Rant

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The global local earthling

I am returning to Human Beams after several years.

I remember with excitement the concept of a world without borders that inspired Nanette to come up with Human Beams.

I do see myself as a global citizen. But I must confess that for the last five years I have been more concerned about things that have been happening in India than I have been about my global village.

Why just India? It would be right to say that it’s watching Kolkata become a global city that has attracted my attention.

18 million people live/work in this city. Of course it has it’s own character. As does every city in the world.

What’s interesting is that if you step in to any of its shopping malls I guess you could be in any city in the world. You could certainly get anything the world produces.

Shopping malls, I guess, is one phenomenon that has transcended global barriers. And strangely to make that conquest, the truly multinational brands have had to localise.

Coca-Cola is a campaign running here, “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola” which will not make any sense to anyone who is not Indian. Yet it is true to the Coke brand.

Pizza Hut has toppings that are so Indian that no Italian would ever believe that it could be used on a pizza.

What is it about us that makes us want to localise every global concept?

Why do we still live in a world with cultural, geographic and political borders?

What makes us search for our own food and music, our own language, even when we should feel at home in another part of our global village?

What will it take for Earth to unite?

An invasion from outer space?

Sumit