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So after reading about some of the appalling views and perception of my country from my other thread that deals with the unification (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1054538.0) of my country; I decided to make this new thread much more fun and engaging.

Consider this a No holds barred - Express your perception of INDIA in ONE WORD.

Each person will have only 1 post and 1 word to describe. Keep it fun and light hearted and no there will be no fatwa issued or any shiv sena attack launched against you.


Why Politics & Society ?

This is a social experiment of sorts to understand the prevailing social perception of my country India, worldwide.

Why this experiment ?

I plan to create a few anti popular-media videos to challenge the mindset that most outsiders have developed about India.



(If you came here from my twitter handle & you are not on the forum this is a good opportunity for you to sign up & let your voice be heard)

aryan

Labyrinthine

Crowded

Non-democratic.

Tolerable.  ;D

I am of partial Indian origin, and I have traveled to India many times. Here is my perception about India.

Plus points:

1. Democracy
2. English-speaking (to some extent)
3. Nice weather (in Goa and Kerala)
4. Tasty food
5. Low cost of living

Negative points:

1. Crowded and filthy
2. High crime rate (esp. in North India)
3. Extreme air / water pollution
4. People are somewhat rude. They almost never use words such as "Thanks" or "Please". Also, most of them are hostile to foreigners.
5. A few of the services, such as broadband and electricity are expensive.


My opinion about India is more or less mixed. For me, I would rank India above Pakistan and Bangladesh, but below Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Rich girls always fall in love with poor boys ( Bollywood Movies ).

overpopulated.

I had a hard time choosing between that and assertive

@Bryant Coleman / @Outlander Try single words.

Single out the 1 feature / thing that instantly pops up in your head when you close your eyes & hear the word India.

Surreal.

traditional

I have not been there, so this is based on what little I know from others. I have in-laws somewhere in Andhra Pradesh. I would love to go there and freak them out. Imagine when some white guy from America shows up calling everyone "Auntie". lol

Actually pretty common here. But mostly for northern people. You are indeed the first anglo who I have seen has ties to people in AP.

Dirtysmellycrowdedtelemarketersusingtoomuchcurrypowder.

Of course, individuals should not be judged as part of a group "perception".

Misogyny.

Every time I hear of India, I remember all the 'surprise gangbangs' that happen there.

Bollywood

Vivid.

Bollywood... and thats something i go backwards away from when i get in contact. It makes me such a strange feeling of empathic embarrasment in my stomach. With the movies and their fans. Guess im not made for that.  ::)

poor

It's still my first tought, altough i know that there are poorer countries, and not all indian inhabitants are poor...

Cultural.. Surely India has best culture in the world.

I'm guessing you never heard of Hollywood.

Polarized.

There seems to be a large gap between extreme wealth and extreme poverty.  I did enjoy traveling through parts of India and it is a special place to me.

Dirty!

I wish someone said this on my face lol

Why, do you not agree?

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=is%20india%20dirty

I would strongly disagree and the strength of my disagreement would be equivalent to the momentum that my 'dhai kilo ka haath' would carry.

Regardless this is good stuff, so when the video does see daylight it can be exquisitely clear to you guys whats reality and whats not. Yes pollution exists here just like it exists anywhere else in the world. It just seems too much to outsiders because the population density is way high here.

Most Indians cant get their head around how westerners poop & never wash their butts.

Bollywood

I'll post a video instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imM6omziU_I#t=21

Raped

India is city of Raped
http://www.more.com/news/india-rape-capital-world
I'm just known that India is not safe for the women anymore  :(

Economy

(fastest growing economy in the world)

I am presently on a Tour to India and the one word is BEAUTIFUL
Taj Mahal is so beautiful  :D

Hinduism.
That's the first thing in my mind when I heard India

outsourcing

IT outsourcing growing really fast in India and and lot of guys from Europe/US loosing their jobs because of this..

Smells.

I don't know why, but every indian people i met on the road always reeks of onion and spices :-\ (maybe because of their cooking?)

