If someone put their mind to the task an entire volume of books could be written about the cultural differences between the U.S. and India; subtle and not so subtle. I don't have that kind of expertise or patience but my 3 month stay has given me a few things to talk about.
Movies were one of the first big differences I noticed. I love Bollywood movies but in a very different way than I love American movies. If you were to put my favorite five Hollywood movies next to my favorite five Hindi movies I don't think there would be any similarities. It's not just about my taste but about how and why movies are made in both countries. After looking past all the idiosyncrasies (like no kissing out of onscreen wedlock) it seems the foundational difference between Bollywood and Hollywood is why people go to the movies. In India they show up in droves to see their favorite heroes and heroines (yes this is what movie stars are called here) and a good number of fans will actually go see movies multiple times simply to boost their favorite hero's box office numbers.
People in India go to the movies to have fun; probably because everything about city life in India is so mentally exhausting. The high temperature is never below 80, often in the 90's or above and AC is hard to come by. Indian traffic is so chaotic and unpredictable that the morning commute alone could be as stressful as half a work day in America. Most people, even those in the upper middle class, seem to be quite drained by everyday life and as a result aren't prone to pay money to see movies that stress them out any more. Almost always they opt for singing and dancing (6 songs in every movie) and three hour a break from the grind of everyday life.
A lot of people in the U.S. also go to the movies to have fun, but a large portion go for other reasons. Many people go to the movies to be scared by Freddie, Jason or that girl from the Ring. Many more go to movies that revolve around turbulent and tragic circumstances (Road to Perdition, Mystic River) or raw accounts of modern day life like Training Day. Some people in the U.S. actually pay money to go to The Hours or The Road and feel like crap for the whole day! The English films currently playing in most of India are Tron Legacy and Harry Potter. They happen to be raking in money in every city. If any of the other movies I just listed were shown in India they would be epic flops. To my knowledge the most recent genuine Hindi horror film was made a decade ago and that seems to be enough for this generation.
Not just the movies, everything is different in India. The way people talk, work, drive, dress and even eat are as different they could possibly be from back home. Just take eating as an example. Here almost everything is eaten with the hands. Sure most restaurants offer silverware if you ask, but most foods are meant to be eaten by hand and are actually more difficult to negotiate with knife and fork. At this point I might have even had enough of the Indian Kool-Aid to believe that eating with your hands makes things taste better. Of course most restaurants are also vegetarian, the level of spice in everything is sky-high and beef is strictly prohibited because cows have special religious significance for Hindus. Finally, I should mention the most difficult adjustment for me eating in India; when meals are served. I don't know about you but I'm pretty used to a standard eating schedule in the U.S. that goes something like this:
Step 1: Have a bowl of cereal (or at least a banana) within 30 minutes of waking up. (If waking up happens at 11:30am or later then I just skip to step 2).
Step 2: Eat lunch sometime between 12 and 1.
Step 3: Sit down for a big dinner at 6pm give or take a half an hour.
Step 4: Late night snack if I'm still up around midnight
None of these things are set in stone but that is generally how my day is aligned when it comes to eating. In India this has been turned completely upside down. Most Indians don't eat breakfast; they have tea. This cup of tea (and maybe a biscuit or two if you're lucky) is supposed to kill your appetite until lunch, which comes by 2pm at the earliest. And big mistake if you don't fill yourself to the brim at lunchtime. As far as my three month experience goes, dinner has never been served earlier than 7pm and often comes closer to 9 or 10! I found out the hard way that almost all restaurants in Hyderabad are CLOSED from 4pm to 7pm. That's not a joke. 95% of restaurants, that serve food in order to make a living, lock their doors and go Lord knows where from 4pm to 7pm every day of the week.
Tea is the foundation of this Indian eating schedule. Tea breaks are taken strategically at least 3 times a day and for most Indians this balances out the wide gaps between meals. Sadly, a cup of tea only buys me about 30 minutes before my stomach starts eating itself. As a result I have been trained to carry excessive amounts of snacks and do research on nearby restaurant hours whenever I am traveling somewhere new.
The good part about this difference is that life doesn't die by 7pm during the week (like most places in the U.S.). I'm not talking about downtown or the bars but rather every average neighborhood. People from 3 to 80 years old are out in the streets eating, talking and laughing in groups until at least 11pm every night of the week. The weather certainly plays a role in this, but even in the summer months your average U.S. neighborhood isn't quite so lively. Must be a combination of late meals, hot weather, mom and pop shops and a generally warmer attitude toward neighbors and strangers. All of the above are more difficult than you might imagine to get used to but things I know I will miss.
