India for Idiots
2/5
()
About this ebook
India for first time visitors. A guide to the cultural quirks of India.
Dianne Sharma Winter
My obsession with India has kept me on the road in various places across the world while I work on having a life that allows me to travel, allows me to plumb the depths of my creativity and keeps me in sporadic contact with my family. It's the life of a rolling stone, gathering no moss but also with a momentum of it's own. Sometimes there is a feeling of "stop this stone, I want to get off" or at least change direction. The direction I long for is straight to the heart of my grandchildren who keep growing so fast and at such a rate that it scares me sometimes! And sometimes when I am furtherest away is the times when I want to be close to hand for my family.But given this little niggle and prod at my heart strings I also know and believe that if you are living and acting according to your dharma then you are always exactly where you need to be in life and that your soul and spirit do not recognize physical boundaries. We all take on a shape with which to experience life and I happen to believe that we get to experience as many shapes and forms and experiences as it takes for the soul to realize that we are all part of the Universal Oneness which is the Dream of the great Creator. It's this belief in action which has become my life, a life that is meandering through the scenic route instead of along the super highway. Wandering with a purpose that is between me and The Dreamer, stopping in wonder at the beauty of His Imagination and chuckling at His Divine sense of humor!
Related to India for Idiots
Related ebooks
Travel Fearlessly in India: Enjoying India Guides Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curry Coast: Travels in Malabar 500 Years After Vasco Da Gama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings13 Days 6000 KMs: A photographic journey through beautiful landscapes of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, India Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Travel Writing 2008: True Stories from Around the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking on Edge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTravels With a Stick: A Pilgrim’s Journey to Santiago de Compostela Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Phuket Thailand & Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Survival Guide to British Columbia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSierra-Nevada Lakes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBombs and Butterflies: Over the Hill in Laos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBackroads of New England Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5India Travel Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArgentina Travel Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sense of Wonder: More Moments from an Ordinary Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhere the Roads Lead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrommer's EasyGuide to Costa Rica 2017 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Travel Writing 2011: True Stories from Around the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Birds of Eastern China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Goddess in the Stones: Travels in India Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Southeast Asia On a Rope: Thailand and Laos: Thailand, Laos, Luang Prabang, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Nong Khai, Bangkok Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIsland Dreams: Life on a Wild Island in the Georgia Strait Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Remedies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStrong Camino Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRiver of Offerings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew Zealand Travel Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSquashed Possums: Off the Beaten Track in New Zealand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMountain Maidu and Pioneers: A History of Indian Valley, Plumas County, California, 1850 - 1920 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Asia Travel For You
The Kerala Kitchen, Expanded Edition: Recipes and Recollections from the Syrian Christians of South India Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mediocre Monk: A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dishoom: The first ever cookbook from the much-loved Indian restaurant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Live Japanese Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Basic Tagalog: (Audio Recordings Included) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEasy Thai: Learn to Speak Thai Quickly (Includes Downloadable Audio) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tagalog for Beginners: An Introduction to Filipino, the National Language of the Philippines (Online Audio included) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Yakuza: life and death in the Japanese underworld Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mandarin Chinese for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Chinese (Fully Romanized and Free Online Audio) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Khmer: Start Speaking Today. Absolute Beginner to Conversational Speaker Made Simple and Easy! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Trip of One's Own: Hope, Heartbreak, and Why Traveling Solo Could Change Your Life Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/51000 Japanese Flash Cards: For Smart Phones and E-Readers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fodor's Essential Japan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Really Happened In Wuhan: A Virus Like No Other, Countless Infections, Millions of Deaths Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lonely Planet Philippines Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Making Out in Tagalog: A Tagalog Language Phrase Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Japanese for Fun: A Practical Approach to Learning Japanese Quickly (Downloadable Audio Included) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elementary Hindi: Learn to Communicate in Everyday Situations (Audio Recordings Included Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tokyo on Foot: Travels in the City's Most Colorful Neighborhoods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Read Japanese Today: The Easy Way to Learn 400 Practical Kanji Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of Japan: Revised Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making Out in Thai: A Thai Language Phrasebook & Dictionary (Fully Revised with New Manga Illustrations and English-Thai Dictionary) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related categories
Reviews for India for Idiots
3 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
India for Idiots - Dianne Sharma Winter
India For Idiots
A Cultural Guide to India
By
Dianne Sharma-Winter
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Copyright 2010 Dianne Sharma-Winter
Smashwords Edition License Notes
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Cultural Confusion
Chapter 2. Body Bits and What To Do With Them
Chapter 3. Gods and Gurus
Chapter 4. Insane Information
Chapter 5. Being, Single, White and Female in India
Chapter 6. Saying It With Enthusiasm
About the Author
CHAPTER 1.
CULTURAL CONFUSION
ADJUST
India has a population of over 1 billion people, one million of whom are constantly on the move. One of the most illuminating demonstrations of a democracy in action is the way in which people will 'adjust' to allow another person sitting or standing space on a public conveyance. The Indians were the first to recognize space as both a void and a public space and work constantly to fill it to the brim.
AHINSA
The practice of non-violent protest which became a huge success in ousting the British from India but has fallen from popularity since then. If you have come to India to practice ahinsa then please join a queue in any railway station booking counter and see how far you get. Also refer to Queues.
ANGREZI
This is you. Whether you are Spanish or Norwegian or Australian, once you step foot on Mother India, you will become Angrezi. If you are Japanese, Chinese or Korean you will become Japa-knee for the duration of your stay.
ARGUMENTS
The art of debate is much admired in India, people are just as amused by an exchange of words as tennis balls, watching an argument is therefore part of the public space and everyone is entitled to watch to listen and to interact. This is a grass roots experience of group consensual process in action and very enlightening to watch. Should you be lucky to witness a street argument, keep to the sides of the crowd that develops and watch for clues for which winner to back by the reaction of the crowd.
ARRANGED MARRIAGES
The Family is the centre of society in India, as such marriages are arranged in order to strengthen and stabilize this institution.
Indian weddings are a celebration of the family, with the focus on the groom. Sightings of the bride are brief. The ceremony is conducted while people wander around greeting and meeting each other, sit in groups on the lawn and eat picnic style.
The meeting between bride and groom is as furtive and fleeting as their future nuptials will be and only slightly less public. The bride is not supposed to look happy but guests are allowed to speculate whether she is or not. Unlike western weddings no one takes bets on how long the marriage will last. Marriage is for life in India. Divorce and Love Marriages carry a whiff of the hint of individual will and go down like a fart at granny's tea party.
AUSPICIOUS
People like auspicious signals, receiving them as direct communication from the Gods. People do not like inauspicious things such as widows, people with bad luck or black faces.
BABU
Is a term used for the youngest of a family and is used by an elder to someone younger. It is not the Hebrew word for waiter.
BEGGARS
It is the dharma and the karma of the beggar to beg and it is