Well the Country that I come from India, is a very diverse country. India has 28 States and if we see almost each state is like a country by itself, meaning every state you will find has different culture, language, lifestyle, overall system. Majorly people in India behave very culturally so you can imagine the kind of diversity that exist in this place and since for that reason the people of each state to an extent has a different set of behavior.
Coming to the topic:
What kind of stereotypes do people have about my Country - India?
To think of it there are many. But let me tell you with my own experiences a few of them.
- People think that India is a dirty country only filled with poverty and uneducated people and that Indians have no etiquettes and finesse. And this is the way they also look at us Indians when we travel to other countries. Let me tell you, India is among one of those countries that must be having maximum millionaires and billionaires. Yes I do agree that there is still a lot of slum areas in India in almost all cities but then people have not seen the other side of it.
When my friends come from other countries and I take them to clubs, they get amazed and can't believe that there is so much night life in India and India is just not about poverty and dirtiness. In India there are all the world best Hotel presence. If you want luxury you have it, if you want modesty you have it. Whatever you want you get it here. Rather I see that we Indians also have a more lavish lifestyle then many other countries. The only problem is there is a huge gap in the wealth distribution in the country and when foreigners want to visit they only look for visiting those slum areas, which is again not their fault because the movies and media have displayed in that way.
Most of the movies that are made by outsiders their focus has been on covering the not so very good side of India, because that sells, basically drama sells. If there is no drama their script will not sell enough. People who are already experiencing luxuries, showing them luxury does not mean anything, so they play the reverse psychology, in return tarnishing the image of the country.
- This one is very funny and I keep coming across this very often. I have a lot of visitors coming from other countries and I like to entertain them, take them around my city. Very funnily they say, I want to see an Elephant. Because they have seen that in movies, that elephants are moving on the road.
Haha, this is really hillarious, please let me tell you, there are no Elephants or Cows on the road. We have moved ahead using different modes of Transport, we have Cars, Bikes, Buses on the roads, so do not come with an expectation to see an Elephant on the road.
- All Indians do Yoga. This is one another thinking that many carry. Though I would wish that this is true, but no all Indians do not do Yoga.
- We Indians do not have knowledge of various cuisines of the world and have very poor eating habits. Another thing that I observe is when people travel to India, they get very finicky about their food, because they feel that they will only get all low grade, spicy and oily food.
This is not India, rather Indians are very diet conscious and more and more people are turning to it. More or less veganism, herbalism all of these across the world has been spread by India. You will get all variety of food here, if you want junk you will have your share of KFC, Mc D and whatever you want. If you want any world cuisines there is no lack of restaurants here. Yes street food is famous in India and people do savor it but that does not make the food bad.
- India is a country filled with rapist. This is a very sad part when people think of my country in this aspect. Just some days back I came across a post where one person was travelling and she was concerned about her security because she thinks that rape is happening in every street of India all the time.
That's not the fact. Because of some monsters, the whole of Country cannot be tagged as rapist. Our Men are respectful and they do not support rape.
I will not say that all of these are completely true or completely false. These things yes do exist. Like there is poverty here, there are slums, illiteracy also exist, rapes do happen, street food is at times unhealthy but these things do not define India.
If there is illiteracy in India, then on the other hand across the world in major multinationals there are maximum Indians sitting in the top positions.
Understanding the population of India these challenges are going to be there, but that does not take away the credit of India in all the other ways that it has rised up and in been in par with the most developed countries.
When Britishers left India, they left India devastated, they looted India to their maximum capacity, laid the foundations for religious conflicts and poverty to it's maximum. Rising up back from there has not been an easy task for the Country and the Political corruptions adds up.
Yes the few things I agree about India is that it is politically corrupted to the core. There is a lot of bureaucracy and it spreads through all levels.
And the other one thing is that Indian weddings are grand. At large yes Indians have always been into grand celebrations of any occasion. But here also it is changing now. the younger generation is getting out of this trend. They are getting into simplicity.
Like I said in the very beginning, that India is a very diverse land and a lot of things also happen culturally so one cannot generalize it for the whole of India.
I hope with my article, you all will have a good insight about what India is and what it is not. So next time when you travel here you know what to expect. Do not go on looks, dark skin and not westernly dressed does not mean the people here are illiterates or have no etiquettes. It's just about following our culture, but that does not make us backward in any way. India is a land of Beauty, Knowledge, Ancient traditions and overall people filled with beautiful hearts who will always be warm and hospitable. And this is not because we want to please anyone, but it is in our roots, where we are always made to understand that a Guest is next to God.
Thank you for visiting my blog. 👼🏻👼🏻💖💖🌹🌺🌸
Thanks for enlightening us about your culture. I'm a lover of Indian movies, I love the dances, music and customs. It's such a rich culture.
India is the land of chaos and realizations, where anyone can easiuly gain spiritual elevation that you can't get anywhere else.
Very good write up that sums India beautifully!
Namaste!
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