Ask a Hindu/Ask an Indian

[GenMarshall]

How good is Indian Tea?

Do you oftenly feel annoyed that the word "Indian" is oftenly confused with the Native Americans? (In advance, I myself find it annoying because I call Indians (The ones from the subcontenent, Indians) and the Native Americans, "Native Americans" or their tribal name)

 

[El_Machinae]

Do you oftenly feel annoyed that the word "Indian" is oftenly confused with the Native Americans?

That's a great question. I get irritated when the aboriginals are called "Indians".

 

[Riesstiu IV]

It causes no end of confusion. When I tell people that my mom is Indian, many will invariably ask something like, "Cool, what tribe is she from?" I now specify that my mom "is from India" to make it easier.

 

[SecretKnowledge]

Back when the caste system was more prevalent what would people have thought of someone who came from a region such as Europe or Japan and attempted to integrate in comparison to someone of middle or lower caste? Would this person have been thought to be outside the system or would a rating gradually be given?

What is the general opinion to supernatural and paranormal claims/events? How much more are such ideas popularly believed in India than in the West?

Do people believe that as India modernizes it will be able to create an Indianization similar to the "Westernization" that affected many cultures?

 

[aneeshm]

Would it be legal, given that the system has been abolished, for someone who used to be of a lower caste to change their last name so as to give the impression of having been in a higher caste?

Yes, it is perfectly legal, and it is a common practice among the erstwhile lowest castes.

 

[aneeshm]

Are you shocked that there was a caste system thirty years ago?

Not really. Even today, it exists in rural areas, and among the more conservative city dwellers, though it is being swept away. We will probably be the last generation to be affected by it.

Different countries and cultures have different social evils they have to overcome. Hindu India had caste, but did not really have slavery (going by the records we have of that time), so I think that makes up for it, in a twisted sort of way.

 

[aneeshm]

Have you got family in Great Britain?

No. However, our family does have a branch in the USA.

 

[GenMarshall]

How in the world do people move up in the Indian Caste system?

 

[aneeshm]

Do you have much tourism in India?

There is a huge amount of pilgrimage tourism - so much so, in fact, that the Tirupati temple is the second-biggest concentration of wealth in the world (the first is the Vatican).

There is also a systematic attempt going on right now to market India as a tourist destination to the rest of the world (I'll do my bit by providing the link to the official site, Incredible India).

I wish we were more active in promoting organised religious tourism - the Buddha spent his entire lifetime in India, and that's a goldmine we're sitting on. The Ramayana happened in India and Sri Lanka, so that's another gold mine right there (if we tie up with the Lankans).

 

[aneeshm]

Back when the caste system was more prevalent what would people have thought of someone who came from a region such as Europe or Japan and attempted to integrate in comparison to someone of middle or lower caste? Would this person have been thought to be outside the system or would a rating gradually be given?

We have successfully integrated every community who came to India except the Muslims. Sikhs, Christians (though their aggressive evangelism is causing trouble nowadays), Parsees, Jains, and Buddhists, all get along fabulously well in India. These people are part of another religion, and as such not part of the Hindu caste system, but they are not considered bad for not being part of the system.

They are allowed their own societal modes and means of expression, and we tend to keep out of it if it doesn't concern us.

How were the Parsees integrated when they fled Persia to escape the Muslims who destroyed their country? They were given citizenship by the local king on the condition that they adopt the local language. They did that, and now they're probably the MOST successful community in India. Being Parsee is synonymous with being affluent. And unlike the resentment Europe had towards the rich Jews, people in India love them for their contributions to the country's business.

The Jains are another community who is quite well-loved, for their peaceful nature and their business acumen.

What is the general opinion to supernatural and paranormal claims/events? How much more are such ideas popularly believed in India than in the West?

I don't really know, but it is true that belief in the paranormal is more common in India than in the West (assuming, of course, that the picture of the West I have is correct). But like in any other place, there are the believers, and there are the sceptics.

