On Tuesday 09 Jun 2009 7:54:11 pm . wrote:
> subziwallah or the local bania's
> (shopkeepers?) would be deeply offended if i gave them money with the
> left hand.
Actually it is impolite to do that.
In the UK sniffing was impolite. Blowing your nose loudly was fine.
Stepping over the stretched legs of someone sitting down was normal in the UK.
But it is impolite in India.
"Raju, chai lao" meaning "Raju fetch tea!" is a perfectly polite way of asking
for tea in India - although it sounds more like a command to your dog in
English. The English equivalent is a circuitous and tentative, "Can I have a
cup of tea please?"
A lot of anglophone ("Macaulayite") Indians grow up with cultural confusion. I
had an alumni newsletter article about that too - but I'll leave that for
another time...
shiv
