Etiquette Tips
✓ | Familiarize yourself with religious holidays and customs. Wish your colleagues Happy Diwali, Happy Pongal, or Id Mubarak at the appropriate times. |
✓ | Use only the right hand to pick up, offer, or receive things. Indians consider the left hand not as “pure” as the right. |
✓ | Don’t worry about the caste system. The caste system doesn’t impact how Westerners interact with locals. Ignoring it and treating people as equals, just as you always do, is fine. |
✓ | Greet traditional Indians with a joined palms namaste. Namaste means “I bow to the Divine in you.” See Chapter 15 for an illustration. |
✓ | Accept hospitality graciously. Athithi devo bhava means “the guest is god,” and it’s an important tenet of Indian culture, so be prepared to be treated well and reciprocate hospitality. |
Get Doing Business in India For Dummies® now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.