While I was thinking about subject for my first blog, I happened to turn on TV and tune into some Indian channels. We get Indian channels via satellite and I saw
Fear Factor - India on one channel and
Boogie Woogie (a realty dance competition show) on the other. For the past two years they have been showing ‘
Indian Idol’ a hugely popular show in India, ‘
Deal Ya No Deal’ (Deal or no deal) and ‘
Business Baazigar’ (similar to NBC’s Apprentice). Few years back the Indian version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ was a tremendous success in India. It’s amazing how Indians are influenced by Americans in the way they talk, dress, shop and eat and also what they watch on TV, including MTV. Indians now use American phrases, girls wear tank tops (not so common just a few years ago) and young people talk about going to McDonalds, Pizza Hut and night clubs.
I was walking in a mall in
Gurgaon, New Delhi just couple of years ago and saw
Dockers, L’Oreal and McDonald’s promoting their products. Today’s generation in metro cities want to live an independent life. In many cases these days both husband and wife work and want to have a small family. Things have changed dramatically in the past 10 years.
I started seeing this trend even 10 years ago when Indians starting celebrating
Valentine’s Day. Now
Mother’s day, Father’s day and Sweetest day are celebrated because Hallmark is there too. With increasing globalization of economy, the presence of multinationals is increasing world-wide. I believe increased communication, TV, Internet and job shift has revolutionized the world. Younger generation world-wide is becoming more mobile and is taking advantage of job opportunities that multinationals offer and slowly transforming culture around the world.
I visited
China and
Japan last year. It was enlightening to see different culture when I saw Forbidden City and Sensoji Shrine. Later, my friends asked me about what I ate there to survive. When I think back, I had coffee at
Starbucks, lunch at
McDonald’s and dinner at
Hard Rock café. I was enjoying an evening at ‘Ginza’ street and for one minute I forgot whether I was at Time Square in New York or in Tokyo, Japan. Here in the US many are concerned about Indian and Chinese products and services, while we under-estimate the influence of cultural revolution that US has brought on the world with it economic expansion. It seems like world is getting to be homogeneous as American influence is reaching everywhere. I would love to share stories and experiences through this blog so stay tuned and chime in your thoughts.
Other Interesting Links:
Starbucks Gossip JapanGreat Malls of China
