One can live anywhere in the world. One can change the modes of dressing, accent and styles. But the most difficult to change are the taste buds. I travel across the world and live in many countries and I am global in terms of my ways of living and thinking. I like pizza in Italy or a cold sandwich in Oslo or spicy Thai soup in Bangkok. But I am yet to outgrow my original taste buds. So the smell of kappa (tapioca) and fish curry in the Malabar Express Restaurant near the British Museum in London also immediately makes me so much local and a Malayali to the core.
The world will look differently based on what you think and where you stand in terms of life and choices. The irony of our times is that one can be global without traveling beyond the confines of one’s village and one can be so local despite travelling across the globe. Sitting in the video conference room of a tech company in Thiruvanthapuram or Bengaluru, one can work together with colleagues in San Francisco or London or Singapore. One simply needs a phone to meet and chat with a friend, relative or colleague anywhere in the world.
On the one hand, without ever travelling beyond your place of birth, it is possible to have friends all over the world. On the other, despite traveling widely, one may not have any friends beyond the place of your birth. So what makes you really global? Being global is primarily about an attitude and a sense of belonging to the entire world. It also means a sense of responsibility to the people, planet and politics of the world. When Martin Luther King Junior said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he was being global in his perspective. So being global is partly a sign of our perspective, concern and belonging to everything in and around the world. Being global also means an attitude to celebrate diversity, pluralism and an ability to understand and appreciate the multiple contexts. Being global is also the ability to see the world beyond your inherited pride and prejudices; beyond the narrow lens of religion, gender, castes and creeds.
I have seen Indians living in New York or London or Sydney or Singapore without being neither global nor citizens. Because, many of them travel with their heavy baggage of deep caste and communal prejudices. Many will not have any friends other than people of their caste or language or religion. So despite travelling across the world or living in many countries, they simply fail to understand and appreciate the world beyond their lens. Without their local food, such people may find it difficult to live.
John Samuel is an international traveller, and researcher on internal relations, public policy and governance
