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 |
|---|
| 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. |
Comments
HideHello! Hope you understand quite a lot of Hindi by now. So have you started listening to Hindi movie songs?
I listen to them all the time!
Namaste
How does one properly perform a namaste greeting when using a cane? What do elderly Indian people usually do? Does one hold the cane over one's arm and use both hands? What if one falls over?
For what it is worth, Sonu Nigam is one of my favorite singers as well, and to date, my favorite song is "Tumhi Dekho Naa" (I am experimenting with my Devanagari keyboard, so please do correct my spelling! :) Bahut Dhanyavaad!
Hi Vgaloosh,
Sonu Nigam is definitely one of the best contemporary singers, and my favourite too :wink:
Challa is quite nice, as is the album of that movie.
Cheers,
Udita
Team HindiPod101.com
Sonu Nigam is my favorite singer, but my favorite song is Challa from Jab Ta Hai Jaan.
Hello Harumi,
Indian culture is a bit conservative and so are the people. But things are changing a bit now specially in the metropolitan cities. But not so much though as you described about the Brazilian girls :sunglasses:
Cheers,
Neha
Team HindiPod101.com
If the Indians know the brazilian girls , they will be crazy . Hahaha !! Because we use short clothes , hugged , we kissed in the street . When one is more intimate , we kiss on the cheek .
Some of my pictures, for me is normal, my Indian friend is sexy. =/
Hi Angela,
I like Sonu Nigam too! I hope you learn Hindi soon so that you could enjoy more of his concerts and also his comments on other singers:laughing:
Cheers,
Neha
Team HindiPod101.com
I just went to a Sonu Nigam concert in Dallas last week. It was great! He was joking around (poking fun at other singers, I think), in Hindi, so I didn't catch most of what was going on there. But that is why I am here, so when I see him next time, I'll understand what he's saying!!
Hello Hilary,
I like these songs too!
I would also recommend few shahrukh khan movie songs. Few of his latest releases with good songs are Chennai Express, Jab tak hai jaan and R.A One.
Hope you enjoy listening:thumbsup:
Cheers,
Neha
Team HindiPod101.com
Yes. I love the Soundtrack to Om Shanti Om. I also like the song Chunari Chunari from Monsoon Wedding. What other songs or soundtracks can you recommend?