Babes in Sari

On a recent work trip to Chandigarh in India, my colleague & I decided to wear saris to one of the hosted evening receptions believeing it to be only one of the few occassions that we would be able to do so.

We expected it to be a fun experience but what was totally unexpected was the reception we received from the locals! If anyone didn't know better, they'd have thought local Bollywood celebrities were in the house!

Not only were we different being two Chinese women from the cosmopolitan city of Singapore dressed in one of the traditional Indian dress for ladies, we were also continually praised and thanked for embracing the local culture.

Food for thought:
In this age of widespread globalisation, many things have been taken for granted. From the simple action of wearing a country's national costume, the reaction of admiration and gratefulness was indeed surprising to me. It humbled and showed me how appreciative a people can be when their culture and habits are embraced as their very own country speeds towards globalisation and seemingly embrace Western values.

So where do we stand in today's world? Who are we? And what are we becoming?