BRIEF CASE: Dare The Dragon 印度时报：中国龙牢牢地抓住我们（中英双语）

MarsIiang

A couple of months back we switched over to Chinese green tea for the morning cuppa, in preference to the erstwhile favourite of home-grown Assam black CTC or Darjeeling Oolong. This was a well-intentioned move, to reduce our sugar intake and hopefully knock a couple of inches off the midriff.

As one sips the fragrant brew, the mind traipses back a year or so, recalling with some trepidation the stealthy inroads the Chinese dragon has been making in the day-to-day aspects of our lives. The synthetic Christmas tree put up by the kids a fortnight back was a Shenzhen product. So too were the myriad gold and silver balls, stars, buntings, candy sticks, glimmering fairy lights, criss-crossing the branches, twinkling mischievously in a million hues. Most of the gifts, both given and received, sported a Chinese label as well. Why, our very own Diwali, celebrated a few months earlier, had a decidedly Chinese flavour.

Chinese lights and lanterns as illumination, being much cheaper, made perfect sense. The Lakshmi-Ganesh idols, my shimmering maroon and gold ''Kanjeevaram’’ sari with the delicate paisley motifs - all bought at a fourth of the usual price - made in you know where, reflected the powerful forces of a free market economy. From the electric kettle to the hair-dryer, shaver, the electronic toothbrush, the geyser whose innards sport a Chinese element to the gorgeous light fittings in our newly renovated flat, it is clear the dragon has us in its clutches, good and firm.

In the gastronomic sphere too, crisp stir-fry veggies with steaming haaka noodles, melt-in-the-mouth dim-sums washed down with piping hot soup win our vote over greasy Mughlai fare. Ever tried the canary yellow Chinese musk melon? Do so. It gives our local Baghpat "honeydew" a fair run for its money. However, the large, pale pink Chinese apples still have to vie very hard for shelf space along with the infinitely more flavourful desi varieties from Kashmir and Kulu. We win this round at last, thank goodness! But for the real scent of victory dare one suggest this? Observe the rows of imitation Ming dynasty vases that line the highway en route to Gurgaon. They are made, not in mainland China, but in unpretentious Chinhat, closer home.




印度时报：中国龙牢牢地抓住我们（中英双语）

倍可亲(backchina.com)　　两个月前我们的早茶改用中国绿茶，以往我们最喜欢阿萨姆邦国产的黑茶或大吉岭乌龙茶。这是一个出于好意的举动，可以减少我们的糖摄入量，有望缩减腰围。

　　在品尝这芬芳的泡茶的同时，思绪回到一年多以前，不安地想起中国龙如何鬼鬼祟祟地进入我们生活的方方面面。孩子们的人造圣诞树是深圳产品。那些金色和银色的小球、星星、彩带、糖果棒、荧光小彩灯等等也是。大部分的礼物，无论是我们给出去还是收到的，也带有中文标签。几个月前，连我们自己的排灯节都带有明显的中国风味。

　　中国的灯和灯笼要便宜得多，作出了完美的解释。那些玩偶和有着精致花纹的纱丽所花的费用不过是平常价格的四分之一，你知道它们是哪里制造的啦，反映出自由市场经济的强大力量。从电热水壶到吹风机、剃须刀、电牙刷、热水器到我们新公寓里华美的灯饰，巨龙显然已经很好地、牢牢地抓住了我们。

　　在烹饪领域也是，热气腾腾的客家炒面、入口即化的点心、滚热的汤水比油腻的Mughlai菜更合我们的心意。有没有尝过中国香瓜？你真要尝尝。不过浅红的中国苹果仍然很难跟克什米尔和库鲁（Kulu）的美味品种竞争。感谢神，我们终于赢了一把。但你敢说这就是真正的胜利滋味吗？看看通往葛冈（Gurgaon）的公路沿线那一排排仿明代花瓶。它们不是中国大陆制造的，而是在离家比较近的、朴实无华的钦哈特（Chinhat）制造的。（作者：Manju Vaish）