Learn about the top five most important pop culture icons in India
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Manasi: [Namaste hindipod101.com mein swagat hai] |
| Maya: Welcome back to our all about Hindi, Lesson 10. Top five Hindi Do’s and Don’ts. |
| Manasi: [Namaste,lesson 10 mein aapka swagat hai.] |
| Maya: In this lesson, we bring you Indian culture. |
| Manasi: That’s right. The Do’s and Don’ts in India. |
| Maya: That’s going to be interesting. |
| Manasi: Well, some foreigners especially westerners may find it difficult to navigate many cultural norms of Indian culture. |
| Maya: I know but how can we start? |
| Manasi: Well I will introduce five Do’s and five Don’ts in Indian culture. How about that? |
| Maya: Okay let’s go. |
Lesson focus |
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| Manasi: Well first is smile. |
| Maya: Indians smile under any kind of situation to say hello or thank you, to make a request, to apologize, to smooth over bad feelings or to show embarrassment. |
| Manasi: Exactly. Only fools lose their temper in public. |
| Maya: And the second Do is |
| Manasi: Do pick up food and eat with your right hand. |
| Maya: Yes. |
| Manasi: Because the use of the left hand is considered improper. |
| Maya: Oh I see and the next Do is |
| Manasi: Dress properly when visiting a temple. |
| Maya: You shouldn’t wear shorts or tank tops. |
| Manasi: When visiting the most famous tourist attractions like temples, mosque, [darga] or any other religious place, you should dress properly. Long trousers or skirts are fine. |
| Maya: Next on the list is. |
| Manasi: Namaste! |
| Maya: Can you tell us again how to do that? |
| Manasi: Definitely. Namaste is the way that Indians greet people by pressing their palms together and holding them close to the chest or face and bow down. |
| Maya: How about in a business situation? If my partner is Indian, should I say namaste or shake hands? |
| Manasi: I think it would be nicer if you say namaste. |
| Maya: Okay got it. Last Do for today is |
| Manasi: Do take your shoes off before entering Indian houses and especially religious places like temples and mosques. |
| Maya: Yes. I think this one is similar to many Asian cultures where we take off our shoes before entering houses or temples. Now let’s move on to the don’ts. |
| Manasi: Well, the first don’t is, don’t touch Indian women without permission. |
| Maya: Why? Are they very conservative? |
| Manasi: Well frankly speaking, Indian society nowadays is much more like western society but still there are many people who are very conservative. |
| Maya: Oh I see! |
| Manasi: Yeah and it’s very impolite or improper to touch, hug, or kiss Indian females especially at the workplace. |
| Maya: The next don’t is |
| Manasi: Don’t show affection in public. |
| Maya: Similar to the first point, Indians are still often conservative. Holding hands is okay but try to avoid doing so in the temple area. |
| Manasi: Exactly. We really feel awkward when we see foreigners kiss on the street. |
| Maya: Oh I will keep that in mind and the third don’t is |
| Manasi: Don’t place your feet on the table or point at anything with your feet. |
| Maya: And don’t step over or touch anyone with your feet. |
| Manasi: Yeah that’s because Indians believe that feet are unclean and we apologize if we touch anyone with our feet accidentally. |
| Maya: The next don’t is opposite to the previous one. It’s about fingers. |
| Manasi: Yeah. Don’t point your fingers at anyone. |
| Maya: Indians believe that is the sign of annoyance and in case, we didn’t mean to point at somebody, what should we do? |
| Manasi: Well in that case, it’s just fine. You can apologize to that person. |
| Maya: And finally, the last don’t for the lesson is |
| Manasi: Don’t be upset if someone asks you about your age, occupation or marital status. |
| Manasi: I guess this is quite rude in some cultures. |
| Maya: I know but it is common for Indians to ask those questions even in the first meeting. |
Outro |
| Manasi: Oh I see. This is quite different though. Well I hope you all enjoyed this lesson? |
| Maya: Listeners, are you looking for a cheat sheet to memorizing Hindi vocabulary. Have you checked out our video vocab series. These themed video lessons combine visual cues with the voices of native speakers. |
| Manasi: Just another effective method of learning and retaining thousands of vocabulary words. |
| Maya: Go to hindipod101.com |
| Manasi: Click on the video lessons tab |
| Maya: And hit play. |
| Manasi: It’s that easy. |
| Maya: But don’t take our word for it. |
| Manasi: Try it out for yourself at hindipod101.com |
| Maya: Until next time. |
| Manasi: [fir milenge] Goodbye. |
| Maya: Goodbye. |
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