Neeraj Agarwal

Our global culture has a fascinating new look to it.

And it has to do with this guy.

Indian actor and musician, Diljit Dushanj.

Diljit's star has risen big time of late.

He performed at Coachella last year.

He had incredible energy and had the audience in a foot-tapping, head-banging spell.

He had the audience in North America where he toured this year, had the same experience and performed in large packed arenas.

You know what is even more noteworthy?

Diljit does not perform in English.

He performs entirely in Punjabi.

Diljit's momentous rise is an indicator of something fundamental happening in the world around us.

The West for long has set the cultural and intellectual agenda for the world.

But now, East is coming to the limelight as well.

Asia today claims a cultural and intellectual authority all of its own.

Yes, Diljit is popular, but even more than that, he takes pride in his own identity and is not reduced to a stereotype.

He wears traditional Punjabi garb.

Imagine an Indian pop star in the West dressed in a turban and a kurta.

My name is Neeraj Agarwal, and yes, I'm a slightly lesser-known Indian than Diljit.

With BCG over the last 25 years, I worked on tough problems across industries and have spent time thinking about big picture trends.

In my current role of leading BCG's Asia-Pacific region, I travel extensively and I meet a wide range of Asians across business, government and civil society.