Global Village...

One of the benefits of travelling is that it opens up your mind. After being exposed to so many different cultures, customs and view points, it is difficult to be narrow minded. I love this aspect of travelling. Yes I love sight seeing, the monuments, the museums, the marvels of the modern world. But more than that I love meeting people, talking to them, mingling with them and knowing them.

I am fortunate till now to have had opportunity to travel across India and then in middle east and Africa. Each city I went to, each country I lived in, I found some new and different things and also few similarities. Yes similarities, thats what prompted me to write this post. When I cam eto Africa, I did not expect to find anything like India. The portrayal Hollywood movies and Discovery and National Geographic documentaries had helped me form my perception.

And yes it is different, very different. The people are different, the culture is different. But I was surprised to see so much of Indian influence here. The kiswahili (thats the language of kenya) word for tea is Chai, and the one for keys is chhabbi. That was about language, another area where influence of a culture can be observed is food. Chappo is a part of the staple diet for breakfast lunch or dinner. Now chappo is a roti or chapatti or a parantha.

But I was amused most by something else. When I was working in India I used to attend meetings in Government offices and all used to be same. They will start with a formally written agenda and lot of unnecessary attendees. Then the discussion would drift away from the topic at hand to some random interdepartmental talk. And the would come the tea break, with tea, biscuits and samosas. When I came to Kenya, I went for some meeting in Government departments here. The office premises are exactly like Government offices in India, polished wooden panels and doors, huge desks and vintage look, a common British legacy. Then the meeting went exactly like India, the agenda, the attendees and the random talk. And then came tea with biscuits and..........yes samosas. Samosas here too...Now that is the Global Village.