But i'm a fan of curry tho ;D

Traffic

Crowded ? Well, you are right India is the 2nd largest population country in this world, next to China. But not to forget that India tremendous people, Who is well knowledgeable and most educated, who render their great minds to other parts of the world, they always being the core people for the development of foreign countries, such as U.S.A and Whole Gulf countries.

and how exactly are those two factors relevant to each other?  ::)

this is just negative consequence of sig. campaigns paying per post.. ::) ::)

Opportunistic   ;)

- Mayer Amschel

Haha Agreed, sharing knowledge, great people blah blah blah what that has to do with crowd ?


Besides India is not crowded, you'd know that if you stayed here, it might seem crowded to outsiders but its just like how most Indians look at foreigners home & see so much wasted space.

Anthill.

This is by far the most bizarre one.

I was thinking poor and crowded but both these things were mentioned, so my pick is: dangerous.

Touche..

Cow   ;)

lol, where did you get that from?

My father told me about this...

Or it's a joke that some people in India think cow is a holy creature because of their religion...

Its not a joke. Its equivalent to what some catholic christians consider bread & wine to be the flesh & blood of jesus.

The idea is Cow gives milk just like a mother gives milk and hence a cow is equivalent to mother. Its not equivalent to calling someone's mother as a cow or whatever thats BS.

In modern India there are people who enjoy beef but slaughter cows are different than the cows you'll find on the streets.

ah yes, a hindu guy told me about this. He said the same thing like what you said :D

Its a cultural thing. Most people experience a 'culture shock' and get scared easily and everyone knows that once you are afraid of something you start ostracizing it.

There are many animals that humans take milk from, and many animals that are more empathetic or intelligent than cows.  I do find it interesting that psyilocybin mushrooms grow from cow poop, which when consumed allows one to have a "mystical" experience.  Some religious folks would consider this a divine experience, for which the cow was the vessel to see god.

bollywood i guess

i think (but i could be wrong) that there is too much religion going on, there

It is socially acceptable to poop on the ground pretty much anywhere and it is the norm to wipe your butt with your bare hand.

Err, is the topic not clear enough to you? It said to describe india in one word only.

Exactly. I am here in India for sometime right now, and I find everywhere people who are too much religious. A lot of temples and lesser of churches. People are hard into their religion. Impressive

Interesting! Being an Indian and a brahmin I never knew about this, kindly educate me more about the misconceptions you foreigners have about my country and my religion. If anything, I'll get a good laugh out of it.

PS : In India the only animal milk that has been traditionally consumed is cow milk. Its not only about milk either, cows are the backbone of the Indian farmer, traditionally and even today cows and bullocks are used to plough the field. Like I said its a cultural thing.

as you said to express in one word..
the best word that i find to express india is  "secular"

This is pretty darn laughable. We dont poop on the ground lol anyone who told you that is a numbskull. And we wash our butt with our own hands, with the keyword being WASH as in with water, unlike most westerners who just wipe it with paper & forget about it, I wonder how you guys even get through the day.

No wonder you didnt understand the simple rule of using ONE WORD.

By the way, if you are seeking honest, useful input, then why limit feedback to only one word?
(I read part of the thread, sorry if this was already talked about...)

Maybe because he doesn't want stories in this thread and want it to be brief. Maybe he wants some adjectives that could be attached with India  ::)

Its a psychological thing. I am looking to get the most prevailing image that pops up in someone's head when they think of India. I think that is an honest approach. I dont want a Supergirl 6 minutes first look lol

You really catch the point, I gotcha what you think :D, yes me too disagree with the movies they make. So much so I have seen south Indian movies and found that Tea Boy fall in love with a Educated lady doctor, sorry Rich, educated lady doctor :D and will make that girl go crazy on him, the bugging drama part is that, Boy is very ugly and that girl is very beautiful.

Yet, it pinpoints outsiders perspective of India quite precisely. You see masses of hard working people in less, than cozy environment adding wealth little by little every day. When some of them perish, they are immediately replaced by readily available personell.

Well my background is Indian/Brahmin/Hindu as well, although I am not religious.  There is not a single Indian person that I have ever talked to that had a good explanation for the sacred cow aside from that being the conditioned environment they are used to, but maybe you'll be that person.

I understand the usefulness of cows, along with many other animals around the world.  So explain why the cow can't be killed and the rest can?

Maybe it would also help to say where you've traveled, to better understand your perspective.

