian goddess Durga and Avaloketeshwara. I was completely taken aback. He did not stop there, he said he is planning to visit the Madurai Meenakshi amman temple and started quoting from “Thirukural”. I was amazed and more than amazed, ashamed because, I knew very little about their culture.

The other day, I visited a Chinese temple and came to know that there isn’t much difference between the cultures. An incident that touched me the most is.. There was a Krishna temple nearby and I found a lot of Chinese standing their and praying in their traditional way. Having an Agarbatti in hand and offering prayers. I just realized that they give a lot of emphasis to the departed souls and they believe a lot in praying to their ancestors would give them wealth and prosperity.

Talking about the departed soul, I saw a Chinese funeral and it wasn’t any different from ours. The only difference I found was that, even when there was a body, I found the family members playing cards the whole night. The dead body is cremated only after 7-10 days depending upon the status of the family. The funniest part is that the Govt of Singapore for want of burial space, excavates the burial ground once in 20 years and stores the remains in a small box, attaches an RFID kind of a tag and then stores the box in a building. The relatives are given a key (like the one that we get in our bank lockers) and would have to fix an appointment and offer their prayers…. The Singapore government has brought in technology even for the dead.. I am sure they are capable of doing more…

Now talking about their marriages. The Chinese spend a lot of money on their weddings and they expect their guest to return the favor by gifting them with a proportion equivalent to the money spent. To put in Ramakrishnamoorthy Sir Language. The Driver behind this is the food that is served. If a ten course meal is served, the standard is that you pay 100$ and it goes on changing. I also came to know of some interesting stats. People belonging to the Malaysian fraternity marry early and also get divorced early. One in every ten marriages ends up in a divorce. It looks like there is very little stability in their marriage and however the support from family members is enormous. Even if a girl or boy is divorced, not only their parents their entire family supports them and arranges for a second/ third marriage. On the contrary the Chinese are more Money minded and would like to go behind any opportunity which would fetch them some money.

Economic growth or Environment protection
Professional success or Spiritual growth
Money or Happiness
Good or Bad
Right or Wrong
This or That

Where lies the option, given the fixity of the cause the effect manifests. The current moment is what it is; it cannot be wished away nor can it be wished otherwise. The courage lies in viewing what is as it is and not as what we want it to be. It’s a complete disgrace to human intelligence because we fail to face reality and rather than accepting it we go on fighting with it like a coward and say life doesn’t treat me fair.

I just get reminded of JK's works..There is no path that leads you to Truth.. and reality is found between the spaces of thoughts.. Only if we could revisit all our assumptions, perceptions, conditionings our belief system would collapse and the truth would be revealed.. coz truth has never gone out for a stroll it was just there, we are the only species which keep proclaiming that "Truth will finally prevail" and "Dharma will always win" as if there is a Demand supply problem. We have been so much caught up in the minds game that we go on condemning, justifying, and fighting what we perceive from our limited knowledge as right.. and we are proud of it.. Thanks to our schools, teachers, parents and society, we know very little of what truth is and make all kinds of noise, just to prove that we exist and we "know" something...

Time = Mental exertion in futility.

Oh Divine!
Why are there so many conflicts within me?
When will I be free from this duality?
When will I see things as they are?
When will I accept things as they are?
When will I move from a state of being unconscious to conscious?
When will I move from knowing to being?
When will I just be?

I am slowly getting adjusted to the environment and culture. I stay in a PG and it takes me 1 Hr to reach my office by the MRT. My house owners are really nice people, they take very good care of me. They are very frank, honest and genuine people. The house owner cooks food for me and Rahul (IT buff from Bombay) sometimes for dinner and she also bought me a dress for my B day, they also celebrated my B day and I felt really happy and at home. This makes me feel I am blessed and this feeling always gets me back to my senses and restores sanity whenever I go off track. All through my life I have come across some really good people from whom I have learnt a lot and who have left behind a lasting impression. I am indeed blessed and that makes me believe in the supreme power.

I get to read books when I travel. Osho, Reddy, and J krisnamurthy are my companions. Not a single day passes without reading Osho and I think I have fallen in love with his thoughts. Jagit Singh’s Maa and Krisna bajans, refresh my soul at the end of the day.

I am surprised by the way in which things are structured and organized. I am also taken a back by their road sense, civic sense and common senseJ. Some time I wonder where is the room for creativity and ones urge to be natural. However I admire their concept of society. 80% of the houses are built by the govt and every society is well equipped with Gyms, Swing pool, Schools, Sports centers, Old age centers, shopping complexes. What amuses me is that at the end of every road there are these vacant lands and the Chinese in the mornings practice Tai chi and the youngsters practice aerobics in the evening and children practice karate, skating and basketball. This keeps reminding me of the Multiplex creativity villageJ. The Chinese are the one who come out for all this, I haven’t seen a Malai or an Indian. The work culture is also pretty different, I feel they don’t give much importance to work and they don’t carry work outside office hours. When the clock strikes 6.00, you would find people packing their bags and rushing out like ants. At the end of the day , you can see them either shopping or at a food court hogging. There are two things they seem to do religiously eat and shop.

Last week I went to one of the Singapore banks to open a savings a/c. After completing all the formalities, I just asked the lady at the counter what the interest rate was. She just looked up, smiled and said 0.25%. I was completely taken aback. I went home and spoke to a couple of my friends and then realized that the economy would be at great danger if people start saving. That’s when I realized that I need to come out of my Indian mentality.

I admire the Singapore kids, from a very young age the parents teach them how to behave and they are exposed to so much technology unlike their Indian counterparts that they become independent from a very young age. It so happened that one day I was at the MRT and was swiping my card against the wrong counter. I suddenly heard a voice from somewhere “Uncle not this counter, you need to go there”. I looked around and found nobody and somebody from below pulled my pants and that’s when I realized it was toddler. I was completely embarrassed, thanked her and started walking fast. I don’t know if I am right by making this statement, but in a short time I some how get this feeling and I wonder what happens to their ability to be natural. Does Fruedian principles don’t work here? The society is becoming more mechanical and programmed, so much so that they walk in the same side of the road, stand in the same side in the train and the best past is that people start walking in escalators (going against the very purpose it is there) even there they have a rule, people who want the escalators to take them stand in the right side and the others walk past them from left. I guess their Tai chi and aerobics keep them sane .

All set and done I feel there is something more in Mother India, Singapore does not have Thiruvanna malai, Ramna ashram is not here, ASB is not here, I don’t see cows, I don’t see people coexisting in chaos and more importantly mother’s curd rice and rasam is not there.

At work, I sometimes find it difficult understanding their Singlish and am also finding it hard to break ice, I don’t go out with them during lunch. I remember mam teaching us in CCM class that the Chinese, the Japanese and generally Asians get accustomed over Food. The problem is they go in for a Chinese restaurant and I find it really really difficult to find a veg dish, even if we go elsewhere, I don’t kind of understand what the item in the menu card is. I guess I need to take a course on these dishes and separate training on how to pronounce them.