Things I’m asked as an Indian abroad

Curiosity about different cultures is often said to be the key to success and innovation, and I am one of those people who wholeheartedly encourage this exploration and inquisitiveness. Over the last 4.5 years that I have been in Europe, I have got all sorts of questions about life,beliefs and habits in India.While I often take the time to give the best possible answers, I can’t help but take note of the huge number of common questions I’m asked. After all, most people relay the ideas they possibly get from TV shows,movies or news stories. It just makes me ponder over perception, the human mind and cultural stereotypes, which I shall talk about in another post though. However, I wanted to share some of the most common questions I receive on a regular basis here. While some of them stem from stereotypes, others are coming from people who are either genuinely interested in knowing more or just ignorant of the culture in that part of the world.Either way, here we go:

1. Is that curry?

Variations: Are you eating curry? Do you cook curry everyday?

I have been asked such a question on many occasions; sometimes while cooking chickpeas, sometimes while thawing frozen spinach, but the day I was asked while I added Ketchup to my Maggi noodles was when I really wanted to know what my friend was actually thinking!You see, I had assumed that people refer to any dish with a gravy as ‘curry’, but I realized that people also might be referring to the ‘Curry powder’, which is essentially a mix of different spices. It’s strange because Curry is just a Western word that was given to a mix of spices, once the spice route was discovered.Often, what I kept thinking of is ‘Karhi’- a dish my family absolutely relishes!

Anyhow, to answer the question, I do use a lot of Indian spices and love cooking Indian food.But, no, I do not eat ‘curry’ everyday.

Interestingly, the meaning of ‘Curry’ has changed over the years.Quoting from this post on BBC,

Since its inception, the word curry has “changed its meaning and become ubiquitous as a menu word”, says Alan Davidson, in the Oxford Companion to Food. Once it just meant Indian food, but “it now denotes various kinds of dish in numerous different parts of the world, but all are savoury and all are spiced,” it reads.

2.Did they screen ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in India?

Variations: Is that how India is?Is everybody poor?

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was a British drama film loosely based on a novel and focused on a slum area of Mumbai. Please keep this in mind before assuming that the whole country lives like that! India has a population of more than 1.2 billion people and the standard of living varies between urban and rural areas, and also between different regions.It is unfortunate that millions of people are below the poverty line,but slums are not the only types of accommodations we have out there!The country has the 7th largest economy in the world and has a high Purchasing Power Index.

Also, people love watching movies.So, yes, the movie was screened in India. And no, everybody is not poor.

3.Do you work in IT?

Variations: Indian? Haha you must be working in IT!

The fact that I’m Indian doesn’t necessarily mean I must be working in IT. And even if I did, it would mean I was well suited for the role and that I deserved it- just like any other person doing any other job.Certainly, the last few years have seen an IT boom in the country, and a lot of people have been trained in engineering and technology to solve real-life problems.I don’t see how working in tech can make someone an object of mockery.In fact, often techies have varied talents too..just take a look at this IT guy!

4.Have you met Shahrukh Khan? How many movies come out every year?

Variations: Why do you have so many songs?Why are they so funny?

No, I have not met Shah Rukh Khan.Neither did I try to. SRK is one of the biggest stars of Bollywood, but it’s good to keep two things in mind : 1. There are many other talented actors in the industry too. 2.Not everyone in India gets to/tries to meet celebrities.

A quick search tells me that in 2015, more than 200 Hindi movies were released, and one of the biggest hits grossed about US$93 million.There are plentiful movies released in regional languages too. Yes, that’s a lot of movies, a lot of investment, a lot of talent and nevertheless some elements of nonsense.

Why are there so many songs? I cannot tell you the exact reason, but some other people have tried answering it on Quora. Music and dance has been a part of the culture for a long time and good music can have a huge impact on the audience . Of course, some songs these days are made just so they are catchy, resulting in the commercial success of the film. Don’t ask me why some of them are so funny.I have no say in that!

5.Do you celebrate Christmas in India? Do you care about it?

Absolutely!India is a secular country and we love observing all festivals and traditions. In fact, I come from Kolkata, where I grew up singing Christmas carols at school every year, shopping for Christmas trees and decorations from New Market and walking/driving through Park Street around Christmas to see the breathtaking lights and decorations. Need I say more?

Some pictures of beautifully illuminated Park Street in Kolkata Christmas Festival are uploaded here for all of you pic.twitter.com/UdHCZB4WUU — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 17, 2015

6.Do you have a lot of arranged marriages in the country? Would you do that?

Getting married or finding the right partner is obviously a personal choice, and like many other things in life, I’d say “whatever floats your boat.” Please keep in mind that in many cases, ‘arranged’ refers to an arranged date or a set up or a virtual introduction, and they are not forced at gunpoint to get married! Yes, this happens quite a lot. Several people all over the world also use dating apps to meet people,and some of them do happen to find long-term relationships that way. At the end of the day, does it really matter how two people met if they are eventually happy with each other?Now that I’m in the ‘friends-are-getting-married’phase of life, I have seen some of my very close friends finding the right partners and I couldn’t be happier for them.Each of their stories are different and so is the way they first met. I guess the most important thing should be that people make decisions on their own,without any pressure whatsoever, and that they are happy.

7.Do you speak Hindu?

No, I speak Hindi, which is one of the many languages we have in India. Hindu refers to any person following Hinduism as his religion. By the way, an old Census report I came across states 22 official languages and 100 other languages spoken in the country.

8.Is everybody vegetarian in India?

Certainly not.Only about one-third of the population might be vegetarian.However, if you are vegetarian and travelling to India, rest assured that you will have no problems in finding suitable food. On the other hand, if you eat meat, try out some Tunde kabab or Haleem or Rogan Josh or Chicken Chettinad, depending on which region you are travelling in.

9.Is it safe to go there? Aren’t you worried for your family and friends?Are they safe?

Yes.No.Yes.

I know that some horrible events taken place in the last few years have made you ask these questions.But, we resent such perverts and wrongdoers ourselves. Do try to understand that not all men in the country are dangerous and it’s best to be alert as well as aware of one’s surroundings, irrespective of whichever part of the world they might be in. Everything is fine.And if you insist to know, my family and friends are all safe and I don’t have any specific safety concerns for them. At least not anything more than what they have for me generally or what I have for myself.

Check out this list of the best places in India for solo female travellers.

I hope that at least some people found out something new via this post,but most importantly,irrespective of where they come from, take a moment to think over their attitude towards different countries or cultures. I implore you to be inquisitive but to keep an open mind and try to look at things from other people’s perspective too.

Merken

Merken

Merken

Merken

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