Aryan ????? Then What about Dravidian ? Dravidian belongs to the southern part of India. The history of the southern part of India covers a span of over four thousand years during which the region saw the rise and fall of a number of dynasties and empires. The period of known history of the region begins with the Iron age (1200 BCE to 24 BCE) period until the 14th century CE. Dynasties of Satavahana, Chola, Chalukya, Pallava, Rashtrakuta, Kakatiya and Hoysala were at their peak during various periods of history.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-27775327

Yes and there are many great industrialists in the country which stands in the most richest person in the world and very highly qualified professionals who are working in united states and I have heard that 50 to 60% of employees in microsoft are Indians. I am not sure about the exact figures but maximum are indians that is for sure.

Poor but romantic  ;D

Elephant

just one word?

actually when you said india,theres so much preception passed through my mind,and they are:
-bollywood
-crowded
-have own english accents
-taj mahal

but if just only one word i choose:

-have own english accents

When people say Indian culture they primarily think of Hindus, and in Hindu culture animal sacrifice is a religious thing, in that context cows & bullocks are the most highly sacrificed livestock followed by sheep.
But when it comes to consumption except for some species of fish the Hindu culture as a religion prohibits the consumption of any animal be it a cow or a pig or a snake etc etc since you are a Brahmin I'm sure you're pretty much brought up with the notion that eating meat is 'unclean'.
So if you ask why the cow is more holier than a pig its simple, you cant farm with pig, you'd not drink a pig's milk neither would a pig give you useful biproducts (excreta) that can be reused as a fuel source (like the cowdung).
Hence the cow is considered 'sacred cow' only because they form the backbone of the Indian farmer like I said earlier.
 
As far as being religious is concerned, I am not a religious person, I hate religion and I am an athiest, but before I start hating something I make sure I know everything that there is to know about that particular thing.

Did you read the part where these newspapers say that 100% of these 53% of our population are in rural areas where there is no source of clean flowing water ? The people live in poorly built shacks ? Off course not because that image of a poor man's shack in the front page of a newspaper wont look good.

Yes those statistics are true but tagging it as filthy is not the most wisest of things to do.

haha I'll give you that one but if you heard me - an ex call center guy - you wouldnt find the accent.

Pollution

India well known as highest population on the world. Their urban planning is not well manage so itcan create the pollution that will affect into everyone's health.

No. India produces high pollution but certainly not a country producing highest pollution when countries like USA, China, Russia etc... lives and also urban planning is not the *real* problem of pollution.

Royal

lol not the highest haha the highest pollution in the world is produced by US and China. Do your research before you make your statements.

Mouthy.

You would call Tagore mouthy ? He was an Indian as well.

actually, you're partly wrong there. US has far less overall pollution than most nations. but have the highest air pollution (along with China, which soil pollution rate is just as dirty as their air AND water pollution rate).

filthy

Yeah, boy.

Human.

I haven't been raised religious or to subscribe to the culture.  I was born and raised in Canada in a very multicultural place, so it was pretty secular and I just never believed in religion so it had little significance to me.  I also didn't have any dietary restrictions so I ate a wide range of food, and being in a multicultural city, was lucky to have a lot of different types of cuisine locally.

I'm not asking why a cow is holier than a pig, but a pig is more intelligent and empathetic than a cow.  A mule or donkey is used for farming, and horses and camels are used for transportation, but none of those are sacred.  Something being "holy" is a subjective belief, not a reality.  Anything is holy if you believe it to be.  Santa Claus is real if you believe him to be as is an entity we refer to as god.  There is no point debating something that is based on a belief system.

If a cow being useful to a farmer is enough for you to believe why its sacred, then that's great, but not a whole lot of critical thinking has gone into that, and if you weren't from India, you wouldn't have that opinion at all.  In fact, if you weren't conditioned to think that the cow is sacred, you wouldn't come to that conclusion on your own.   Is a tractor holy?  Is fertilizer holy?  Again, where in the world have you traveled to?

In terms of importance, clean air and water, plankton which is the original food source for most sea life or plants which is the original food source for animals is much "holier" than a cow.

What is unique about cows though, is that psychedelics grow from cow shit.

