Harish: No, I was born and grew up in India, and when I joined WE, I went back and forth a lot between the sites in Mysore (India) and Germany before finally settling here in Germany.

Harish: I like the culture and way of working at Würth Elektronik. I wanted to contribute to improving productivity and speed, to expand my networks and get more involved. Shoulder to shoulder. That was missing beforehand.

Harish: My parents gave their approval, and my wife and I spend four to five weeks holidaying in India each year.

Harish: My wife and I are very open towards German culture and enjoy learning new things. We like to make use of the offers here, for instance, to visit the horse market or famous churches. What bothered us was seeing adults smoking in the presence of children.

Harish: Very good throughout. From how we were treated in the Town Hall, in the Hohenlohe and previously in the Ostalb region, to relations with neighbors, who support us, or landlords, who have always been very open-minded towards us.

Harish: I am a Hindu. My religion is very important to me. It is part of my culture and my family. So far, there have not been any conflicts. On the contrary, we celebrate our festivals also with colleagues and friends here, and I bring traditional, home-made sweets or food into the office or when we go visiting.
 

Harish: My favorites are Makara Sankranthi, a thanksgiving festival in January, the Ganesha festival, where everyone visits each other and exchanges good wishes, and Deepavali, the festival of lights. We decorate our home with lots of flowers and lights, cook a typical lunch together, and in the evening we have friends round for a meal, give them gifts of sweets, and talk about why we celebrate this festival.

Harish: That's right, there are about 300,000 Hindu gods.

Harish: Every family has its favorite god, who is inherited, so to say, from a grandfather. We can then continue to follow this god. Once a person turns 18, they can decide themselves, whether they feel closer to another god. We usually stick with the original one, though, as we strongly trust that familiar god.

Harish: It defines my attitude to life: whatever you do, do it well. Make sure to have good emotions every day, a good emotional balance, within the family, socially, privately and beyond.

Be tolerant. I am a vegetarian. But a friend eating next to me, doesn’t have to be. Our coexistence should always be a win-win situation for everyone. And for nature. That's what I learned it from my parents.

Harish: I have heard that there are some in [larger cities like] Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. But I can pray anywhere. I pray at home. We have a small table next to the living room for that purpose, with a a figurine dedicated to our favorite god. There is a temple for Keshava, my favorite god, in Belur in the state of Karnataka.

Harish: Daily prayer is an obligation. It involves greeting our parents and loved ones and asking for everyone to stay healthy; then we sing in our native language, Kannada, or in Sanskrit. We don’t necessarily read from the holy scriptures, we tell each other short stories from them, ones that we feel are important.

Harish: Om (pronounced: a–u–m). According to my faith, it was the first word in the world and came from God. It is also a mantra, I can use it when meditating. I inhale deeply into my abdomen and let the sound out from my throat and lips without using my tongue. 108 times. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Harish: Yes, absolutely, 100%. I learned it at school over 12 years. Every month, a yoga tutor visited us. Yoga originated from a Hindu priest. In my family, we practise Surya Namaskar (the sun salutation) three times a week. Yoga gives us a good balance. It makes me feel fit for my daily work, it's good for the head, soul and body, for a balanced blood pressure, the arms and legs, and it prevents backache.
 

Harish: Two or three of my colleagues also practice yoga, and sometimes I can give them useful tips.