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With the Afro-Asian Games around the corner, it is time to learn more about our visitors
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THE CITY is abuzz with an upcoming event - The Afro-Asian Games! Flags are beginning to flutter and marathon-planning sessions are happening at the highest levels to make sure everything goes smooth as silk. Soon the city is going to look vibrant and lush with a splash of colours, in the form of plants, flowers and shrubbery. The activities are poised to reach a feverish pitch in the coming weeks. This of course does not diminish all the excitement that is going on right now in the form of city-wide Navaratri celebrations with all night parties of Dandya-Raas and Kerala celebrations with all the boats and elephants.
What is exciting is the fact that people from 76 countries will be our guests very soon. Hats off to the CEO of Andhra Pradesh Inc. Seventy-six countries? That is a lot of visitors from far away shores and any perfect host will tell you - the first thing is to know something about your guests, so that it can be a memorable experience for everyone.
So let us get started on adding to our international savoir-faire. Starting with Africa - it has the distinction of being the birthplace of the human species some eight million years ago.
Now, here is a question for you. Honest answers, please! How many of you thought Africa is a country? Africa is the second largest continent, with about 14 per cent of the world's population calling it home.
Everything about that place is in the superlative and it just boggles your mind. Nature in its pristine beauty dwarfs you with its power and magnificence. Back in school, we all learned that the river Nile, 4,145 miles in length, is the world's longest river. Did you also know that the area covered by the Sahara desert is greater than that the total area of entire United States?
There are more than three-dozen countries, with over 3,000 ethnic groups and almost 800 - 1,000 different languages!
Some of the more widely spoken languages are Arabic, Berber, Bantu, Swahili, Akan, and Saharan. Arabs were the first to migrate to the northern part and make it their home, as far back as 7th century AD, followed by Europeans in the 17th century.
These cultures have mingled with the indigenous cultures, creating an even more interesting mosaic. Northern Africa is different from South Africa, which is intrinsically different from East, Central and West Africa.
People across the continent are remarkably diverse - by just about any measure. There is the cosmopolitan western educated African, speaking fluent French and English, to the proud tribes living far away from the steel, glass and concrete of the modern urban centres.
They speak a vast number of different languages, practice various religions distinct from each other, live in a variety of dwellings, and engage in a wide range of different lifestyles.
Because of diverse cultures, it is difficult to generalise their dos and don'ts. They are savvy with general codes of international etiquette. They tend to be more on the formal side during social interactions. Handshake is an appropriate greeting both on meeting and taking leave. African nations are not known for gender equality. They will not offer their hand to a woman unless she offers her hand first.
Even though, in some of the African countries eating with hand is the norm, while in company, western dining etiquette is considered appropriate and practiced. Use of courtesy titles and professional titles with surname, is common.
Here is another question. When they greet each other, what do they ask each other solicitously? Hope your interest is perked up enough to tease your curiosity. And of course you are well versed with the universal language - a big warm "Smile!"
CHITRA DANGER
(The writer is the director of ProEt Centre for International Protocol and Etiquette. Ph: 23372004/ 55503605; e-mail: proetique@yahoo.co.in)
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