Foreign ‘Misconceptions’ about INDIA.

“Hey, I’m Abhishek and I’m from Patiala. Oh ! so you’re a Hindu Punjabi” .

Wait, Stop it right there !! Yes, I am from Punjab and I am a Hindu. I am a proud Punjabi and by birth yes my parents have given me Hindu values (I’m an atheist, its just my last name is Sharma so I have to agree I am a HINDU) . But it doesn’t mean I am ‘HINDU PUNJABI’. Please visit Punjab at least once in your life just to clear that nobody in Punjab talks about being Muslim Punjabi or Hindu Punjabi or Sikh Punjabi or any other respectful religious Punjabi. If you’re from Punjab…You’re a proud proud Punjabi and that’s the end of the story !! Burrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaah.

---

Slums, slums, everywhere !

The movie Slumdog Millionaire had a huge impact on the way India was perceived around the world. The amount of beggars in India doesn’t help the situation either. But what usually strikes foreigner visitors is that although many people in India have very few possessions, they still smile. Indeed, there is a lot of poverty in India. However, India also holds a significant proportion of the World’s Riches. Some of the richest people in the world live in India. In addition, the disposable income of the “great Indian middle class” is now increasing. As a result, people are becoming more materialistic, and concerned about status and appearance.

---

Most Indians are Vegetarian.

This is a common misconception held by many non-Indians and Indians as well. In fact, most Hindus and Sikhs also eat meat. Most of Indians eat meat and the percentage is growing. While this still means that the world’s largest vegetarian population is in India, it also means that the majority of Indians are meat-eaters, like every other country in the world.

Try doing a survey about how many Indians prefer ‘Daal’ and how many will prefer ‘Butter Chicken’.

I will also write a different blog about the ‘Meat Ban’ going on in India but in short I just want to let everyone know how I and the majority Youth in India feel about it—– ‘BRAINLESS, MEANINGLESS…(and all the synonyms related to the word STUPID’).

---

INDIANS speak HINDU.

Unfortunately, many foreigners make the mistake of confusing religion with language in India. Hindu is a religion, and Hindi is a language — but you may be surprised to find that many Indians don’t actually speak Hindi. Most of you will be surprised to know that English is widely spoken across the country. The British impact has resulted in English being the primary language for government, business and education. English, along with Hindi, is one of the two languages permitted in the Constitution of India for business in Parliament.  According to Census of India of 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. Theirs a saying in India that every 20 KMs you travel, you will notice the language difference.

Fact: We do speak the easiest understandable version of English. (No offence to any Chinese person here).

---

Here are some points about what we INDIANS do have back home and Foreigners think we don’t –

• We do have branded clothes/watches/shoes in India. Name any !!
• We do have all the famous breeds of dogs. Not just Stray Dogs !! (Golden Retriever Labrador-my favorite).
• We do have cold winters in North India. (Not as cold as North American winters but as we have Brick houses with no in-built Heating Systems , Indian winters can be more brutal.
• We do have Ferraris, lamborghinis, Jaguars and all other major luxury cars there. (We don’t have muscle cars such as Mustangs and Chargers- Haven’t heard about those on Indian roads yet).

By- Jimmy Sharma

Also, Please take some time and see the link below about ‘Things INDIANS do differently from the rest of the world.

http://www.theeurekalife.com/35-things-indians-do-differently-than-the-rest-of-the-world/

Do we really need to celebrate ‘Dusshehra’ ?

Lets begin with ‘Ravana’.

The brave warrior who took revenge from a dude (Ram) who chopped off his sister’s ears and nose by kidnapping the dude’s wife (Sita).

But he was of a higher moral character and did no further harm to her.

The reason why I am discussing if we need to celebrate Dusshehra is not what caused it and how the mighty Ram killed the superior Ravana ?

Do you all remember what happened after Ravana was killed ?

---

Ram  and Sita came back to Ayodhya, where Ram was crowned king with Sita by his side. While Ram’s trust and affection for Sita never wavered, it soon became evident that some people in Ayodhya could not accept Sita’s long captivity under Ravana. During Ram’s period of rule, an intemperate washerman, while berating his wayward wife, declared that he was “no pusillanimous Ram who would take his wife back after she had lived in the house of another man”. This statement was reported back to Ram, who knew that the accusation of Sita was baseless. Nevertheless, he would not let slander undermine his rule, so he sent Sita away.

Thus Sita was forced into exile a second time. Abandoned Sita, who was pregnant – wandered about in the forest and at last took refuge in the hermitage of Valmiki, where she delivered twin sons named Kusha and Lava. In the hermitage, Sita raised her sons alone, as a single mother. They grew up to be valiant and intelligent, and were eventually united with their father. Once she had witnessed the acceptance of her children by Rama, Sita sought final refuge in the arms of her mother Bhūmi. Hearing her plea for release from an unjust world and from a life that had rarely been happy, the Earth dramatically split open; Bhūmi appeared and took Sita away.

Here the question is whether  Ram could have behaved in that manner and disowned his dear Sita? Especially, after all the efforts he put to bring his dearest one back to where she originally belonged.

---

Happy Dusshehra by Jimmy Sharma.