Comments on: namaste, fatty

By: Juno41

Juno41 — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:49:29 +0000

maybe vish is unaware of the increasing rates of anorexia and bulimia among young girls, the high rates of suicide and depression in many parts of India..the only difference is that in India, while it is true that we share perhaps too much of our private lives with our family and friends, psychiatric illness is perhaps associated with a greater taboo than sexually transmitted disease…explaining our unfortunate and often brutal honesty away by saying it contributes to a more open environment is ignoring the fact that it contributes to a multitude of social pressures, particularly on Indian women!

By: robertasia

robertasia — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:47:29 +0000

That means you feel really satisfied with your life

By: ke

ke — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:55:02 +0000

Interesting. An Indian once asked me how much I was getting paid and I was shocked by the question. When I tried to politely skirt around the issue, she asked me again and this time more directly like this:
No! I meant how much are they paying you?!
It was very strange to say the least. I think she just wanted to make sure that she was not being under paid relative to everyone else, but eekkk!

By: Pooj

Pooj — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:00:51 +0000

Indians are not polite (thank god for that!).

I lived in London for 2 years and was suffocated by the fake politeness.

And thank god! we are not Americans. The lady who got commented on, in the U.S would have slaped a sexual haressment case on the male and won it as well! How ridiculous is that. That’s their idea of free expression

An honest, open-minded society any day comparatively!

By: Vish

Vish — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:30:46 +0000

I’m from Delhi but living in Texas now. I think the no-holds-barred style of conversation in India comes across as crude to people but it can be adapted-to with the realization that (a) Indians have different notions of privacy and tendency of sharing everything – good or bad (you’ll see that everyone is out of their home on all the festivals in India, opposite of what you see in the US) and people will give you a helping hand too when you least expect it. (b) privacy is not coveted in India, rather sometimes perceived as a punishment rather than a privilege (when I was in college the favorite way of hazing was social ostracism – no one would talk or share anything with you) (c) there are some benefits to this share-all style: people in India have very low incidence of psychological depression since they don’t/can’t keep anything to themselves. Of course, the rat race is changing that but the kinds of stress are different.

By: Shefaly

Shefaly — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:13:44 +0000

The prevalence of high BP, diabetes and cardiac problems would make you think people take their weight – esp central spread – seriously. Not until an ‘event’ happens, of course… Then we all suddenly turn very chaste.

By: Nita

Nita — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:37:01 +0000

We Indians connect easily. How much do you earn is a common question as also is when did you get your teeth fixed. It’s not considered impolite. In fact political correctness overall has reached only the snooty upper classes in India.
In any case being plump is considered beautiful in India. Well, not in the snooty crowd.

By: sefahey

sefahey — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:12:30 +0000

What a great post! Having moved to Nicaragua in January, both my husband and I have had many similar experiences. During our first week here, both women in the office told us that we looked much fatter than the photos they had seen of us. My jaw nearly fell to the ground and I was close to tears, having skirted around the issue of weight for 30 years in the States. However, after a week or two here in San Juan, I realized that people are simply more straightforward and say what they think and feel – something I have come to find quite refreshing. Cheers to being honest, I suppose!

By: anang

anang — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:28:00 +0000

That’s just the delhi style Dave. You’ll get used to it. I’ve got a cousin who’s constantly surprised and sometimes annoyed by the deluge of thank yous and hi how are yous she gets from americans (she just moved here from New Delhi). Its not even a brutally honest thing, I’d say its more like an abbot and costello back and forth banter that comes from years of living in Delhi. We’re not being rude.
Think Alec Baldwin and Mahky Mahk in The Depahted but less vulgar.
Massages? Better prepare your back for spine jarring slaps from big punjabi dudes. Living in Delhi = Frequent violation of your territorial bubble.

By: dr_koolaimzz

dr_koolaimzz — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:06:02 +0000

Post more dammit!?
People stuck in their boring lives in the States are living vicariously through you!
Namaste…slightly balding chubby white guy!
Er, kidding!