By meeting and living with people from different
lifestyles, cultures, and languages gave me a new perspective
towards life.
I hail from a Dravidian family which admires our ancient Tamil literature, history, and
architecture.
I've done my degree from Bangalore, a college which is home to students from across the globe
(Students from Srilanka, China, Africa, Iran, Nepal, Europe study there). I sat
in a class with a mix of Malayalees, Bengalis, Punjabis, and Nepalis. My
roommates were a Keralite, Tamil, and an Orissa girl. This immense merge brings
together varied experiences, cultures, values, and life stories. Moreover,
choosing Fashion Designing as my course, helped me to meet more creative and
unique people in my life.
I worked in Pondicherry,
which is popularly known as Paris of the East due to the French influence in
its culture and heritage. My coworkers and the people I met, were a mix of
French, Italians, and Indians. I also worked in retail as a manager for an
international brand in Chennai, where I got a huge opportunity to meet and
interact with new people every day from various backgrounds.
I lived in the US for 5
years in three different states. I volunteered for some of the American brands.
I worked in three different
organizations. I’ve been an internee for 5 different organizations. I just love
to experience the work culture of different organizations.
I got married to a family,
which preserves and practices our rich Tamil culture and traditions excelling
in Hospitality (Virunthombal in Tamil).
I am a Hindu, a devotee of
Lord Hanuman. I studied in a Christian school. I worked in an organization
where 90% of my coworkers are Muslims. I have many good friends who are Hindus,
Christians, and Muslims.
This awesome blend of being
with people from various lifestyles, states, cultures, languages, and countries, helped me to look at life and people from a different point of
view.
WHAT ARE THE UNIQUE
ATTRIBUTES OF PEOPLE WHOM I’VE MET IN MY JOURNEY?
=) When one considers a
situation as a failure other considers as an experience.
=) When one society
considers drinking as evil others consider social drinking as a good act.
=) When one society looks
at horoscope matching for choosing their daughter/ son's life partner, another
society lets their daughter/son go for a date and then decide their life
partner.
=) One organization teaches
you to be friendly with your subordinates, another organization teaches you to
be aggressive with your subordinates.
=) When an organization in
a particular society practices fair trade there is another organization in a
different society that practices forced labor.
=) When one society is
filled with innovators and trendsetters whereas the other society is filled
with workers and followers.
These are the different
segments of people who have walked into my life.
WHY PERSPECTIVES ARE SO
DIFFERENT?
I always try to figure
out, why perspectives are so different from individual to individual.
When I look back, all my
schooling, I’ve been living with my parents. I studied in the same school from
KG till 12th grade. I had almost same set of friends all my school days. My
world was so small. The people all I knew were my family circle and a few of my
friends. So yes, my perspectives around my world were also so small. The first
time when I moved out of my school for a college in Bangalore, the world
appeared to be so much different for me from how I was perceiving it all my
life. That was the place, I happen to live with friends who were from a very
unique cultural background, as students from different states and countries
study there. I used to get enthralled and wonder, why people are so different.
As for how I feel about a situation, is extremely different from how my friend
thinks about it for the same situation. Earlier, when I listen to some of my
friend’s perspectives, I do get shocked, baffled, and worried. In the long run,
by constantly meeting new people with a unique point of view, my world got
bigger and better, I learnt that every perspective is correct based on an
individual’s lifestyle and beliefs. Whenever I was asked for a
suggestion for any sort of an issue faced by my friend, I have to completely
immerse myself in her situation (considering all aspects of her lifestyle,
background, and family) and give her a suggestion.
For example, a friend A, who
is an extrovert, based out of Chennai, who has working parents and her
80-year-old grandma speaks beautiful English, whereas another friend B, who is an introvert, Malayalee, brought up in
Dubai till 5th grade and then moved to Kerala,
her dad works in Dubai and her mom is a homemaker who lives in Kerala.
There is another friend C who is an Extrovert, a Bengali, where she studied all
her schooling from grade 1 in a boarding school in Tamil Nadu, her dad was
worshipped as Lord Krishna in his village, as he was born on Krishna Jayanti.
Perspectives of all
my three friends (A, B, & C) will be different based on,
- Genetics
- Culture
- Challenges faced in the journey of
life
- Kind of experiences &
learnings one got.
Let me give you another
example, I worked in a garment manufacturing concern, in two different places.
One in Pondicherry other in Tirupur. Though both the organizations are
primarily garment manufacturers. But their work culture differs based on its
location.
Let’s say, what are the
thoughts that flow into our mind when we think about Pondicherry?
