And never the twain shall meet.....

The East & West, will they ever meet, is a question that has occupied many a thinker from way back in the past. I'm not sure it is something that is going to have a ready answer in the future, too.

The unstoppable Alexander, in 326 BC ran into his first real resistance on the banks of the Indus, from where we in India draw our name - India.

While camping here he was intrigued by a holy men. In fact both were intrigued by the other. Alexander, the busybody, a Greek God felt that he had conquered the world, while the mendicants, felt that they had too, just by sitting on the banks of the river and meditating.

Their leader, Dandamis, tried to show his guest that his conquests were futile: 'You will soon be dead, and then you will own just as much of this earth as will suffice to bury you.' Although these comments were not very encouraging, Alexander insisted that one of them should come with him, and so it happened. Calanus (Indian Kalyana), became Alexander's adviser and must have played an important role in his dealings with the Indians.

Alexander, was so irritated by Dandamis,at the outset, that he threatened him with death, to which the seer laughed at his face.What are you going to kill, me or my soul he asked?

Alexander later, probably met his first military defeat, in India and died on his way back home. His wife and child were murdered by his Generals and he slipped into history.Dandamis too slipped into the sands of time, nary a footprint.So much for the impermanence of the permanence that Alexander was striving for.

The short story would indicate why it is likely that the East & West may never meet. Culturally we are poles apart and our perception of time and space are at the greatest variance.

Now look at the following story.......

To help retain new employees in India, software firm Sierra Atlantic uses a variation on the American "take your children to work" tradition.

The company invites parents of new hires to visit and learn about the company. There’s an introduction from company executives, lunch is provided, and guests--primarily fathers thus far--have a chance to ask questions about the firm and the workplace. Typical questions include: What are the career prospects for their children? What are the company’s plans for growth? And how does Sierra Atlantic support their children’s pursuit of higher education?

The company is based in Fremont, California, and has about 800 employees at offices in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The quarterly "take your parents to work" events are an attempt to recognize the importance of family and parental guidance in Indian culture--and to make Sierra Atlantic stand out in the competition for technical talent there.

In India, parents have a major say in the career moves of their children.If Sierra Atlantic is able to convince parents about our values, work culture and growth prospects for employees, (it can) increase company loyalty among their children. Since the initiative began last year, the annual attrition rate for new college graduates hired in India has dropped from 20 percent to 10 percent.The program also marks an attempt to ease the cultural strains of tech work in India. With the growth in technology and back-office operations, young Indians are at times required to work at night because of the time difference with the U.S., alter their accents to sound American and even take on Western names when handling customer calls.

East is East & West Is West, never the twain shall meet- said Rudyard Kipling, the British author, many a year ago. Maybe they won't, but that does not mean that we cannot be more accommodating and understanding of each other's cultural nuances in a flat world.Letting perception cloud decision making is disastrous for business.

Should we take our children to work or our parents? What is the answer ? Like always, I will leave it open for debate, because that is the spice of life!