Everyone is always wondering what are the major differences in culture between American Culture and Indian Culture.
I will explain the main differences that I have noticed anecdotally by living here for the past 5 years. Now, in explaining these differences, this is not to say that one way is better than the other. These are purely just my observations! There are pros and cons to each culture’s differences. I absolutely love India, and of course I Iove my home country of the USA. India and the USA have a great friendship currently and I hope this will always remain so. So, let us get started!
1. Individuality Vs. Community
In American society, we have this view that all things are possible through the power of your own individual effort. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Anything you want to do in life, you alone can decide on what is best for your own development and you, as an individual, have the power to control your own destiny. This applies to your career choice, your choice of friendships or a love partner. All your decisions will be your own responsibility as an individual. They teach us this from an extremely early age through a variety of ways. For example, in American culture, many children have the option to receive an allowance of money in exchange for completing chores around the house. This encourages the child to learn that if I complete a task that I may not enjoy at the moment, I will receive benefits later that I will enjoy (such as purchasing that new toy, phone or video). It is a very goal-oriented society. Make a sacrifice and expect a reward in the future for performing the sacrifice.
In India, the ability to integrate into the community is the determining factor of how well a person will flourish in Indian society. Families are strongly built ties that are extremely well organized as far as completing tasks around the house and in their larger communities. The community (family) is involved in all aspects of decision making and usually there is a hierarchy of who makes the big decisions. I would compare it to a small corporation where everyone has their own special part in keeping together the household. These ties are extremely important in all aspects of Indian life. Arranged marriages are becoming less common but are still widely practiced in rural areas. The family goes through a series of screenings to find the best suitable mate for their son or daughter. Western Ideology, such as love marriages, are becoming more common and there are pros and cons to both arranged marriages and love marriages (but I will not dig deeply into that controversial subject right now). Indian society is becoming more and more progressive in their views and some view this as bad, and others may see this as good.
Another point, you will really notice that children in India are taken care of by the community and not so much just by the biological parents. I remember sitting on trains at times listening to children screaming and playing across the train, and I’m thinking to myself, “Where in the world are the parents?!”. I soon realized that it was just unspoken law that the community was going to watch over the children, make sure they were safe and the community would correct them if they were to disobey the community rules. Anyway, there are so many examples of community being the focus in Indian society that I would not have time to be able to go through them all in this video. So, let us move on.
2. Value of Time
In the American society, we view time as an extremely valuable resource. Any disrespect of someone’s time is seen as a disrespect in the USA. Time is very linear in America, and I mean this mostly in a philosophical way. We see time as moving forward continuously without stopping in a linear fashion. This means we can plan goals according to the linear structure. This concept was important for capitalism to flourish. Could you imagine if you scheduled an important company meeting regarding this quarter’s profits or losses and half your employees show up whenever they feel the desire to!? Capitalism just would not be able to work! So, we developed a system that allows everyone to respect time as you would respect someone’s money. We have things to do in the USA and they are all planned out! Do not f@$k with my schedule! There is a saying in the United States that goes “If you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late!”. Time is an important concept in the United States.
In India, time is much more cyclical, as in, it does not represent such a strict linear flow. It is much more flexible in nature. There is nothing wrong with this way of valuing time, but it does not bode well for capitalism! When you are trying to make business plans or plans with friends based around a schedule, make sure you set plenty of buffer room for late arrivals! Sometimes, it is nice to have a more relaxed attitude about time. It is much less stressful at times depending on the situation! This cyclical time structure stems from the Hindu philosophy that time, in its fundamental nature, is cyclical. We are constantly going through cycles and disappearing and reappearing into these cycles for all of infinity. So, time really is just a much more laid back concept in India. I find it to be great at times!
3. Personal Space
Americans have something called a “personal bubble” this personal bubble is about 1 meter in circumference around a person. In the USA, we know not to enter someone’s “personal bubble”. If you were to enter this personal bubble without permission, you would cause the person extreme discomfort and most likely cause them to step back another half meter from you, or if they are confrontational, they will just tell you that you need to step back. In the USA, if you do not have consent to enter someone’s space, DO NOT do it. It is a huge societal no-no in the USA, and you will find out quickly! You do not touch anyone or enter their space without first figuring out either through unspoken social cues, or through verbal dialogue that it is ok to proceed. It is also inappropriate to stare in the USA! People will assume you are trying to start a confrontation and usually respond with, “What the f@$k are you looking? Do we have a problem”?
In India, there is NO such thing as a personal bubble, there is no such thing as a personal space. Don’t expect one! Staring is NOT considered rude; it is merely a display of curiosity. If you are visiting India and you are uncomfortable with being stared at, the best thing you can do is look at their feet. (This trick works extremely well because they become self-conscious about what YOU are considering to be wrong with their feet).
If they consider you a friend, (same sex) prepare to be touched (in a friendly way), prepare to hold hands, prepare to have more physical contact in social situations. This is totally normal and non-threatening. It is extremely common to see men holding hands with each other in the streets. This does not mean ANYTHING other than brotherly love for each other. It absolutely does not mean they are lovers, but it is their way of showing that they genuinely care about this person. I remember when I would walk in the streets with my male friends and they would just grab my hand, and I’ll admit it felt awkward at first, but after a while I felt it to be extremely sweet. It is just a kind gesture of friendship.
I once was riding on a train and I had just a general ticket, which means no fancy sort of ticket. You can just jump on and hopefully you find a nice seat and a place to sleep. Well, I was sleeping, and an older gentleman woke me up and asked if he could sleep on the same bench as me. Now keep in mind, this bench barely fits me. So, me, trying to be understanding that he needed a place to sleep, said “sure Prabhu ji”, but how are we going to do this? He directed me in such a way that it seemed like he was an expert in using every amount of space possible to be used, and it worked. We slept butt to butt on this small little bench the whole night. I guess this kind of brings me back to the whole community aspect of India. You have a duty as a citizen to help the community.
Conclusion
There are many more differences between Indian and American Culture, but we have more similarities than we do differences! I covered the most prominent ones that you would immediately notice if you were to travel to India. Neither one is better than the other! I have to say that Indians treat their foreign guests MUCH MORE respectfully than Americans treat their foreign guests. Anyway, I will not get too far into this dialogue. I will be starting a cultural war in the comment section of this video. Indian culture is incredibly beautiful and American culture is wonderful too! So please my friends! The USA considers India to be a great friend and ally! Let us keep it this way!
Namaste!
Do you have any stories of your times in India? What did you find noteworthy about the culture versus your own home culture? Please share with us in the comments below!