Come to think of it, we have never thought straight about the Chinese. They are like an army of ants who gather together to construct the world’s largest dam, moving on to building the world’s highest railway, world’s largest oil company, world’s largest shopping mall. If all this was not grand enough, they are also having the world’s biggest Apple store. While they were busy doing this, God knows how they found the time to build the world’s largest population too.
Howsoever, the point of this post is that Chinese are neither headless robots nor are they an army of ants. Think of any of the festivals in India. Diwali sees markets flooded with floating candle and electric lights made in China. Hundreds of fancy water guns have become standard tools during Holi, all of them made in China. Last Ganesh Puja, I was surprised to Ganesh idols in all sorts of materials and shapes – a curious mix between the lord and the Laughing Buddha. They were not very wrong but unmistakably Chinese like all Chinese goods are.
In fact, the list goes on. Every traffic signal in India is an ongoing exhibition of Chinese innovation. To be honest, the Chinese stuff is cheap, useful and makes so many things in life easy. They don’t last long, but they are not selling it with a warranty either. So, you know what to expect. Car-phone chargers, emergency bulbs, LED lights… come on, add your own favourite to the list.
The one I love most is the Chinese calendar I saw at a friend’s place which was made of recyclable carry bags. So, it’s a recyclable calendar of recyclable carry bags. Isn’t that a brilliant idea? It makes better sense with the picture below:
