GSM5550: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT Understanding My Own Culture, Indian

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INTRODUCTION SYMBOLS RITUALS ROLE MODELS VALUES UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS

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GSM5550: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT Understanding My Own Culture, Indian

INTRODUCTION Malaysia is a well-known in the eye of the world as an exemplary model of a multiracial society. The many different ethnicities that exist in Malaysia have their own unique and distinctive cultural identities. The Indian community accounting 10% of the countrys population is the smallest of the three main ethnic groups. Basically, Malaysian Indians are made up of Tamils, Malayalees and Teleguspeaking people. Their ancestors first came to Malaya (Malaysia) in 1900s for barter trade, especially in the former straits settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang. They worked in rubber estates, mines and construction site as their main economy activity which resulted in development of estate settlement and formation of mandur concepts in Malaysia. The Indians who came to Malaysia brought with them the Hindu culture, cuisine, festivals and tradition which remains strong until today in the Indian community of Malaysia.

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SYMBOLS

The majority of Malaysian Indians are Hindus and they practice Hindusm, which is the oldest religion on the earth. There are many symbols in Hindusm than other religions and each of the symbols has a different meaning and is used on different occasions. Aum is the most important symbol in Hinduism. We can see that when all the major Hindu mantras start with Aum. Aum represents Brahman, the Almighty. It is the sound heard at the time of creation of universe. Tilak (male) and Bindi (female) is a sign made by kumkum on the forehead exactly between two eyebrows of a Hindu. This is used mainly at the time of rituals or any religious ceremonies like weddings. Married women usually wear red bindi while unmarried women wear black bindi. Hindus believe that animals are not poorer creatures, but manifestations of God on the lower scale of evolution compared to man. Thus, there are few animals stand as symbol to few goddesses such as cow, mouse, snake, elephant and peacock. Cow is the most sacred animal for Hindus and a symbolic of good nature, purity, motherhood, and prosperity. The peacock feather is the symbol of Lord Krishna as we believe he used to wear a feather in his crown. Besides animals, Hindus have a strong belief in 5 elements of the Earth, which are Sun, Wind, Air, Water, and Land. Sun is considered as a deity by Hindus and is also a symbol of light and truthfulness. Other than that, another symbol that can represent my culture is Indian Hindu women. Regardless of age, social group wear or education,

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they wear thali(the sacred thread) as a symbol of marriage. Other ornaments including bangles, Minji (a silver ring wore in the toe), ear-rings and nose-ring. Banana trees have a important role Hindus culture. There is no auspicious ceremony can ever be complete without the presence of banana leaves. Be any good occasion, young banana leaves will beautify the event symbolizing growth and regeneration. Other symbolic element is the Hindu temples where we believe that it is a place where God may be approached and where divine knowledge can be discovered. When perform prayer or greet others, we used to gather both hands and raise them near our chest. There are a sign of respect, that which is dear to the heart. All auspicious occasion begin with the lighting of the lamp, which is often kept right through the function. Light symbolizes knowledge and darkness, ignorance. Indians loves colorful items, as it symbolizes happiness, luck and bliss. One of the examples is Rangoli kolam. Rangolis are decorative designs made on the main entrances during Hindu festivals. The base material is usually dry or wet granulated rice or dry flour. Mehandi is a symbolic representation of the outer and the inner sun. Traditional Indian designs are of illustrations of the sun on the palm, which, in this context, is intended to represent the hands and feet.

GSM5550: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT Understanding My Own Culture, Indian

Family structure and marriage For generations, India has had a dominant tradition of the joint family system. It is a system where all members of a family such as parents, children, the childrens spouses and their offspring live together. Generally, the oldest male member is the head in the family. He makes all important decisions and rules, and other family members abide by them. Since long time ago, Indian society practices arranged marriages. Even today, the majority of Indians have their marriages planned by their parents and other respected family-members. Today, with the advance technology development, Indians do find their future bride and groom through many websites that offer those services legally. One of the examples is Tamil Matrimony which has helped many parents to find the suitable partner for their children. Greetings Vanakkam is the Indian way of greeting each other. When we meet people we know or strangers with whom we want to have a conversation, vanakkam is the customary courtesy greeting to begin with and often to end with. Currently in Malaysia which has multiracial community, we have started of greeting Salam Mesra which is the combination of greeting from various ethnicities which resembles Malaysia.

