No minor vices This happened quite a few years ago when India was not so well integrated into the global economy. I was working for a company that had a foreign collaboration and one of the business executives from “Head Office” of the collaborator was visiting us in the factory in India. He was an important person for us. Along with a colleague (we will call him Gopal) I was to receive the visitor (who will be called Max ) at the airport, take him to his hotel and settle him in. Well Max arrived. He was mid-thirties, slim and blond with a good dose of American enthusiasm, a likeable sort of a guy. We had just started the ride back to the city from the airport when Gopal started asking Max about his family, mother, father brothers, sisters, uncle and aunts. I sensed that Max had not expected this line of conversation. Cross-cultural training/ sensitivity was yet to find roots on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Max answered with some hesitance that his father had married twice and thus he, Max, had a large number of siblings. We also came to know that he was unmarried. At some point of time Gopal asked Max whether he smoked . Max said he did not smoke. This was a big surprise for Gopal. He could not imagine an unmarried American who did not smoke, especially since tradition did not prohibit Max from smoking. Gopal then made a remark to me …”Yeh Max to bahut sant (saint) aadmi hai” and repeated the same to Max in English. As we were starting lunch, Gopal asked Max what he would like to drink. Max replied that he did not drink anything stronger than beer. Now this was too much for Gopal. An American in his thirties, who was not married AND did not smoke AND did not drink !!! Gopal repeated the saint dialogue in English to Max and me. I could feel Max distinctly uncomfortable with this newly conferred sainthood. Gopal just could not get over this rather “sainted” American, and soon enough repeated the saint dialog again. At this point Max interrupted him and said, “Look guys, don’t get wrong ideas about me. I am no saint. It’s true that I don’t smoke and drink, but I have a weakness for women”

No minor vices

This happened quite a few years ago when India was not so well integrated into the global economy. I was working for a company that had a foreign collaboration and one of the business executives from “Head Office” of the collaborator was visiting us in the factory in India. He was an important person for us.

Along with a colleague (we will call him Gopal) I was to receive the visitor (who will be called Max ) at the airport, take him to his hotel and settle him in.

Well Max arrived. He was mid-thirties, slim and blond with a good dose of American enthusiasm, a likeable sort of a guy. We had just started the ride back to the city from the airport when Gopal started asking Max about his family, mother, father brothers, sisters, uncle and aunts. I sensed that Max had not expected this line of conversation. Cross-cultural training/ sensitivity was yet to find roots on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Max answered with some hesitance that his father had married twice and thus he, Max, had a large number of siblings. We also came to know that he was unmarried.

At some point of time Gopal asked Max whether he smoked . Max said he did not smoke. This was a big surprise for Gopal. He could not imagine an unmarried American who did not smoke, especially since tradition did not prohibit Max from smoking. Gopal then made a remark to me …”Yeh Max to bahut sant (saint) aadmi hai” and repeated the same to Max in English.

As we were starting lunch, Gopal asked Max what he would like to drink. Max replied that he did not drink anything stronger than beer. Now this was too much for Gopal. An American in his thirties, who was not married AND did not smoke AND did not drink !!! Gopal repeated the saint dialogue in English to Max and me. I could feel Max distinctly uncomfortable with this newly conferred sainthood.

Gopal just could not get over this rather “sainted” American, and soon enough repeated the saint dialog again. At this point Max interrupted him and said, “Look guys, don’t get wrong ideas about me. I am no saint. It’s true that I don’t smoke and drink, but I have a weakness for women”