Auroville
Fair Trade
Uniqueness & Beauty
Nature lovers
Spirituality
Simplicity
Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Indo French fusion
Artisans & Handicrafts
What are the thoughts
springs out of our mind when we think about Tirupur?
Tirupur Kumaran
Knitwear Capital of India
Hardworking
Do or Die attitude
Goal oriented
City of Entrepreneurs
Baniyan city
Dollar city
These elements of the city
are reflected in the ethos, principles and work culture of the organization I
worked in.
THE GARMENT FACTORY, I
WORKED IN PONDICHERRY
- Socially
conscience organization which manufactures organic & Fairtrade
clothing
- Multiple
products line – Knitted and woven garments, soft toys, cloth bags, cushion
covers etc.
- Clients
are small designer boutiques mostly from European countries
- High
pricing designer line - Minimum orders
- Follows
Sri Aurubindo’s spiritual beliefs
- In
house Aari worker who does hand embroidery and Aari work
- Works
with NGOs for recycling and zero wastage.
- It
has its inhouse boutique and designer brand
THE GARMENT FACTORY, I WORKED IN TIRUPUR
- Vertically
integrated concern. Manufactures both conventional and organic garments.
- Manufactures
only knitted garments
- Clients
are mostly mass retail giants from all over the world
- Low
pricing - Bulk orders
- Follows
Vethathri Maharishi’s beliefs
- We
had a 2 minutes affirmation prayer every morning which says "I can do
it"
- Highly
focused on the task at hand
- The
whole organization works like a fire to meet their targets and deadlines.
- Any
untrained labor can be trained to become a super skilled labor is the
mantra practiced and followed.
Though both the organizations are predominantly the manufacturers of garments.
But their ethos, work culture, principle, product line, pricing, belief system
and priorities differs based on the society where the organization is located.
The same ideology applies
to we individuals..
YES,
“I’m the reflection of my
parents and grand parents
I’m the reflection of the
society I live in
I’m the reflection of the
people I meet in my life.
I’m the reflection of the
organization I worked for
I’m the reflection of the
books I read and the movies I watch
I’m the reflection of my
life partner
I’m the reflection of the
family I got married to
I’m the reflection of my
belief system
I’m the reflection of my
inspirations”
And so are everyone.
We are all different from
one another because we are the reflections of the environment we live in, which
leads us to different perspectives.
Though we cannot make every
choice.
But definitely we get an
opportunity to make certain choices in our life.
Let’s choose them wisely
Those choices determine,
who we are?
WHY SHOULD WE LEARN
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES?
In our day-to-day life,
whether it's colleagues, friends, or family members, we get to meet new people
every day with a unique point of view. Knowing different perspectives, helps us
to understand people without being judgmental.
When I was in Chennai, I
used to be the only Tamilian in a group where all are Malayalees.
When I was living in
Chicago, I used to be the only South Indian among the group of 10 ladies where
all are North Indians. Though I had my group of Tamil friends in Chicago. But I
was also part of different groups. And I loved to be a part of it.
However by opening our
eyes to varying perspectives, we cannot always assure it will change our minds,
at the very least, it will keep us informed and aware so that we can interact
courteously and respectfully with others.
WHAT ARE MY INSIGHTS/
LEARNINGS?
When I contemplate about
my learnings by being surrounded with different people with different
perspectives, there are few insights which drizzles into my mind,
- Every person we meet in our
day-to-day life has their own perspectives towards everything. Though we
do not share the same perspectives. But we can respect other’s way of
thinking and learn and adapt what inspires us and ignore what doesn’t
align with our values.
- We do not have the right to judge
anyone’s life decisions, as we never lived and experienced their
life.
- No one is better than anyone.
Everyone can be the best in their own way.
- What is right or
wrong? Depends on what was taught to an individual from
childhood, the kind of experiences he or she had, how one looks at a
situation, and how he/she interprets it. Yes, there are no right or wrong
answers. It is based on an individual’s perspective and how one can handle
a situation.
- There are no mistakes or failures
in life. Every single mistake or failure is a learning experience to make
us grow and succeed.
- Life is all about what we truly believe in, what our life experience has taught us. All our life decisions should be taken based on our own experiences in life. It is our responsibility to live our life based on our own experiences not on other's experiences. One can take inspiration from other's experiences but do not live other’s life. We must strive to live our lives in our way rather than the lives prescribed by our society.
- Every individual, people, and the society is specialized in something in their life. They prioritize and focus on something based on their interests and beliefs. Let’s respect each other interests/ beliefs and priorities, and stop finding faults and let’s learn something from each other.
So, let’s expand our worldview,
experience, and opinions as much as possible.
