Indians lead quite a colorful life in their homeland, which may appear unfathomable to outsiders. A vast majority of Indians have little care for rules, much less for law enforcers–a picture completely alien abroad, where the citizens are under tight shackles and supervision.
Here is a list of 15 things that Indians can get away with, without paying any he’d to consequences.
-
Surfing Through Traffic:
Extreme navigation skills are portrayed daily on the roads of India. Whether the careless overtaking of vehicles, the mandatory race between buses of the same route, or the speed-shows put up by motorbikes at midnight, Indian drivers never cease to amaze you. India is a place where there is no concept of the wrong side, maintaining queues, driving in your lane, or wearing helmets. You will witness more skills while pedestrians try to cross busy roads, rather dash across the waves of traffic. Zebra crossings and traffic signals, what are those?
-
Top-Notch Bargaining:
You don’t need to be a highly experienced businessman to crack a deal in India. Everyone–starting from your dad at grocery stores, to the neighborhood aunties during shopping–is a pro at bargaining. You can bargain for anything, anywhere, anytime, and go home with lucrative deals!
-
Dealing with Crowds:
This is something that you have done everyday for such a significant part of your life, that even the worst of crowds won’t overwhelm you. In the land of 1.37 billion, there is rarely any place where you can avoid crowds. It has always been an integral part of you, and when you go abroad, you cannot help but think if there is a curfew going on?
-
All Time, Festival Time:
India, being a land of diversities, never falls short of festivals and celebrations. The saga of our festivals and public holidays span all year round, and no outsider will ever know the importance of counting the number of dates marked in red in our calendars, as soon as the new year begins. Who said breakup hurts the most, ever had a holiday fall on Sunday?
-
Neighbor–the Wish-Granting Factory:
The legend of an Indian’s rapport with his neighbor is unparalleled. Whether you need an extra cup of sugar, or tips for dinner, or need someone to look after your child while you are away, your neighbor is the ultimate go-to person. Fear not if you are short on cutlery or your refrigerator broke down, your neighbor always has your back. Missing out the latest local gossip? Just drop by the next door, and you’re sorted!
-
Sound of Life:
The calling of the vegetable seller, the jingles of the street vendors, maids zooming in and out of houses, continuous honking, screeching tires of speeding vehicles, high-pitched quarrels, popular songs blasting off the speakers of passing cars, rooftop picnics or puja pandals, distant yet so audible temple bells or the sound of azaan in the early hours of the morning–these are the distinguishing characteristics of India. Yes, they may seem irritating “noise” to us, but once we are in the deafening silence of abroad, we realize that they are the sound of life.
-
‘Atithi Devo Bhava’:
We Indians consider our guests to be on the same pedestal as God, and therefore, we must fete them no matter how irksome they might be. Indians hardly inform before visiting another’s house; they drop by anytime they wish to. And it is pretty normal to do so–everyone is up for a surprise visit at any given moment.
-
Always Room for One More:
Indians are a very accommodating lot. So even if the instruction on the bus may read “to seat 40+1”, we can easily make room for 150. Passengers would rather hang from the doorway handles of local trains rather than waiting for the next one. Traveling in metros during rush hours is a whole other story of Indians and their unique fitting techniques. Never have we ever believed in space constrains.
-
Tradition Runs Through our Veins:
No matter how “modern” Indians become, we can never let go of our age-old traditions. We have a strong sense of family whose opinions are the chief sculptors of our lives. It is essential to maintain cordial relations with all relatives, including those who only pop up at the time of results. Whether it is your field of study, your profession, the person you’ll marry, and even your clothes, everything is determined by your parents and the society. In abroad, while children move out of their parent’s house as soon as they are of age, in India, the more connected you are to your family, the more “sanskaari” you are.
-
Cricket is our Religion:
Nothing binds Indians more than cricket does; neither does anything else evoke such patriotism as an India-Pakistan match. You don’t need to be at a stadium or even be a hard-core cricket fanatic to feel the adrenalin building throughout the match and reach its peak during the nail-biting climax of the last few balls. The fireworks, dancing crowds on streets with drums, and shouting slogans every time India lifts a cup, are entirely indigenous. Young boys blocking the streets to play gully cricket with plastic balls and bricks as stumps in another country–impossible!
-
Spicy Food+Eating with Hands:
Thanks to the wide varieties of spices available to us, Indians are most versatile with cooking. We can conjure bizarre yet relishing recipes with any given set of ingredients. Indians are accustomed to an array of spices tickling their tastebuds, and find the food available in other countries to be too bland. Many international food chains have had to Indianize their menu to suit the Indian palette! Nothing can be compared to the joy of sitting on the floor, having our food served in metal dishes or banana leaves, and eating with hands.
-
Heavily-Researched Names:
No this not a country where every other person is called John, or Peter, or Elizabeth. We Indians dedicate much time and effort to decide upon a suitable name for a newborn. Every Indian name has a beautiful and deep meaning attached to it. It gives parents great joy in coming up with unique names, and every time you hear an uncommon name, the automatic response is, “What is the meaning of it?”
-
Local Transport and Local Help:
Indians loathe walking period. It doesn’t matter how small the distance is we come up with different excuses–all sorts of muscular pains, the importance of punctuality, the extreme heat of the sun–and we have no choice but hail autos and rickshaws for help. We never do our washing and cleaning in the household, and eagerly wait for our maids to come to the rescue. No matter how much we curse the maids for their uninformed holidays or the careless cleaning, or rickshaws for charging extra ten bucks and broken meters, they are better than doing our work and walking any day!
-
‘Missed Call’:
We do not understand the concept of Voicemail. Neither does anybody leave a voicemail if the phone goes unanswered, nor does anybody check his voicemail box ever. You are expected to call the person back when you see his Missed Call–that’s the general rule. Missed Call is also the code for informing parents that you reached home safely, and for a friend to know that you are short on call balance.
-
“Jugaad”:
Only Indians possess the ability to apply “jugaad” for everything in their daily lives. That’s our mantra to deal with any situation with ease and live a stress-free life!
These are 15 things that you can find only in India and nowhere else.
