``I was the only one in jeans and a sweat shirt. Most of them were in suits; didn't read the invitation properly'', said my husband looking at me half accusingly, as if I should have done so. I let it pass.

He had just returned from the fourth IMFF in Pune: International Management Film Festival for those who don't know. ``They gave us a pad, but no pen; and they didn't switch on the lights for us to take notes anyway.'' He admitted that the speakers were good.

That may have been so, but I didn't think much of the English in the leaflet he had brought back: ``Building a World Class Organisation (why the higher case?) is the agenda of several corporations. Developing visions statement is the starting point ... Thus in process improve productivity...''``What was the address like.'' ``Mr Rajan Mathew, President & CEO of Birla AT&T didn't show up.'' I wondered what AT&T would have thought of that. I haven't been to America, but I'm told that their sense of duty and of punctuality are second to none.

My husband's boss says that we Indians are good at work, but are not really professional. (He is an Indian American working for a finance giant in LA). We seldom see a thing through to the end; we slip up on the details. Take a small thing like answering the telephone. ``Hello'', is not just done. It should be the name of your outfit, your own name, and, ``How may I help you?'' And they come straight to the point; business finished, they sign off. Only last week, an Indian working for an American MNC here answered my call with a hello. When I remarked on this to the foreign boss, he replied that it was how we Indians did it.

Take doctors and dentists. ``Any more questions?'', asked my dentist, only half in jest. I wanted to know all about the procedure involved in my root canal job. (Actually a rectification as another dentist in Mumbai had botched it). An American doctor or dentist takes it for granted that the patient has a right to ask as many questions as he or she likes. In fact, one article I read urged that a tape recorder be taken along; also that one should not go alone for a consultation. Here, there is resentment when a patient asks a few questions.

Yes, we have to learn a lot from the West.