You like make a bunch of irrelevant but just points you know that ?
You think a religion that was made thousands of years ago had the understanding of 'microbiology' 'fertilizers' and 'plankton' ? I might not have traveled to as many places as you have, you clearly 'have seen the world' and think everyone else is just chained to their homes, but I assure you thats not the case with me. I respect my culture and other's as well. I certainly do not say that there arent any other animals more intelligent than the good old cow but a religion made to control the masses a thousand years ago was anything but logical. Religion is not logical and the fact that you continue to refer me to be 'religious' is ignorant at best because I keep saying that I am not. I'm beginning to sense a pattern of behavior here, where you are getting confused between the concept of accepting a cultural norm and practicing that cultural norm.
Do I worship a cow ? No I'm an athiest but theists here do. Do I eat beef ? No but I'd like to, most people here wouldnt.

However, respecting this animal is cultural to me, I might not be religious but I am very cultural, if it is in my culture to touch the feet of an elder I'd do it, if it is in my culture to share psychedelics - as in opium - when meeting a distant family relative then I'd do it. (Some rajasthani tribes do it)
I wont certainly take it quietly if anyone insulted my culture no matter how stupid it may be. Like you said, what is holy and what is not is purely subjective to the individual and the environment he grew up in.

I am sure that in ancient India there were no mules doing the farming and certainly not horses - this isnt Europe, it was the good old cow and guess what? Its in our folklore! .. and religious legends, stories, literature etc etc. There are sentiments attached to this notion. I dont expect a foreigner to understand the sentiments at play here and should they try to understand it, the least they can do is respect our culture before they try to decrypt it.

So if you want to continue making irrelevant posts at least make sure you clarify what your point is ? I clearly fail to understand it here, what are you saying ? People here should ditch their religion because you dont find it appeasing ?

Bollywood.

That is the first thing that comes to mind to me.  Also, doctors.  A lot of doctors in the United States came from India.  At least that is the case in my area.

hinduism

This was the first thing that I thought of as well, pleased to see it appear so early on the list.

Good Luck with your project!

Thnx hopefully it will turnout okay.

Packed

I know this is not a discussion thread, but what's your view on castes, legendster?
I always found it shocking when I heard in the news that a boy and a girl were beaten or even killed by their relatives for hooking up. One would think we're living in a modern society, guess not.

Elephants.

My Gran spent quite some time living in India when she was young. She had a lot of elephant ornaments and paintings decorating her living room and all around her house. It is seen as a sacred animal I believe.

Rapey?


Seems like a big societal problem that has only recently come to international attention. I'm a big fan of India but they seriously need to shut that shit down before they're going to get any respect.

Never supported it, never will.

And isolated incidents do happen in remote rural areas, I was shocked to find out about a village that literally kidnapped every passing female & have them married to a villager. Why ? Because they killed all their girl children and women didnt enjoy the same social status as men. The village men were also 'infamous' dacoits so no neighboring villages would get involved with them either.

That is a part and parcel of what a culture is, you get the good with the bad and you support what you want to support.

As far as the reason for the caste system's existence, I see the need for it in ancient India with the whole efficient division of labor ideology but in practice it went from simple division of labor to serious human right violations pretty soon.
Someone who cleaned toilets would be not allowed to touch a normal man, which is absurd and is just one example of the atrocities of the caste system ~ contrary to popular belief we are the oldest civilizations with toilets and drainage systems.

As far as once in a blue moon incidents of caste violence, rest assured that there are far many more hidden facts involved in those situations.

Can you say the United States is free of rape ? Can you say that the UK is free of rape ?
Whatever the number of rape victims these countries have multiply it with the Indian Population factor coupled with lack of education.

Its a sad part of our lives, not just in India but the whole world. It will get better with time.

lol Why Dell ?

Its because of those elephant ornaments that these days there are less elephants and more elephant ornaments.
But yeah I agree those are some majestic creatures.

legendster... i think if some things in india arent perfect then you should admit it. When its true that many people are so poor that they dont have toilets and clean their ass with their left hand then be it. Thats the reality then. And its understandable that others might find this disgusting. I mean ok, in india the left hand is meant to be unclean, but still, even in developed countries no one wants to give a person a hand when you know the person didnt wash their hand after being on toilet. Simply because its unclean and risky because of viral infections.

