So my Nan rang me in a flurry the other day.

She’d had a conversation with an Indian taxi driver about Nepalese people. My Nan didn’t mention us but she asked the driver what he thought of Nepalese men.

His response was “In Australia, all they are interested in is having fun, partying and white girls.”

She got worried. Even though she loves Rabindra, I guess hearing anything negative like that makes you think. I must admit when she told me I felt a little sick in the stomach too.

I was upset that someone could make such a generalisation about the entire male population of Nepal and that it had an effect on my grandmother who knows nothing else about Nepal except what we tell her.

And then I wondered, why would he think this?

None of Rabindra’s friends are in a relationship with a white person. He is the only one. They are mostly settled down and married with Nepali girls. And the ones that aren’t married aren’t really that into partying and certainly not all about ‘white girls’.

I told Rabindra and he was infuriated. He said some Nepali were like that but not many and that Indians were worse. Stereotypes much??

Now that I think about it, whenever I speak to some Indian guys they are really talkative but when I mention that my partner is Nepali, they don’t say anything rude but they kinda stop talking to me.

I’ve asked Aussies who’ve travelled to Nepal what they thought of Nepalese men and they didn’t say anything bad like what the taxi driver said (they also didn’t know I am with a Nepali man).

Anyway I told my nan that there is a bit of an Indian v Nepalese rivalry out there from what I hear and see.

I’m aware of the political history between India and Nepal and can understand why some of the rivalry exists.

So does anyone know if there’s more to this and why there is a rivalry between Indian and Nepalese men?

Also do you/ your spouse have any impressions about Nepali people or if you are from any country other than India, do you have an overall impression about Indian men?

Maybe I am making a generalisation by even asking these questions but I thought I’d put it out there. Just so you know, I am interested in all impressions whether they are positive or negative. By the way, none of these are right or wrong.