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Clothing In public and religious places, Indian dress custom discourages exposure of skin and wearing transparent or tight clothes. Most Indian clothes are made from cotton which is ideal for a proper body cover. Indian women used to wear Bindi/Pottu, Mahendi, Earings, Bangles and other jewelry on special events, such as marriage ceremonies and festivals.

Language 75 % of the Indians in Malaysia speak Tamil. Tamil is an educational language in Malaysia, where there are more than 500 Tamil medium schools. Tamil language maintains the Indian cultural ties with their homeland. However, many Indians especially the younger generation do not speak much Tamil and speak either Malay or English as their first language due to lack of exposure on importance in nurturing their mother tongue. Moreover, the Indians in urban areas give priority on Malay and English because those languages are more useful in daily life. Malaysian Tamil is a significant dialect which is different from Tamil spoken in India, with many loan words from Malay entering into its vocabulary such as lah.

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Festivals In Malaysia, Indians celebrates three main festivals that are Ponggal, Thaipusam and Deepavali.

Ponggal is a thanksgiving festival celebrated as Harvest festival by the Tamilians in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In Malaysia although there are not many Indian farmers, the festival is being celebrated throughout the nation by all Indians regardless their occupation. Nowadays, this festival is becoming a general festival that all Malaysia enjoy participating. Many local universities for instance are organizing Pesta Ponggal where students from all races get into participating in the whole occasion. Few weeks after Ponggal, we celebrate Thaipusam. The highlight for Thaipusam is when on the eve, a 5-tonne silver chariot bearing Lord Subramaniams image leaves the Sri Mahamariaman Temple at Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Chinatown on its way to Batu Caves. Thousands of devotees walk with the chariot which is more than 15km distance. During the event, we could many other races and tourist came along to witness the ritual and colorful procession. As we all know, Deepavali is celebrated to triumph the victory of Goodness over Evil and Light over Darkness. Here in Malaysia, in accordance to modern lifestyle, Deepavali is more to cleaning the house, shopping for the new clothing, ritual oil bath, prayers at the family altar and blessings from the elders, having a special breakfast made of many different foods and meeting friends and family members. It is a tradition here where we do Open House for all the celebrations and that applies here too. On Deepavali day, the guests come by and food cooked is prepared "halal" to be served to Malay Muslims. Here again, the concept of open house is seen and combination of friends of different races come by to greet a Happy Deepavali. It also is a great opportunity to dig in on some delicious Indian curry and cookies.

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RITUALS Hindus are rich in rituals and the customs had inherited by Malaysian Indians, mainly Hindus. Here, Hindus do poojas, perform viradhams (fasting), practice Vegetarian, make vows and fulfill vows. Pooja is a spiritual ritual which most Hindus perform every morning prior to taking any food or drink. Puja also usually includes providing an offering to the object of puja, such as flowers or food, and possibly lighting a lamp or incense. The ritual may be done in silence or accompanied by prayers. Hindu priests chant prayers in Sanskrit while performing puja. Puja may be performed by an individual worshipper or in gatherings. In Malaysia, poojas are mainly done by priest at temple during daily prayers. Other than that, poojas also performed in wedding ceremony, housewarming, funerals and other ritual occasion. Malaysian Indians used to take Viratham (fasting) one certain days. Viratham means not consuming food and water throughout the day, abstaining from speech, performing poojas, meditation and self-control from bad things. Besides being in Virahtam, some people will become Vegetarian during the auspicious days. One common thing during Thaipusam, that everyone including foreign tourist could see at Batu Caves, Ipoh or Penang is many Hindus taking kavadis, or carry pots of milk or any other offerings to Lord Muruga. This is a symbolic representation of fulfilling the vows which they made and their love to the deity.

