Nov 26 2006
From Bangalore to Beijing: First impressions in traveling East
For a mind jaded with the humdrumness and everydayness of living in India and having experienced something similar in North America, China comes as a blast of winter air. The senses awaken not only to the many surprises that one vaguely expects from modern China – four lane freeways and toll booths, skyscrapers and experimental architectures, steel and glass proudly announcing China’s ambitions, but also to the surprises that one has a feeble mental model to initially comprehend – the ease of being comfortably Chinese in the glare of foreign eyes (and the gaze of English!), a strange dissociation from the past and tradition, and my personal highlight in the one week China visit — the presence of several interesting individuals and sub-cultures of music, art, and design.
My first impression of China was similar to my first impression of San Francisco – I knew the place had arrived – definitely arrived at some point in the distant past, and it was I, with my limited knowledge and cultural assumptions, arriving late : (
The greatest gift that China gave me is that it made me rethink and delve into my own assumptions about culture and design and markets and such things. I felt clearly that beyond India, beyond North America and Europe, China does represent a frontier for design and innovation that requires not only great sensitivity and intelligence to understand, but also great guile and pragmatism.
The truth is – I am still coming down from China : ) the inscrutability of its language and cultural frameworks – the fascinating interactions of a billion and a half people – Peking Duck and Chinese wine – the in your face consumerism – the realities I could sense but not see.
Dear China, I hope to see you again, soon….till then, Shei Shi Ni!
[…] Despite Bangalore’s non existent winter, I have this memory of cold January evenings -perhaps a residue of my November visit to China and my December visit to Delhi in 2006, both of which were to shape my professional and personal lives. The China visit was like a splash of cold water on the face – I came back reminded of there is much more to the world than the deliberations and dogmas of America and India. I even waxed about my China visit in one of my earliest blog posts. My Delhi visit was eventful as well – I had more or less made up my mind to walk down the altar with my architect-fiancee Ruchira, and there I was in Delhi, making up my mind about whether I had indeed made up my mind! […]