The same with rape... im not sure if the problem is pushed way bigger than it is in reality but as far as i know that is a real problem in india. And its one where the society not even recognized it as a problem. So that demonstrations started to change this.

When india has problems then admit it. Problems can be changed, but only if they are recognized and changed, not by negating them.

Besides my first word i wrote i think the next thing that comes to mind is the somehow often funny way of speaking in other languages. And of course the look of indians, mostly males, since for some reason i dont remember seeing indian girls so often, though mans you see more often. Often as doctors.

lol after owning many dells all my life i can understand how someone might say dell.  The customer service centres seem to be consistantly be located in india.

outsource

India is losing the outsourcing business to countries such as the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Indians speak English with a very thick accent, which sometimes irritate the potential clients. Also, the tax rates in India are quite high, when compared to countries such as Philippines. IT firms in India end up paying a total tax of around 63% (including VAT, Corporate Tax, Labor Tax, Service Tax.etc).

Exploitation,  the same word is use to describe most other nations.

poor.

thats the first word who come to my mind when i read INDIAN, like in some other countrys, is sad.


agree, that one too.

I ask if you've traveled because you speak from an India-centric perspective.  Then you have arrogance sarcasm to anyone that posts something that you don't agree with.  You have an opinion as well as everyone else, and the sum of all these opinions are worth nothing.  You have picked a side and are determined to defend it, and at that point, rationale and reason are sacrificed.

How am I disrespecting the Indian culture?  I went to several countries in Asia and India was a great part of my trip, and a very enjoyable experience.  If you are seeing this as disrespect, then your interpretation of what I am writing is failing you.

The only assumption I have made is about you not traveling and it was in the form of a question.  You assumed I am a disrespectful foreigner that hates on culture and religion and it was in the form of an accusation.

Where did I say people should ditch their religion?  Please quote it.  I am all for civil liberties, meaning do whatever you want and believe whatever you want as long as it brings no harm to others.  The greatest threat to religion is the internet.

Also, opium is not a psychedelic, it's an opiate, which is quite the opposite.  Psychedelics are mind opening and opiates are mind numbing. 

Poverty and Stereotyped.

No irony intended.

only in a few area but i think like mumbay and newdelhi so modern

Outsourced- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsourced_%28TV_series%29

Loved that show and might have even had a dream where it was real and I was there because I wanted to be.
When I had time to listen to streaming radio, stations like Bombay Beats (http://www.1.fm/station/bombaybeats) were amongst my favorites. Jeepers, they're still playing the same songs.

I wonder why they cancelled that show.

dirty

Stinky.

"Population" is one word i can think of right now. It is the second most populous country in the world  :P

Amitabh Bachchan.
More popular than India itself.

And is fast catching up to be the most populated and built up country in the world, not good news for the environment.

My perception of india in one word is history the history of india amazes me and I enjoy learning the stories of the past ages.

India is a beautiful country, very beautiful nature, beautiful people, cultures and traditions.
India is also a country of great social inequality, hunger and poverty, which is regrettable.

According to me its a country with lot of potential. But that potential has been crushed by Indians itself. They never realize what they can accomplish. Though people say current Prime Minister of India is very powerful and popular, but I think it is all just a propaganda. He might be a good orator, but have not seen anything decisive in his policies.

Is it really possible to describe India in one word? As far as I know, it is neither developed as US, nor it is poor like Pakistan. It is not classy as England, nor it is rampant as some African country. There will be many words to describe it, Love-Hatred, Corrupt-Honest, Rich-Poor, Modern-Backward, Broad minded-narrow minded, can be some of examples.

monobrow

I cannot describe in one word. So i'll use some words to describe.

India is a playground of some politicians and a group of terrorist (RSS).


~Rude Boy

   
    kaleidoscopic

It is difficult to answer India in one word. The most cultural country I have ever seen. The most traditional culture and with the variety of festivals where each community celebrates different festivals whether it belongs to their community or not and the unity between different religions is the best thing about INDIA.

Diarrhea

The purpose of the thread is to get the single most prevailing image of India in the eyes of someone not from India.

Rudeboy / Torrentheaven I consider your input here legitimate because you both represented a single perception, though with more than a single word.

Hahah. Please do it and make a YouTube video. Viral idea

Wow, that's a lot of emotion in there.