Canadian Headhunter Meets The Indian MBAs

Indo-Canadian Super-session.

Remember Biswajit Das, the Indian engineer who is in Canada studying for his MBA? He asked me to meet him when he passed through Toronto and I agreed. So, one day last week, first thing in the morning, I took the subway down to his hotel.

Accounting Concerns

Before I left, I wondered who should pay for this affair. I mean, he's a student away from home but I was sacrificing billable hours to meet him. Well, generosity prevailed and I decided it would be me. So, as soon as I saw him, I said, "Come on, I'll take you for breakfast. Where do you want to go?" "There", he said, pointing to a classy hotel. "I'd like the buffet." Okay, fine. But, no sooner did we sit down than two other Indian engineers also taking their MBAs at Queen's just happened by and "naturally" sat down to join us. And when the waiter brought the coffee and asked if it was separate cheques Biswajit said, "No, he's paying," and pointed at me. "No way, Bombay!" I cried. "What is this, some kind of scam?" The Indians all started laughing (actually, howling) and said, "Don't worry, we'll pay," and then they started bickering among themselves. Finally, Biswajit told the waiter, "Okay, give it to me," and the problem was solved. We got our breakfast from the buffet and settled in for what turned out to be a long, frank conversation.

Light-Skin Bias

The first things we discussed were cultural differences. I started off with a burning question. Does India suffer from light-skin bias? Almost all of the movie stars in Bollywood seem to have light skin. And, I was astounded to discover that there is a huge market for skin-lighteners in India (for women) and that matrimonial ads boast of the woman's fair skin.

"A recent survey conducted by Hindustan Lever Limited revealed that almost 90 per cent of its consumers of cosmetics desired a skin-lightening product. Fairness creams are most popular (commanding 70 per cent of market share), followed by toilet soaps, sun blocks, talcum powder, bleaches and other such beauty aids." The Tribune

"It may seem a strange phenomenon that in a country where the majority of the people are dark-skinned with subtle variations in brownness, the overriding factor that declares whether a woman is good-looking or not is the lightness of her skin. Would-be mothers-in-law crave for fair-skinned brides for their sons; men young and old, prefer lighter-skinned partners (if they have a choice) and most pathetically of all, women from all socio-economic backgrounds go to unbelievable lengths to become just a little whiter."
The Daily Star

The guys readily acknowledged that Indians find fair skin attractive in women. They said that men's skin is not an issue. And they denied that it is related to caste or that it has a role in recruiting.

I've seen this light skin fetish attributed to a desire to ape Europeans but, in fact, I've also read that light skin was desired by women in ancient Rome, apparently because it meant you didn't have to work in the fields.

In ancient Rome, women deliberately lightened their skin with lead based cosmetics. Wikipedia

And, in ancient Cretan wall paintings, the women have white skin and the men, red.

Men are always depicted with a brick red skin tone, while women were painted with fair skin. Art From Greece

So, I tend to think my new posse is right or, at least, largely so. It's not a racial prejudice since everyone is of the same race. It's kind of like our love of tanning only super-charged and in reverse.

The conversation continued and in the next installment I'll tell you about flexibility in the global workplace. (Don't worry it's exciting too).

Comments

[Recruitomatic]

I don't get it. Why is Krishna blue?

[Canadian Headhunter]

Well, I didn't expect anyone to read that. But I don't know. He's certainly got no reason to be blue. The one given in the article is completely unsupported.

[Chris Taylor]

Kali and Shiva also frequently get the blue-skin treatment. I couldn't tell you why.

[Recruitomatic]

Hmmm - try this: http://www.webonautics.com/mythology/factsinhindu.html.

Off to the tanning booth, see ya!

[Biswajit]

Hi Mike,
Was surprised to read this post.:)
BTW,do read this article.It is a nice article on the beauty business world wide and is aptly titled "Pots of promise".
http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1795852

We discussed this as a part of the Microeconomics subject.

Here is another interesting article that defends Matrimonial ads and Indian‘racism’

http://www.nriol.com/content/articles/article79.html

[Canadian Headhunter]

Bis, I've only studied this issue superficially but I went out of my way to provide evidence that this was not racism per se since all of the people involved are of the same race.

And, in ancient times, European women who were, presumably, already white, also had a fetish for lighter skin.

No one would call the North American love of a nice tan, racism so I won't call the Indian love the opposite one either.

We have all kinds of tanning products on the market here. But... we don't regularly brag about our tans when it comes to getting married. This is taking it to a whole new level. So, it's possible that something more is involved. But if so, what it is, I don't know.