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Indians are rich in performing arts such as classical dances, Carnatic classical music and traditional musical instruments. In Malaysia, urban Indian community gives big emphasizes on traditional Indian performing arts, be it a dance or music. A good example is the establishment of the Temple of Fine Arts center at Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur which helps Malaysian youth rediscover the traditional, creative and spiritual wealth of their forefathers.

In Malaysia, Bharatanatyam is one of the most popular and commonly performed dance by male and female dancers. Bharatnatyam Dance is believed to be over 2000 years old. It is usually go together with by Karnataka Sangeetham. Apparently, most learn Bharatanatyam as a hobby, and very few make it their career and a lifestyle, as it is extremely challenging and complex in terms of commitment and daily practice.

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ROLE MODELS Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi was the wellknown leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi's clear virtue, simplistic lifestyle, and minimal dress endeared him to the people. Many civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., used Gandhi's concept of nonviolent protest as a model for their own struggles. Mahatma Gandhi's life success stands unique in political history. Gandhi influenced chief leaders and political activities. He was given many world recognized awards including Man of the Year in 1930 by Time Magazine and 14th Dalai Lama. To-date, Mahatma Gandhi has been portrayed in film, literature, and in the theatre. There are also two temples in India dedicated to Gandhi.

Mother Teresa Mother Teresa was an Indian Roman Catholic nun. For over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying people throughout India and then in other countries. Mother Teresa is a person that has of profound prayer and deep love for her religious sisters and her students. She was noted for her charity, unselfishness and courage, her capacity for hard work and a natural talent for

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organization. She went down to the slums. She visited poor families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road and nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB. The whole life of Mother Teresas witness to the happiness of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love, and the outstanding worth of friendship with God. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her charity work. Following her death she was given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Her famous quote that many people like is Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

Datuk Punch Gunalan Datuk Punch Gunalan was a Malaysian Indian male badminton star who is considered to have been one of the best combination doubles and singles players that the country has ever produced. Gunalan was a talented right-hander and made a history winning the prestigious All England title, as well as the Danish, Canadian and U.S. Open titles. Gunalan served in various stints as coach of the Malaysian team, an official in the Malaysian Badminton Association and as an official in the International Badminton Federation (now Badminton World Federation). Malaysian Sportswriters is now making a call to name the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur after the late Punch Gunalan as a tribute for him.

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Datuk Tony Fernandez Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes is a Malaysian Indian entrepreneur. The founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd. later introduced the first low budget airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians. Fernandes became the countrys highlight by turning AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He also made agreements with neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore for them to have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers. Tony Fernandes is a great leader with high quality skills and personal. He was completely committed to his business and very reachable by the media. He has the crucial strength which is courageous in unfavorable situation and ability to make decisions in a very independent way.

Datuk Nicol Ann David Datuk Nicol David is from Chinese and Indian ancestry, ranked world number 1 in women's squash, and is the first Asian woman to achieve the award. She is a squash player, made up of different qualities such as power, skill, talent, creativity, mental toughness, energy and desire. She was given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the buildup to the Athens Olympics of 2004. Prior to her great achievement in squash, 12 July 2008, she was awarded with the title Datuk, making her the youngest person ever to be conferred Datukship in Penang.

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Currently, she is also an ambassador for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) National Goodwill, Squash 2016 and Samsung DigitAll Hope Charity Programme.

