The language of culture

While on the subject of #CulturalIntelligence (the ability to cross divides and thrive in multiple cultures), it was wonderful to see the multigenerational range of people coming together from across the globe, with diverse backgrounds, experiences and cultures, to delve into an understanding of Cultural Intelligence.

It has always been of great interest to see how a single language can also be open to interpretation based on exposure to the cultural context. I am reminded of a joke that I recently came across, which lightheartedly brings this to light :-)

Bengali: My grandfather lived for 96 years and he never used glasses.

Punjabi: Yes, I know, some people in my family also drink directly from the bottle.

* No offense intended to Bengalis, Punjabis, grandfathers, glasses and bottles - the rest of you are at liberty to take offence ;-)

The one thing that binds people together, regardless of background, race, language, religion, culture, gender, or generation is humor (p.s. "humor" is spelled in this manner, since social media appears to be using American English and tells me that my spellings are wrong if I try to use Indian or UK English spellings ;-)). Given this, I was inclined to put together something that would help the rest of the world to bridge the cultural language divide, and understand Indians (and their Indianisms) better ... and, of course, I chose humo(u)r and poetry to do it.

Happy reading: https://farhadmerchant.wixsite.com/farhad/post/indianisms