Do people believe that as India modernizes it will be able to create an Indianization similar to the "Westernization" that affected many cultures?

Most people who have tried to Westernise us failed completely.

Let me put it this way - when India's renaissance is finally finished, America's cultural influence today will look like chickenfeed by comparison.

 

[aneeshm]

How good is Indian Tea?

Indian tea is supposedly the best in the world. I wouldn't know, because I haven't tasted tea from outside India. One ones I did taste from within the country were, however, fantastic.

Indian tea which is mass-produced is fine if you want a quick pick-me-up, but if you want to taste fine Indian tea, then you'll have to order it from a source like this.

Do you oftenly feel annoyed that the word "Indian" is oftenly confused with the Native Americans? (In advance, I myself find it annoying because I call Indians (The ones from the subcontenent, Indians) and the Native Americans, "Native Americans" or their tribal name)

Yes, I do.

 

[GenMarshall]

Yes, I do.

I can tell you that you're not the only one

I have seen pictures of trains from India, How come there are some passenger cars with people litterly crawling on them as well as hanging out of windows?

 

[amadeus]

Someone was going to eventually ask it, so it might as well be me: what's with the dot?

 

[GenMarshall]

Someone was going to eventually ask it, so it might as well be me: what's with the dot?

I thought it had to do something with Hinduism and the symbolic third eye.

 

[aneeshm]

How in the world do people move up in the Indian Caste system?

Usually, entire castes move up the hierarchy. For example, during British rule, there was a caste of barbers, called "Nais". In one census, they numbered 500,000. In the next, they numbered only 5,000. What happened to them?

It was found that they had raised their caste, and from "Nais", they had become "Nyayi Brahmins". They thought that the census commissioner was the guy who "alotted" caste, and thus they raised themselves accordingly.

This happened earlier, too.

But it is impossible for an individual to rise, unless he has performed exceptional efforts.

For example, the great Maratha ruler, Shivaji, was from a nominally low caste, but his entire caste was raised up to the status of rulers because of his skill and bravery.

Valmiki, the composer of the oldest epic in human history, began life as an untouchable casteless person, but due to his intense meditation and askesis, is now considered a great sage and seer, and an example to the highest.

 

[aneeshm]

Someone was going to eventually ask it, so it might as well be me: what's with the dot?

I thought it had to do something with Hinduism and the symbolic third eye.

That is correct. It represents the spot of the third eye, or the adnya chakra, supposedly a link straight to the mind.

It is called a "bindi" in Hindi, or a"tikli" in Marathi.

 

[aneeshm]

I can tell you that you're not the only one

I have seen pictures of trains from India, How come there are some passenger cars with people litterly crawling on them as well as hanging out of windows?

Simple overpopulation and overcrowding. That has almost stopped now, due to competent railway administration.

 

[amadeus]

That is correct. It represents the spot of the third eye, or the adnya chakra, supposedly a link straight to the mind.

It is called a "bindi" in Hindi, or a"tikli" in Marathi.

Thanks CG, aneeshm; I never would have guessed that.

 

[Rambuchan]

That is a grossly untrue sterotype. I know many Pakistani's who don't hate Indians you can hardly say the vast majority of Pakistani's hate Indians. Indeed it is the polticans that create such feelings and foster it but the common man doesn;t care.

Quoted for truth, especially the last sentence.

 

[TheDervish]

Do you have much tourism in India?

I know aneeshm answered this already, but speaking from experience, yes, there are many tourists. A lot of Europeans go to Goa on their holidays. Goa has some great beaches and a lot of Portugese names and architecture, which makes things relatively familiar for the European tourist. A lot of "Hindu" (Varnashram Dharma is a better word) converts from other countries go to cities like Varanasi, Vrindavan, Tirupathi, Puri, etc.

I've been to Dehli, Mathura and Vrindavan, Mumbai, and various places in Andhra Pradesh.

I've recently seen some interesting commercials promoting tourism in India, mainly showcasing nature and exotic animals.