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Kalyani Voleti

Traveling around the world, visiting monuments and landmarks, tasting gourmet food and taking home memories and snapshots is indeed very enjoyable. But traveling gives us more than just that. It gives us perspectives from different viewpoints, teaches us respect and understanding for various cultures. It widens our vision and makes us realize what we need to do to improve our own immediate surroundings. My experience in Japan has in many ways, done just that. Ever since the day I landed on that famous tarmac of Kansai Airport, literally on water, so to speak, the wonders simply do not cease! In the past two years, I’ve had some unique experiences which have made my stay here very memorable and even educational. I have come to realize and learn many values which are only paid lip service all over the world but are put into practice only here.

One of the first things that strike a foreigner in Japan is the helpful nature of the people. My own experience can be a case in point. On my very first day in Kobe, as I grappled in dismay at the absolute lack of English around, along came a Good Samaritan who enquired about my problem. I managed to convey, using mostly sign language that I was in need of a Japanese dictionary. Once the message was understood, she took it upon herself to lead me to the store. We walked and walked for what seemed like a long time before we reached the store. It didn’t end there. She went to the counter and enquired about my request, took me up three floors, down the long aisles, to the shelf, dug out the dictionary and handed it to me! And while I was overwhelmed with gratitude and couldn’t even thank her properly due to the language barrier, she bowed and walked away happily and gracefully. I will never know if she actually needed to come so far out of her own way, but she did and that act, till today, stands out ­as a benchmark in my mind. People are helpful if they can make a language connection, even if only a little. If not, they mind their own business. We will never find people staring because we are different; never hear jeers and nasty comments or any attempt to mislead or tease. Courteousness is all pervasive. We find only greater and greater degrees of polite behavior and it’s almost infectious! And respect goes hand in hand with such graciousness. Respect not just for people, but for everything around. So we see such impeccably clean roads, trains, stations, toilets, just about anything. Full credit goes to each and every citizen who unanimously and voluntarily cooperates to make the cities and towns so clean and so beautiful. It is not uncommon to see even elderly people trimming and weeding out the shrubs along the pavements, picking up litter if they see any and carrying it safely to the nearest dustbin! These simple virtues are taught to all of us as we grow. But how many of us actually follow it in letter and spirit? These people, with their humility, have a lot to teach us. Everyone ­instinctively participates in the process. It is no wonder that Japan is so picture perfect.  

I have seen majestic and graceful architecture here and I admire the bold and confident architects who build in perhaps the world’s most tectonically precarious zones. Learning from the past, dedicating their efforts towards sheer perfection, the country has modernized and adopted technology even for the simplest tasks. Whether it is computerized parking lots or homes you can control with your mobile phone, whether it is automated garbage collection chutes or homes that recognize their owners, life is so futuristic here that I feel awed at the ingenuity of it all. I am amazed at the ease with which land is laid out like a carpet on the sea. Port Island, Rokko Island, Kansai Airport, Teleport town, all seem so natural and effortless in their creation. They have effectively solved the problem of less land. The outline of Japan is getting more and more geometrical! And then there is the vast and intricate network of roads, bridges and tunnels that connects the entire country. And the complex network of railroads on and above ground, underground and even under the sea. Nothing seems to deter the engineers! And running on them are the most amazing vehicles of all sizes and shapes. Standing along a highway gives me the feeling of a continuous, real time auto show! And who can forget the most exciting of all, the bullet train! Coupling high speed and luxury, it is the best way to travel around. Hats off to the perfect planning and amazing connectivity that has been achieved.

And in spite of such magnificent strides in almost every field, there is a pervasive humility that exists among the people totally untouched by arrogant pride. They may have invented and designed the sleekest of gadgets. But they will only use them when needed. Toyota and Nissan may be car giants but people take their bicycles to work or to the nearest station from where they take the public transport to work. National and Panasonic may produce the most efficient and eco­-friendly home appliances, but people dry their clothes in the sun instead of using electric dryers and wash dishes at the sink instead of using dishwashers. Even in the peak of winter, they huddle around a “Kotatsu�, a heated centre table, instead of having a heater in every room. This kind of discipline is unique only to Japan. The respect for the environment that is seen and practiced here is almost non existent anywhere else on the planet. I have learnt so much about recycling and reusing since I have come here.

Before coming to Japan, I was under the impression that English was the universal language of the world. But after coming here, to see the entire country use nothing but Japanese, and not one, but three scripts of it, everywhere, from electronic message boards and billboards to websites and internet, has been a source of constant amazement to me. Of course, to me the most surprising part of Japan is the food. Especially, octopus and squid, according to me, were only used for display in aquariums. To think that people actually ate them was so surprising. Well, each day heralds new experiences in this very interesting land and I’m sure my stay here will continue to be truly a unique experience.
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            AKIO MORITA, co-founder and chairman of the world-famous Sony Corporation says: “In Japan we think of a company as a family. The workers and the management, are in the same boat. Harmony is the most important element in the organisation. It is a fate-sharing body�.

            KAORU ISHIKOVA says “DONT ADOPT BUT ADAPT