Learn Indian Dining Etiquette and Manners

Did you know that you can get literally frowned upon if you take the first bite ahead of older people in Indian dining? And that’s not the only unwritten rule when it comes to Indian dining. That’s why it’s important to learn Indian table etiquette and manners.

First rule: dress properly. Unlike in many western countries, you should NOT feel free to dress scantily when dining in India with the locals. Though almost any kind and style of clothing is allowed nowadays, it is still best to wear modest and non-revealing clothes so as not to offend anyone on the table.

Wash your hands thoroughly before eating. This is one thing that hand soap ads have been telling us since time immemorial. And you better obey it in India (along with trimming your fingernails as it is considered unhygienic). That’s because you would most probably hold your food during the meal. Breads and other finger foods are common fare in Indian cuisine. But those aren’t just the ones that you might need to eat with your hands—there’s also rice. Where people from spoon-and-fork societies find it very difficult to eat rice this way, Indians do so comfortably and efficiently.

Actually, North Indians have been using eating utensils since the 16th century because of the Roman influence. But majority of Indians would eat with their hands not only because they eat finger foods, but also because they believe that food is divine and eating is a sensual experience one should enjoy. One should not only see, smell, and taste what they eat, but also should hold and feel it. But of course, this rule gives an exception to soups and liquid dishes. Utensils should also be used to cook and distribute food.

Another important point to remember is that you should never handle food with your left hand. The left hand is considered dirty and should not touch anything that you’d be taking. This is why drinking vessels are placed to the left of the plate.

Now, if you come from a country where people share their food with anyone on the table by transferring food from their plate to another person’s, you better remember that it isn’t done in India. Indians believe in the concept of “jutha” (also known in different parts of India as “ushtha,” “engili,” “aitha” and “echal”). Jutha is what you have already touched, placed in your mouth, or placed in your plate. It is considered unclean and is therefore rude and unhygienic to be offered to another person. It any case, it may be eaten by an immediate family member or fed to animals.

Sitting around the table also has its rules. Don’t sit just anywhere you like, especially if you’re a guest. Wait to be told where your seat is, and then wait for the elders and those of higher status (socially and politically) to be seated before you do.

As with other countries’ etiquette and customs, Indian dining manners are traditional practices that may or may not have logical bases. So as time passes by, it’s inevitable that more and more people would find some of these practices quite too old to be followed if not unnecessary.

This, however, doesn’t mean it would do you no good to learn Indian customs and traditions as such. Why? Simply because it’s always better to know especially about customary practices that are part of the natives’ daily life. This way, you also get to avoid both offending Indians and getting offended yourself.

Learn Indian Culture In 5 Short Lessons

Learning any culture takes a lifetime, not in any limited number of steps. Learning Indian culture in 5 lessons is actually a random list of things as seen by a foreigner, and some of the ways on dealing with them.

At the moment, India is the favorite destination among western companies. So far, the western businessmen who came over are slowly learning that to succeed in business in India means to understand the people first.

Outsiders must know how to see, hear, and feel like the Indians, rather than thinking along the lines of good earnings, favorable contracts, customer satisfaction, low-cost labor and expertise, better business values and all that.

Here are some tips on how to “walk, talk, think and feel” like an Indian, in random order.

Religion

For an Indian, religion comes first. It dominates his thinking, his eating, his attitudes, and his habits. It is a little complicated because in India, there are so many religions, although the major ones are Hindu, Christianity, and Islam with some Buddhists, Jews and others roaming around.

Of these, there are other religious denominations too many to list down. So, if your Indian partner does not eat vegetables (not eating meat is the fashion today) like the other Indians, you can be sure he belongs to another religious group. You could be wrong, of course.

Festivals and other rites 

It is said that India has a cultural history that is more than ten thousand years, or older. The number of religions and their resultant festivals and rites would probably run close to that number, too. In every state and village and sometimes even in households, people have their own set of deities to be honored and revered, to give offerings to, etc.

Foreigners who want to do business in India would do well to acquaint themselves with religious festivals and other activities connected with deities, anniversaries, rites, etc.

Families and Elders

Most Indians – or most Asians, for that matter – usually have extended families in one household. From grandparents to parents, aunts, uncles, nephews and cousins – they usually all stay in the same household.

One advantage is the absence of need for babysitters. Everybody babies everybody, including the adults. (Westerners call it being nosy.) Visitors are asked, too, with probing questions about family, work, and even personal habits.

