In a 2008 column for The Economic Times, the mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik wrote: “Indians prefer to say things, and hear things, rather than read things or write them down.” His conclusion for managers was direct: “Verbal communication is the key to success in the Indian business environment.”
He traced the habit back to the Vedas. “Revelation came to the Rishis in the form of a divine whisper: an auditory communication.”