We’ve often cheered ourselves on with lines like “East or West, India is the Best!”
And according to the impressions of Indians done by Canadian stand-up comic, Russell Peters, “We are toh ekdum number one!”
Foreign tourists perceive India as an over-crowded expanse of humanity. Although India ranks 2nd in terms of population in the world, it ranks 31st when it comes to population density. Monaco, with 19,010 people per sq. km., is the densest nation in the world & Malta, with 1,353 people per sq. km. is the densest country in the world in terms of population.
Often foreigners over-generalize appearance the people of this country. Before we sound any more controversial, we’d like to clarify that it’s the idea foreigners have of the appearance of Indians as being dark-skinned or brown. They’re often surprised when they come across Indians who are fair-skinned, or some who have oriental features. Well, we’re a wide variety of people.
It is widely believed among foreign tourists, that Hindi is the only language spoken in India. Some tourists ignorantly think, ‘Indian’ the language spoken by the people of India, Contrary to what most foreigners believe, there are 122 major languages in India, 1599 other languages & spoken dialects, according to the government census of 2001. Of these recorded languages, 22 are official languages, which include Hindi & English.
India is perceived to be a hot & humid place. Given the expanse of the country, 3,287,263 sq. km., the country is home to some of the hottest (Rentachintala, Andhra Pradesh), driest (Jaisalmer, Rajasthan), wettest (Cherrapunji, Meghalaya) & coldest (Drass, Jammu & Kashmir) inhabited places in the world.
It is a popular perception among foreigners that every person is a dhoti-clad snake charmer by profession, who wears turbans. The country is famous for its elephants & tigers.
It is widely believed that Indians are cow-worshippers & there is a huge bovine presence on the streets across the country. While the latter perception is somewhat true in the rural & semi-urban areas, the former is simply a generalization. India is a diverse country with people from multiple faith. Among them, the cow is revered by Hindus.
This comes as a culture shock to most foreigners when they notice people in India eating food with their hands. The practice of eating with hands comes from the Vedas which explain that the flavours of the food are enhanced when brought to the lips from the fingers, elevating the senses. Moreover, the food is so diverse that using spoons or forks, simply wouldn’t fit in.
Medically known as ‘traveller’s diarrhea’, foreign tourists fall prey to this disease when they end up consuming Indian food, which is perceived to be extremely spicy. However, not all foods are spicy. The country has a wide variety of cuisines, some of the cuisines often have a sweet palate.
The idea of dealing with the ‘Indian Squat Toilet’ baffles most foreign tourists. And answering an urgent call of nature is probably every foreigner’s most dreaded nightmare. On the bright side, the scientific studies, not sponsored by Indians, show that squatting is the best way to optimize bowel movement
This will come as a shocker, but after the 2012 Delhi case, the western media has frequently portrayed India as unsafe for women. A lot of foreign embassies advise their citizens to stay safe & not entertain strangers when they’re traveling in India.
Ever heard of the world’s most expensive home, Antilia? Foreign tourists have this idea that everyone in the country is absolutely poor & still use bullock carts to travel. What comes as a reality check when they visit is that India is rapidly developing. As of February 2016, India has overtaken China to become the fastest growing economy in the world. According to IHS Automotive, India is set to become the 3rd largest automobile market in the world. So there goes the bullock cart.
A lot of foreign tourists come to India with pre-conceived notions. And they go back with completely changed views.
Surprisingly, there is also a huge number of foreigners who are completely ignorant about India. The type of media content that is watched or read & the level of interest might be possible reasons for the lack of awareness.
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