G Venkat Raman believes that the best way to break down cultural barriers is to cross national borders.

That's why in 2003, the doctoral candidate in the Chinese division of the Centre for East Asian Studies at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University chose to come to Beijing.

The 31-year-old is now pursuing his PhD at Peking University's school of government as a cultural exchange scholar. He believed he needed firsthand experience to complete his doctoral thesis, which examines the decentralization of development strategies in China from 1949 to 1992.

"I was researching China without having seen China, without knowing the language. If I didn't come to China, it would have been like writing about a person without meeting him," he said.

While his pursuit of knowledge brought him to Beijing, his interest in the country reaches beyond the confines of academia.

"Chinese culture is so rich. In order to appreciate its richness, you need to learn a lot about it," Raman said. "So many misconceptions I had in India just didn't prove true when I got here."

When many Indians think of China, they only think of noodles and people who will eat anything that crawls, he said. When Chinese think of Indians, they often only think of the Indian dances that they see on TV.

"The small geographical distance between us has been made huge by the lack of knowledge we have about each other. This gap needs to be bridged," he said. "This kind of ignorance can be wiped away through cultural exchange."

Raman should know. He came to China as part of a cultural exchange programme set up between the Indian and Chinese governments. Every year, the two countries exchange about 25 scholars.

"It's the responsibility of people like me and the Chinese scholars who visit India to share what we know when we return to our home countries in order to reduce misperceptions," he said.

Although Chinese society is very different from what Raman was familiar with before he arrived in Beijing, he said it was easy for him to adjust to life here.

"I was basically comfortable from the word 'go,'" Raman said. "Aside from my own immediate family and friends, I don't miss much. Here, I have Chinese friends, Indian friends and friends from neither country. I've never had such a rich social life."

He said that his favourite facet of Chinese culture is its strong spirit of collectivism.

"No matter how busy a Chinese is, if you ask him or her for help if you're lost, they'll help you. The idea of putting the community first and the individual next is still strong here," Raman said.

Raman plans to finish his doctorate in June of next year and hasn't yet decided if he'll stay in China afterwards. However, until that time comes, he says he will continue to immerse himself in Chinese culture and hopefully gain a better understanding of it.

"The journey for knowledge continues," he said.

(China Daily 11/22/2006 page2)