20 Things I learnt on my trip to India

I perceived India as a country with lots of contrasts. I consider the culture as very strong and distinctive, in terms of language, food, clothes, religion, festivals, hierarchy and customs. During my stay in February 2010 I learnt many things. Some of them I would like to share on my blog.

(Taj Mahal in the background)

1. ) Customer service was great. Friendly and customer-oriented staff. In shops we often got offered water and even my little daughter got offered small chocolates. (In Italy, for instance, you would get offered coffee on your expenses if you went to a hairdresser). But the WOW-moment for me came when we bought my child a cot. We bought it in the early afternoon, got it tailor made, hand painted, home delivered at 10 o’clock in the evening on the same day, which was Saturday. (In other countries you might have to wait a week or more and surely not home delivered so late at night.) Also in Hotels and Restaurants I noticed that staff was always friendly, helpful with a smile on their face. I would say many western countries could learn a lot from the Indians when it comes to customer service or hospitality.

2.) TATA is a company whose name I noticed many times during those days. It is India’s largest business group and multinational company that operates in different sectors, such as Information Technology and communications, engineering products and services, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals.

3.) Home Helpers. While in western countries you might have — if at all — one person who helps you in running your home — in India middle and higher class families have more than one person who helps them. They might have, for example, one helper who does the cooking, one who does the washing and cleaning, one who drives you around as a chauffeur, another who looks after your garden, and another one who looks after your child. I learned that there are also hierarchies among home helpers. A chef is not at the same level as a driver. But I also realised that they support you in various chores but at the same time can make you very dependent on them. Trust is another thing that you need to have when hiring them.

4.) Sikh wedding. A Sikh wedding lasts for three days. In Western countries we celebrate weddings usually on one single day. Dinner and dance, Mehndi (henna painting for ladies) and the religious ceremony were the three events which my family assisted to.

5.) I found street signs that were not just written in one language but translated into four languages, such as Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English.

6.) If you are looking for attention to detail in India, I would say you will find it while doing some sightseeing. I really loved the parks, greeneries that surrounded various sights since you could really notice that they are all well maintained.

7.) Seeing the Taj Mahal (one of the world wonders) was obviously a highlight during my trip. I was quite keen on buying a small Taj Mahal miniature as a souvenir. Only later I found out that owning one brings actually bad luck.

8.) Even though Indian culture doesn’t permit much contact between people or showing affection in public I found that they are very touchy and keen on taking pictures with Westerners, particularly if there are also children.

9.) Times of India and Hindustan Times are really interesting newspapers. I was surprised that among many different ads and announcements there was also a section called “Change of name”. When women get married they publish it in the newspaper.

10.) An Ambassador is a white taxi which is used by Government Officials. It looks a bit posher than the normal cars you find on the street. I had the opportunity to sit in one of them. They had nice, white curtains in it and it reminded me a bit of old, romantic movies.

11.) Honking is something you will definitely experience when staying in India. I was surprised to hear so much of it, sometimes I considered it a bit unnecessary.

12.) Congested traffic is also something you will get to see. No matter how much money you have in your pockets, once you are stuck you will have to be patient in order to get to your destination. The only difference is whether you will be sitting in a comfortable air-conditioned car, on a fully crowded bus, on a rickshaw, a taxi or a bike.

13.) Something else I learnt is that certain things in India are taken quite easily and in a more relaxed manner. When it comes to punctuality or driving a motorbike or car on the street.

• Turning up a bit later than suggested is not considered as lack of respect as it would be in western countries.
• Furthermore, I noticed an Indian man riding his motorbike (a vespa) with his wife and his three children. Seeing this scene was something unique for me. I was an off road and motocross rider myself many years ago and it just reminded me of the fact that in Italy they would have confiscated my driving license if I would have done the same over there.
• For children you don’t need a car seat when traveling by car. There is no law that prescribes that you need one as in many other western countries.

14.) Giving money as a gift for a wedding is quite ordinary and for that they use very nice, posh and original gift envelopes.

15.) Not all Gurdwaras (the religious place for Sikhs) allow mixed couples to get married and have their religious ceremony there.

16.) Holi (the spring festival of colours) is not just celebrated by Hindus but also Sikhs, Jains and other religions. It is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other.

17.) Mehndi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration, typically applied during special occasions like weddings. Once it is applied you need to wait roughly 30 minutes to let it dry. My mehndi lasted for five days.

18.) Parenting is often taken a bit easier than in Western countries by delegating it to home helpers who look after your children while both parents go to work.

19.) I already knew that there are children and other people trying to sell you stuff(balloons for kids, books, flowers etc.) while sitting in your car at the traffic light. But I did not expect to see a man without legs passing by those cars. I could hardly see him but I was quite shocked and thought he could have been easily killed. A moment that made me again realise how lucky and fortunate I can consider myself.

20.) If you want to buy cheap stuff you should go to markets or to a place called “Delli Haat”. There you will find souvenirs, stationery, clothes, handicraft items and much more. I loved shopping there. I found very original pens, nice stationery and other original handicraft items. People are prepared to negotiate and you might definitely get some good deals.