The misconceptions that your American/foreigner friends may have about India and Indians!
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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” ~Gandhi

I am delighted to run into more and more Americans who have so many good things to say about India. The younger generation in particular is very open-minded toward global outlook. However, from time to time, we do get some out-of-the-blue questions about India. Based on my personal experiences as well as the stories from friends and families, here are some of the common misconceptions or myths about India:

1. Elephants in our backyards: We don’t keep elephants as a pet. Here is an actual question from an elementary school student to an Indian teacher in US, “Do you used to ride an elephants to your school in India?”

2. Everybody snake-charmer: Not every Indian is a snake charmer. “Are those cobras poisonous?”, as if Indians are supposed to know everything about snakes.

3. The Indian Curry: Not every dish we eat is curry based. More and more Americans are trying and enjoying Indian food, but curry is invariably linked with India. An Indian restaurant manager always has interesting anecdotes to share about his experiences with American customers, like this one:
“Can I have some curry samosa please” asked the white customer when the waiter came around to take order.
“How would you like it – spicy or mild” The waiter asked without reacting to the choice of entree.
“Medium”, he replied.
The waiter came back with 2 Samosas and the chutney/sauce to dip in.
I guess Indian sauce is also considered curry for some. :)

4. India is next to Iran or Iraq: India is sometimes confused to be in the Middle East by many. I don’t think much of it, my geography is not that good either – about small European countries and their locations, or all of the African countries for that matter.

5. Too many Gods: We only have one God, probably the same God that rest of world has. His/her skin color is debatable, because many Indians prefer fair skin :)

6. The Bindi on the forehead is not tattoo:The ‘dot’ in on a women’s forehead is not a permanent tattoo.  I heard this on a radio show where the host was trying to find out more about the tattoo that Indian women have on their foreheads. It took me a while to realize that he was talking about Bindi; also known as tikka or kumkum or sindoor….depending upon where you come from in India. It is a ladies’ make-up accesories with traditional roots and customs.

7. Child labor, arranged marriages and Bollywood…: Unlike all the common documentaries on TV channels overseas, there is more to India than child labor, arranged marriages and Bollywood.

8. The tigers: We do have tigers, but in the forests. I don’t get many questions about this, but tigers and lions are always linked to India and Africa.

9. Taxi-driver and computer engineering only?: These are not the only 2 occupations we excel in. Gas stations and motels are other businesses often linked to Indians overseas. During a fund raising event once, Hillary Clinton joked about Gandhi by saying, “He ran a gas station down in St. Louis.” She later apologized. The reality is that Indians are successful in every walk of life overseas, and growing very fast.

10. The cricket is not ‘cricket, the insect’: The game of Cricket is not popular in North America, so very few Americans know about it. “Is it just like baseball?” is the common inquiry. That is when I start to explain what a googly is.; here goes the rest of the day! :)

11. Indian ‘too’ traditional:Just because there are lots of ladies dressed in Saari or Punjabi suits in the mall and supermarkets, that does not mean we are very traditional. May be more traditional than American culture, but India is modernizing at a very fast pace. Just give us one more decade… :) !

12. We don’t speak ‘Indian’: We speak many languages, may be too many, but none Indian. And, English with Indian accent does not count as ‘Indian’ either.

13. Hot and rainy: “Is it always hot there and doe it rain all the time?” Seems like many of them have seen Monsoon Wedding movie. weather in India is not much different from weather along the west coast or Midwest without snow. The variations in weather from region to region are just like we have in North America.

14. Every Indian is vegetarian:Not very popular myth anymore. The non-veg dishes in Indian restaurants sell like hot cakes these days.

15.Turban or chunary: These are not Muslim head-gears; these are just part of Indian traditional dress.

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