Rama Moondra

I am a firm believer of basic courtesy extension.Knowledge,skill,work ethic,integrity,ambition all are important for a good career but I think courtesy tops the chart for me, Those savvy business minded people can read it diplomacy.

More often than not, I have coached executives to be quiet at Board  meetings. Meeting manners demand that. Its more important to know what not to speak than what to speak. Equally necessary to be quiet than to be vocal at wrong times.

Please do not think that my advice is bend on your knees and say “yes Boss”. but to be  sure to calculate how much and when.Its a known fact that generation wise we are getting ruder. Our basic  sensitivity to other fellow human being resembles  size of caterpillar’s eyeball. We are under stress to win ( god knows what and who), and for that hallucinated victory,we have dumped all pleasures of winning a smile after a thank you from a stranger.

Of being an Indian is hurt many times. I consider myself a hardcore traveller.backpacker type classified . More I travel,more embarrassed I become.

Consider this: While conducting a workshop for a leading corporate on Cross culture sensitivity, a man designated General Manager, says loudly,” Why we need to be polite? I am there to buy machines, giving them business. Let them dance on my tunes.”

Why can’t you be polite to a vendor? My question is not answered. As Indian, I would look at it as buying power decides who rules but is it necesaary to show crassly?

Why would not my national pride get hurt when I board a flight from London and British airways ensures that ,the exit from where flight departs for India has more number of staff deployed, while planning my Austria trip I saw do’s and don’ts of Austria. For Indians the norms are behaving on stair cases, be not too loud at public place, dress smart at music do’s. I am ashamed to see the way we are measured.

And please , those who believe ,our country has tought too many things to west,let me clarify.Golden past and tarnished image of present are two different things.