The Racist Monkey...

Yes it is Racist, or so thought Symonds. It is present in the Cassell Dictionary of Slang and is a very versatile racist word, being used by most to describe African Americans. A very common slang used in India turned out to be a red card for our own dear Bhajji. Going through news channels obsessed with the NSE crash got on Gopu’s nerves. But he could relate to this. His conclusion though not rare was quite practical. Had cricket been played amongst countries with similar cultural orientation alone, a monkey would be taken to mean the “Simian Primate” that is its zoological identity.
Gopu took a trip down memory lane ; he was fresh out of college with a much coveted degree. Thanks to globalization, the right people had access to a plethora of opportunities, each coming with its own set of challenges. Gopu was glad to get his dream job with ‘Bells Cargo Ltd’. This was the opportunity, what followed next were challenges. Gopu remembered being glad that the global presence of his company would mandate interaction with Russians, Americans, Germans and others, giving him better exposure.
One fine morning Gopu was told by an American colleague, Jim, that "It might be a good idea to add more details to the test plan". Gopu being his naïve self took it as a humble suggestion and battling through his daily responsibilities managed to forget it. He was taken aback when his plan was rejected and a mail was sent asking him to make the necessary corrections. He was perplexed - suggestions-are-to-be-overlooked was his time tested assumption –why hadn’t it worked this time? Thankfully his manager Deva came to his rescue, explaining that for Americans, saying things that had been said were often polite ways of communicating direct orders. Therefore, it was important to be aware of the subconscious assumptions being made about such communications and to make sure that any possible misinterpretations were avoided.
Gopu enriched by his past experience and broadened vision set foot in Japan-another great opportunity, which brought an even more interesting episode. While traveling from one city to another, the airline clerk said "Perhaps you would prefer to take the train." Gopu insisted "No, I want to fly." Quick came the reply "There are many other ways to go". Perplexed he said "Yes, but I think it would be best to fly." She said "It would be very difficult". Eventually, he found out that there were no flights between those cities. Unavailability of flights wasn’t an issue as the trains in Japan would give many an airline a run for its money. What was intriguing and difficult to understand was the Japanese way of saying it…nevertheless he had learnt another difference in the manner of “putting things”, affected by culture.
But the best was yet to come-a linguistic faux pas which cost Gopu his lunch. On a business trip to London his cordial British boss asked him if he would like to have an early lunch at 11 am each day. Blessed with a forever healthy appetite, he was very happy about an early fill and said ‘Yeah that would be great!' To his consternation and immense disappointment, the boss immediately replied curtly, "With that kind of attitude, you might as well forget about lunch!”. Each was wondering what was wrong with the other...only days later; Gopu learnt that in England, saying "yeah" in that context is seen as rude and disrespectful.
For Gopu, Bhajji-Symonds feud was just another learning experience, reinforcing his belief that in the present “Global Village”, it is vital if not mandatory for a person to be aware of cultural variations. Knowledge about these differences will help one to tap them as sources of strength and opportunity, allowing one to build successful and mutually beneficial relationships. He was indifferent about the fact that his own experiences of a similar nature had never caught the eye of media. Yet, he wished that other potential global citizens would take a cue from his experiences and avoid going through the same rigmarole- while ignorance might be bliss, it definitely did not compensate for a missed lunch.