We're going global !

I've just been reading Aamir Khan's blog and couldn't help but chuckle at his childlike wonder at the most bizarre of commodities that seem to be available through tele-shopping and yes, I did laugh outright when I discovered that he too had almost been sold into placing orders for several of the things they claim to sell, confident that they'll revolutionise your lifestyle forever and give you heaven on earth. It brought to mind the hilarity that I'm provoked to when I realise that of all the grocery shopping we periodically do, few of the products seem to have been actually maufactured here, in the USA. So far, I recall having bought cherry jam made in Poland, caspicums grown in Canada, soya and chili sauces imported from China, maggi made in India, water sourced from Fiji, hairdryer, toaster and steam-iron manufactured in China, coats and jackets knitted/woven/assembled in Mexico, China, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong etc. Our microwave-friendly food containers take the cake. They are made of 'global components assembled in USA'. The funny thing evidently is that except for most cosmetics and certain food products, almost everything we buy in the supermarkets here seem to be sourced from almost every other country around the world. Numerous electronic/electrical goods on the racks even have 'made in China: Patent pending' stamped on them, if you take the trouble of reading the fine print. Well, if you are a country that is dependent to this extent on parts, products and produce from so-many other supposedly not-so-well-off countries all over the world, it defies my comprehension how you can be a world leader/global superpower/first world country. I think India should definitely qualify for first-world-country tag, if you take into account the fact that it produces most of its own consumer goods within its own geo-demographic bounds and we do buy and use most of them. I, for instance, have tried out numerous varieties of exotic and expensive cleansers and toners and found that the very local and pocket-friendly Ayur suits me relatively better.

Moral of Story : I'm definitely not taking loads of cosmetics home just to show off to folks back home that I've been to the USA.