A family member who might be a company president outside his home is expected to follow the wishes of his uneducated father. His mother may also have a blanket authority for slapping him in front of other family members should he be disrespectful.

Namaste

For foreigners, the first order of the first day in India is learning to say and understand “namaste”. It’s the Indian way of greeting others with folded hands. Shaking hands is accepted in offices and with business associates, but not with the ladies you just met.

Time

Time for an Indian (or again for that matter, any Asian) is fluid. Fluid here means never resting on one place, moving either forward or backward without provocation. If a meeting is set at 9:00am, do not expect everybody to be there sharp.

Everything happens in the outside world that will cause your business partner to be late: traffic, queues, parking, road repairs, civil disturbances, rains, processions, etc. Your business partner should not be blamed for being late.

Actually, to learn Indian culture in 5 short lessons is just a short teaser. There are more valuable guidelines on how to do business and have good relations in India. It is comprehensive, up to date, and has many situational examples. The problem is, the compilation would fill a whole book and is too much for an article.

Learn Indian Culture In 5 Short Lessons

Learning any culture takes a lifetime, not in any limited number of steps. Learning Indian culture in 5 lessons is actually a random list of things as seen by a foreigner, and some of the ways on dealing with them.

At the moment, India is the favorite destination among western companies. So far, the western businessmen who came over are slowly learning that to succeed in business in India means to understand the people first.

Outsiders must know how to see, hear, and feel like the Indians, rather than thinking along the lines of good earnings, favorable contracts, customer satisfaction, low-cost labor and expertise, better business values and all that.

Here are some tips on how to “walk, talk, think and feel” like an Indian, in random order.

Religion

For an Indian, religion comes first. It dominates his thinking, his eating, his attitudes, and his habits. It is a little complicated because in India, there are so many religions, although the major ones are Hindu, Christianity, and Islam with some Buddhists, Jews and others roaming around.

Of these, there are other religious denominations too many to list down. So, if your Indian partner does not eat vegetables (not eating meat is the fashion today) like the other Indians, you can be sure he belongs to another religious group. You could be wrong, of course.

Festivals and other rites 

It is said that India has a cultural history that is more than ten thousand years, or older. The number of religions and their resultant festivals and rites would probably run close to that number, too. In every state and village and sometimes even in households, people have their own set of deities to be honored and revered, to give offerings to, etc.

Foreigners who want to do business in India would do well to acquaint themselves with religious festivals and other activities connected with deities, anniversaries, rites, etc.

Families and Elders

Most Indians – or most Asians, for that matter – usually have extended families in one household. From grandparents to parents, aunts, uncles, nephews and cousins – they usually all stay in the same household.

One advantage is the absence of need for babysitters. Everybody babies everybody, including the adults. (Westerners call it being nosy.) Visitors are asked, too, with probing questions about family, work, and even personal habits.

A family member who might be a company president outside his home is expected to follow the wishes of his uneducated father. His mother may also have a blanket authority for slapping him in front of other family members should he be disrespectful.

Namaste

For foreigners, the first order of the first day in India is learning to say and understand “namaste”. It’s the Indian way of greeting others with folded hands. Shaking hands is accepted in offices and with business associates, but not with the ladies you just met.

Time

Time for an Indian (or again for that matter, any Asian) is fluid. Fluid here means never resting on one place, moving either forward or backward without provocation. If a meeting is set at 9:00am, do not expect everybody to be there sharp.

Everything happens in the outside world that will cause your business partner to be late: traffic, queues, parking, road repairs, civil disturbances, rains, processions, etc. Your business partner should not be blamed for being late.

Actually, to learn Indian culture in 5 short lessons is just a short teaser. There are more valuable guidelines on how to do business and have good relations in India. It is comprehensive, up to date, and has many situational examples. The problem is, the compilation would fill a whole book and is too much for an article.

Learn Indian Basics Through Hindi

A country’s official language is very important for its growth and development. First and foremost this is the medium a large percentage of its constituents as they engage in all sorts of activities throughout the nation. It is also the very thing that distinctly takes the said country apart from its neighbors across the globe. As such it is considered an important treasure that gives every member of that nation pride and glory. Let’s take a look and learn at how the Indian language of Hindi came on top of the list.

The Hindi belt which is comprised primarily by parts of northern and central India is dominated by the usage of the country’s official language. The term Hindi is identified with the Indo-Aryan language and also with some of the dialect continuum of the language. According to the 2001 census in India around 41 percent of the native speakers within the country utilize Hindi dialects.