[Recruitomatic]

What are you guys reading? Obviously not the right stuff...
http://www.asianweddings.ca/forumsread.cfm?topicid=755

[Canadian Headhunter]

This has got to be the most unique comment thread in the Recruitosphere.

[Recruitomatic]

What do you expect? This is the most unique blog in the Recruitosphere.

[Chris Taylor]

I would just like to say that whatever is at that URL (asianweddings.ca), the corp filter thinks it is VERY VERY NAUGHTY indeed.

[Canadian Headhunter]

The Canadian Headhunter read it. It's harmless. A discussion on a bridal site about how to remove the tan from someone's arms.

[Chris Taylor]

Oh I figured it would be safe, coming from you. Anthony J is the one with all of the dodgy links. ;-) I think I am going to ask the Risk Management folks why a wedding site is considered verboten on "adult content/explicit" grounds.

[Recruitomatic]

CH:

I’m sorry you read my last comment as harmless. In the context of this thread, I thought it might be helpful. I guess that it could be easily missed but the work cited is a Canadian publication that caters to the Asian market. While the original context of the thread was a discourse on cultural differences the fact remains that the thread is provincial, north-of-the-border, nonetheless. I also suggest it is also unwise to assume that none of the readers here might have a sincere, parallel interest in treated sun burn prior to their traditional Asian wedding.

Does it really matter why Krishna is blue? As you know, CH, I sometimes regret that readers do not take time to click on the links offered in the hope the conversation can “blossom” into a process of discovery, play. Play is a learning process, a stress reliever too.

It is interesting to note that posts elsewhere dealing with much loftier issues attract no comments whatsoever. That doesn't mean they are not worthy of comment, it just suggests to me that those blogs probably have no traffic or the readers are somehow disengaged. I struggle with that on my own fledging blog.

Surely it is better to have a stimulating discourse about something that on the face of it is trivial when in reality it is the exchange itself that is important. When we do not know the lyrics to song we can either choose to remain silent or hum along for the pure joy of making music. Not all posts have to be weighty, seminal, buzz-worthy. Not all comments have to polemic, opinionated, right. Sometimes an indistinguishable melody is better than the cacophony of talent shortages, vertical search, resume writing, acquisitions and all that stuff.

There are any number of recruiting sites for stodge and ho-hum. I come here to blog the way I want to – interactively with other bloggers. We can blog swap all day long. But who needs unrequited love?

Amitai

[Gautam Ghosh]

damn !

I missed this post somehow on my aggregator...

So here is my view...

I am a fairly dark skinned guy (even by Indian standards) so have faced the brunt of "apartheid" :-)

Yes, we Indians prefer fair-skinned people...and while matrimonial ads get to specify it for women, the same is expected out of a man...however it is not so explicity stated. If the man is a software engineer/doctor with a US visa/green card skin tone is last thing on the girl's parents' mind

This yearning for fair skin is not limited to regions in India but cut across almost all regions. Even in South India, where the majority of the population is dark skinned movie-stars have been very fair skinned.

It's only reccently that Indian movies have started to feature actors and actresses with darker skin tones.

On the question why Krishna is blue, well the songs and written words depict him as dark skinned, so to differentiate him from other mortals in the paintings artists started painting him blue. Even Ram, and Vishnu are depicted as blue. Ram and Krishna actually are depicted as incarnations of Vishnu - the creator

[Sudhanshu Pant]

Well CH forget the color issue, here is a cultural difference that others should focus on. In India, no way would there have been a refusal on paying by a person in your position. They might have cried later, regretted doing it, fumed etc, but at that time they would have grinned and paid. Too much loss of face you know!

I do not know how the Indian engineers turned students reacted,but I would be surprised if they were not fighting among themeselves to take care of the check.

BTW I am sure that the others did not just happen to be there, they came to know you were there and wanted to take this opportunity to meet you. After all you are a famous man, and words of wisdom from you could provide them an edge in the recruiting jungle when they pass out of their MBA program.

[Canadian Headhunter]

Sudhanshu, thanks for your comment. People who read me regularly know that I start out every posting about a meeting with a lie. More like a distortion of the truth.

I didn't know that Biswajit had friends with him but I met them at the hotel. They didn't just happen by. And, second, I would have been happy to pick up the tab but they insisted and my friend, Anthony J Meaney, has advised me never to make a scene about matters so I did what he said.

And, I really enjoyed the meeting. I wasn't kidding when I said that these seem like great guys.

[Recruitomatic]

I am soooo confused. I don't know what I'm commenting on or what it even means. I feel like I'm in crowded room trying to have two conversations at once. http://recruitinganimal.typepad.com/recruitinganimal/2006/08/gautam_ghosh_on.html

I quit.

Amitai