Movies were one of the first big differences I noticed. I love Bollywood movies but in a very different way than I love American movies. If you were to put my favorite five Hollywood movies next to my favorite five Hindi movies I don't think there would be any similarities. It's not just about my taste but about how and why movies are made in both countries. After looking past all the idiosyncrasies (like no kissing out of onscreen wedlock) it seems the foundational difference between Bollywood and Hollywood is why people go to the movies. In India they show up in droves to see their favorite heroes and heroines (yes this is what movie stars are called here) and a good number of fans will actually go see movies multiple times simply to boost their favorite hero's box office numbers.
People in India go to the movies to have fun; probably because everything about city life in India is so mentally exhausting. The high temperature is never below 80, often in the 90's or above and AC is hard to come by. Indian traffic is so chaotic and unpredictable that the morning commute alone could be as stressful as half a work day in America. Most people, even those in the upper middle class, seem to be quite drained by everyday life and as a result aren't prone to pay money to see movies that stress them out any more. Almost always they opt for singing and dancing (6 songs in every movie) and three hour a break from the grind of everyday life.
A lot of people in the U.S. also go to the movies to have fun, but a large portion go for other reasons. Many people go to the movies to be scared by Freddie, Jason or that girl from the Ring. Many more go to movies that revolve around turbulent and tragic circumstances (Road to Perdition, Mystic River) or raw accounts of modern day life like Training Day. Some people in the U.S. actually pay money to go to The Hours or The Road and feel like crap for the whole day! The English films currently playing in most of India are Tron Legacy and Harry Potter. They happen to be raking in money in every city. If any of the other movies I just listed were shown in India they would be epic flops. To my knowledge the most recent genuine Hindi horror film was made a decade ago and that seems to be enough for this generation.
Not just the movies, everything is different in India. The way people talk, work, drive, dress and even eat are as different they could possibly be from back home. Just take eating as an example. Here almost everything is eaten with the hands. Sure most restaurants offer silverware if you ask, but most foods are meant to be eaten by hand and are actually more difficult to negotiate with knife and fork. At this point I might have even had enough of the Indian Kool-Aid to believe that eating with your hands makes things taste better. Of course most restaurants are also vegetarian, the level of spice in everything is sky-high and beef is strictly prohibited because cows have special religious significance for Hindus. Finally, I should mention the most difficult adjustment for me eating in India; when meals are served. I don't know about you but I'm pretty used to a standard eating schedule in the U.S. that goes something like this:
Step 1: Have a bowl of cereal (or at least a banana) within 30 minutes of waking up. (If waking up happens at 11:30am or later then I just skip to step 2).
Step 2: Eat lunch sometime between 12 and 1.
Step 3: Sit down for a big dinner at 6pm give or take a half an hour.
Step 4: Late night snack if I'm still up around midnight
None of these things are set in stone but that is generally how my day is aligned when it comes to eating. In India this has been turned completely upside down. Most Indians don't eat breakfast; they have tea. This cup of tea (and maybe a biscuit or two if you're lucky) is supposed to kill your appetite until lunch, which comes by 2pm at the earliest. And big mistake if you don't fill yourself to the brim at lunchtime. As far as my three month experience goes, dinner has never been served earlier than 7pm and often comes closer to 9 or 10! I found out the hard way that almost all restaurants in Hyderabad are CLOSED from 4pm to 7pm. That's not a joke. 95% of restaurants, that serve food in order to make a living, lock their doors and go Lord knows where from 4pm to 7pm every day of the week.
Tea is the foundation of this Indian eating schedule. Tea breaks are taken strategically at least 3 times a day and for most Indians this balances out the wide gaps between meals. Sadly, a cup of tea only buys me about 30 minutes before my stomach starts eating itself. As a result I have been trained to carry excessive amounts of snacks and do research on nearby restaurant hours whenever I am traveling somewhere new.
The good part about this difference is that life doesn't die by 7pm during the week (like most places in the U.S.). I'm not talking about downtown or the bars but rather every average neighborhood. People from 3 to 80 years old are out in the streets eating, talking and laughing in groups until at least 11pm every night of the week. The weather certainly plays a role in this, but even in the summer months your average U.S. neighborhood isn't quite so lively. Must be a combination of late meals, hot weather, mom and pop shops and a generally warmer attitude toward neighbors and strangers. All of the above are more difficult than you might imagine to get used to but things I know I will miss.
Tea - how bout coffee?
ReplyDeleteHaha not so much coffee around. Thanks for reading Kim
ReplyDelete