The Constitution of India states that Hindi is part of the two official spoken communications, English being the other form. It is main cog of the mode of communication used by the Indian federal and central government and is also one of the 22 scheduled languages as mandated in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. According to the pages of Indian history, Hindi traces its roots from Prakrit. It is also stated in the books that at the end of the tenth century Hindi came into the picture via dialects such as Awadhi, Braj, and Khari Boli.

Hindi is the leading contender among India’s national languages as it is used to communicate in areas of states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh. It is also employed as an alternative language along with northern and central India languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Punjabi. It is also widely accepted past the borders of India into countries like Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Moving on, Hindi is written using the method of the Devanagari script which was present during the ancient times when Sanskrit was around. Sounds that are readily found in the Sanskrit are represented by the addition of dots on letters of the Devanagari that depicts the same kind of sound. The rules of grammar construction in the Hindi form are quite unorthodox. Let’s identify with them and see why.

By now you have been accustomed to the English format of subject-verb-object. In Hindi grammar the format that is followed is subject-object-verb which simply means that the verbs are commonly found at the last part of the sentence instead of being placed before the object. Hindi also employs the method of split ergativity wherein the verbs coincide with the object in the sentence instead of having more connection with the subject.

The article the is not utilized in Hindi instead the numeral one is the one that implies an indefinite singular article which is commonly the job of a/an. Postpositions are the ones present in the Hindi grammar which are like prepositions but are placed after the nouns.

There are also notable differences on the use of different tenses, variations in cases, gender, and interrogatives. Conventional punctuations are utilized like question marks, commas, and exclamation points but a vertical line is traditionally used in place of periods to signify the end of a sentence.

The Indian language of Hindi may be hard to learn but if you put your best put forward it will surely be just like your first encounter with ABCs and 123s.

Learn Deeply In Indian Philosophy

There have been a lot of philosophical activities around the globe. This is mainly due to the fact that man is continuously evolving and is in constant search of deeper understanding and grasp of what is truly occurring around his external environment. Moreover he is more and more curious at how he can absolutely control his inner thoughts and beings.

This characteristic of man towards philosophy has brought him ahead of all that is surrounding. It has clearly brought him beyond the limits of time and nature. Civilizations and communities have thrived because of guiding principles and practices. Let’s take a look at one of the oldest surviving groups in the world’s history and learn how Indian philosophy have given its lands and people quite a promising journey.

The earliest thinkers within the Indian circles regarded philosophy in high terms as they seem to see it as one of the practical needs so as to reach a better understanding on how the different aspects of life can be best manipulated and navigated. Philosophical works of budding ancient Indian writers focused their works on explaining at how these works can benefit in man’s struggle and survival. Philosophy at that time was simply believed to be within the realms of an underlying order which is encompassing and omnipresent.

The Rig Veda was the first one that contained such form of order which was described in the image of the Brahman. The Brahman was recognized as overlooking being that is beyond the capacities of normal men. It was basically an indescribable and inexplicable existence that this world’s emotions and comprehension cannot reach.

Indian philosophy can be categorized through the use of the existence of two schools. The first one is the astika or the six orthodox schools all of which are founded under the Vedic authority. The six member schools are Nyaya or the school of logic, Vaisheshika or the atomist school, Samkhya or the enumeration school, Yoga or the school of Patanjali from which the metaphysics of Samkhya springs forth, Purva Mimamsa or the tradition of Vedic exegesis and rituals, and finally Vedanta or Uttara Mimamsa which gives much emphasis on Vedic philosophy.

The mentioned schools are usually paired up for reasons regarding concepts and histories. Pairings include Mimamsa-Vedanta, Nyaya-Vaisheshika, and Samkhya-Yoga. The school of Vedanta then branches on to more sub-schools such as Dvaita, Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita, Advaita, and Achintya Bheda Abheda.

The Brahmins then identified schools that did not acknowledge the power of the Vedas as heterodox or unorthodox. These schools were mainly built on the nastika system. The Jain, Buddhist, and Carvaka philosophies are the ones that fuel the beliefs of such schools.

The Jain principle is that one should be wary of the consequences that may arise from his physical and mental behavior. It gives much emphasis on having full awareness about the well-being of all the things around since most being that are part of the world possess a soul. Furthermore there should be equality in the advocacy and treatment of all walks of life. Buddhism is built on the concept of karma which clearly states that there is a major connection between events that have taken place and events that will take place in the near future. Carvaka is a school of thought that is based on ideas of materialism and atheism.

Indian philosophy is a great medium that can be used to learn how these people come up with their words and actions in certain time and places.