Ramlee Ibrahim Ramlee Ibrahim is the founder of The Sutra Foundation which was established in 2007 to develop awareness of Indian traditional and contemporary performing and visual arts. Ramli Ibrahim accomplished in ballet, modern, and Indian classical dance and became a cultural icon that has performed internationally for more than three decades. To past, he received many awards for his immense contribution in Odissi such as The Fulbright Distinguished Artist Award 1999, BOH Cameronian Malaysia 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award, Johan Setia Mahkota (J.S.M.), ANGARAG Orissa 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award, Federation of Associations of Cultural Promotion (FACP), Asia 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award, Natyanjali Trust/Purush Award, Chennai 2009 and Putera Award 2009 (RMC). Ramli Ibrahim made Malaysia proud by became the first Malaysian to get prestigious Indian award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2011 from the Indian President himself, Pranab Mukherjee at the presidential residence in New Delhi. This achievement is something extraordinary for a non-Indian male and he is really deserved to be a role model for other Indians, as a remark to his intuitivism and courage for Indian culture.

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A.R. Rahman A.R. Rahman is an Indian composer, singersongwriter, music producer, musician, multiinstrumentalist and philanthropist. He is being described as the worlds most prominent and prolific film composer by Time his works are notable for integrating Eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won Oscar Award, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People. Apart from his business lifestyle, he has also gain peoples interest and become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, by donating and raising money for beneficial causes and supporting charities.

Jaclyn Victor Jaclyn Victor is a Malaysian Indian singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the first winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She represented Malaysia in the first Asian Idol and Ikon Asean. Jaclyn Victor is famous for her debut she made in Malay song such as Gemilang, Inilah Jac and Dream. She also acted in local telemovie such as Appalam, Talentime and Susuk which recognized troughout nation.

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VALUES Hierarchical Indians do have hierarchical structure especially within the family unit. Men stand higher than women of similar ages, older relatives hold a higher position than younger members of the family, younger siblings hold a lower position than older ones and daughters-in-law come below the husband, senior in-laws and non in-law daughters. Those time in India, caste is a must include item in the social grouping. However now in Malaysia we dont really take consideration on caste grouping. Westernization Western culture is being spread out globally and Indians too are being wiped from their original culture. For instance, the concept of joint families is decreasing as everyone wants to remain aloof from others. Also, there is a rise to single families. Less respects and loyalty between couples and marriages are breaking which results in negligence of their children. However, there are also positive values that we could learn from western countries. Western culture is versatile and has taught to be selfindependent. Diversity Indians are very rich in cultured and heritance. In Malaysia itself, Indians have religion diversity, linguistic diversity and society diversity. Besides Tamil language, there are Malayalam, Telegu, Hindi, Benggali, Marathi and Urdu languages that we speak. Indians in Malaysia basically, are Brahmanism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity which have different social practice too.

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UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS (CULTURAL DIMENSIONS) Sociology: Violent Crimes Involving Indian Youths In Malaysia, the spate of violent crimes involving Indian youths seems to be continuing. The main reason behind this problem is poverty and lack of education. There are many Non-governmental organizations such as Education, Welfare and Research Foundation (EWRF) and the Child Information, Learning and Development Centre have been working with plantation and squatter communities to help them from trapped into this juvenile. The Indian youths feel ostracized in all sectors, be it in schools, institutions, enforcement agencies, government and corporate. This resulted them to seek a defense mechanism to overcome their woes and challenges. Social workers and academics believe the Government must do more to address the root causes of alienation faced by Indians. It is essential that long-term programmes be developed and implemented through a long sustain period with intense monitoring of developments. Economy: Gaps between Middle Class Malaysian Indians and Working Class Malaysian Indian There is a wide chasm exists today between the middle class Malaysian Indian and the working class Malaysian Indian. Tamil Malaysians have had an opportunity to integrate with the expanding economy of Malaysia since 1970 under the New Economic Policy (NEP). Although bulk of them still remain as workers in the plantation sector in rubber and palm oil estates at those times very many have moved out as blue collar and white collar workers in the expanding industrial sector. Many others are also found in civil service, professional sector, media and finance. One of Malaysia's wealthiest man, Ananda Krishnan is a Tamil Malaysian and the poorest society in Malaysia is also well-known as Indians.