Being lean and lanky matters too! ;)

Black Lives Matter or BLM has been all the rage since George Floyd was literally murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. West Indian cricketer, Michael Holding, is a well-known spokesman of BLM, as is Darren Sammy.

Well, I’ve been asked whether I had ever been called out for my color. The answer is, yes! I was called a hak gwai — a term used for a black person, in places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even China. I didn’t know what it meant, at that time, and only laughed out loud, when finally told about it. I continue to be not bothered by that even today.

Let me illustrate: a commonly used phrase for a white person in Hong Kong is gweilo, which means ghost man, or devil man. For a black person, hak gwei, means black ghost, or black devil. In Cantonese, the word gwei implies hatred and negative feelings.

When I first arrived at Asian Sources Media (now, Global Sources) in Hong Kong, back in November 1996, I was puzzled by finding out that several Chinese colleagues were staying away from me. However, there were some others who were very friendly with me and immediately opened up. I take great pride in naming them — Alfred Cheng, Kevin Lau, John Ng, Claudius Chan, Blanco Siu, Kit Fung, Simon Lui, Spenser Au, Daniel Tam, Wilson Choi, Eric Tsui, etc.

Ms. Agnes Yim and her antics!

Later, Ms. Zoe Lam, Ms. Agnes Yim, and Ms. Kennis Kwok also became good friends. Here’s Ms. Agnes showing me the finger, as I was on my way out! 😉 As did Ms. Doris Yu, along with Ray Ho, from China, and Stone Liu, Allen Liu, and Ms. Jo Kuo in Taiwan. I even played soccer and squash with some of them. When I returned to India in 2007, I started my blog — Pradeep’s Point — to help my colleagues back in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc., with technical stuff.

Chung King Mansions in Kowloon, Hong Kong, is a place largely frequented by Indians, Pakistanis, Africans, etc. I felt more at home there, and frequently visited the building. In Macau, I ordered a dosa at an Indian joint near the Macau harbor. Next thing we knew: a line of orders started happening for dosas from people who were sitting there. They simply wanted to taste what we were eating!

I have visited several countries, for business and pleasure. In some places, I heard racist remarks, particularly in England. However, to my pleasant surprise, some girls surrounded my wife, Shima, inquiring about the dress she wore — in Shenzhen, China. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, there was much better experience, as the Indians were (and are) present more.

In San Jose, USA, around 2013, at a global semiconductor industry event, a foreign friend remarked that I seemed to be getting all the attention! Later, MIT approached me for doing a story around its discovery for breast cancer prevention. The Americans respect people who really have knowledge. Well, I would say the same thing for all the other countries, wherever I have been. Why, I even shared a cigarette with late Chuck Grindstaff, then CEO, Siemens PLM, and a friend, at Boston, USA, during September 2015!

That reminds me! Back in 1997, at Asian Sources Media, now Global Sources, my team of Telecom Products magazine won four editorial awards, the maximum that year. They were given out by Abe Peck, now, my friend on Facebook, from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, USA. This led to a drastic change in life at Global Sources, as suddenly, I found that I had become the go-to man for everything. When I told this to my wife, she just asked me to be careful, as there could be repercussions. Well, those did not happen!

With Rosa and Blanco.

In 1999, after I had prepared the specifications tables for Telecom Products at Global Sources, those were launched publicly by my Chinese colleagues. I was the only non-Chinese present at the launch event! A similar thing happened in 2006, when I was invited by Ms. Rosa Chan for her wedding. I was the only non-Chinese person at the wedding. Just look at the photograph here — Blanco is clicking away happily, as Rosa holds my hand for a dance pose! This was during her wedding reception. Notice the expression of Rosa’s husband standing on extreme left! 😉

At ITU Telecom Asia, Hong Kong.

In 2006, at ITU Telecom Asia event, girls in various booths were lined up to take photographs with me. I remember Alfred Cheng saying that I was in great demand! Perhaps, that was because of my height! Definitely not my looks!! Okay, I forgot which car this was, and from which company. The girl next to me looks really nice though, eh! 😉

In 2001, Global Sources’ editorial secretary, Ms. Kitty Wong, accompanied me to Shenzhen for editorial meetings with various companies. In 2006, Mark Saunderson, head of EBU, Global Sources, made me visit China once a week, for conducting editorial meetings and sales calls. Again, I did not know how to speak fluent Chinese. The various sales girls and men who accompanied me, smiled and spoke in Cantonese or Chinese, or any other language with me, without me understanding a word of what they were actually saying! And, we even laughed together at the complete idiocy of all that was happening!

I was taken many times to strange-looking restaurants for lunches and dinners. At some places, the waiters and waitresses danced and sang songs. Some even came up to me, and asked me to join them. I could not even understand a word of what they were actually saying, but still joined them! 😉

Besides enhancing my knowledge about the various technologies, I had picked up some Chinese, thanks to all of these visits. All the knowledge that I managed to pick up, mostly in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, especially, continues to hold me in good stead. Sorry friends, I am not an engineer! Whatever little knowledge that I have about electronics and semiconductors, they have all come from experiences.

Dancing with Ray Ho! Ms. Marianne Carandang got this on camera too!

Today, a dear friend, Ms. Prashansa Bharti, actually called me ‘intelligent’! God knows why! I can’t even cook myself a meal, so there goes my intelligence! Ms. Aanchal Ghatak still keeps asking me for advice, although she has grown in stature, professionally. Many of my friends from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, and China, are still connected with me on Facebook and LinkedIn.

As I started winning global awards for my blogs every year, from 2008 onward, things started changing. The respect I have received from people for my work has been unprecedented, and I just cannot thank everyone enough! Your love and respect, and honor, is worth the lifetime. My heartfelt thanks to Ms. Prashansa, as she has inspired this article.

Honestly, I have been a prankster all my life! See the picture above, where I got into an impromptu dance with Ray Ho in Shenzhen, China. Ms. Marianne Carandang from the Philippines is laughing as she is making a video. I have no idea who got this on camera though! But, that’s how I am, have always been. Also, just ask Ashish Banerjee, or even Bishweshwar Bhattacharjee! Well, being lean and lanky matters, too! 😉 Doesn’t matter if I can’t cook, eh? 😉