Favorite India Blogs:
Whatever You Do, Don’t Spoil Your Car

Date: Sunday 8/31/2003 6:30:35 AM

Subject: Favorite India Blogs: What ever you do, don't spoil your car

The mildly amusing story this week—this is one of the funnier India blogs, IMHO—comes from another American: Eric. He has been in India for a total of 6 years. He first came to India in college for two years, and then came back four years ago and stayed. He has married an Indian woman, and in large measure adopted the culture. He works at the call center.

We all went out for dinner: Eric, Alok--the Director of Training, Preeti, and Harvinder--the two instructional designers, and myself. Harvinder was driving, and he says that he hopes that he has enough gas to get to the restaurant. Preeti says: "I don't understand why you only put 100 rupees of fuel in your car each time; that is so inconvenient." He begins to give an explanation about the family budget, but before he can get too far into it, Eric chimes in and says: "It is to teach the car a lesson. You wouldn't want the car to get spoiled, you know. If you fill it up with gas, then it is going to expect a full tank of gas every time, and there is nothing worse than a spoiled car... Next thing you know, it is going to want oil and washer fluid and all those other things...No, better to give it a little gas at a time so that it doesn't get spoiled."

We all had a chuckle about this comment. Now to you it may not seem so very funny until you understand that is exactly the type of comment that you could expect to hear from someone in India when talking about their domestic help. If you give the cleaning lady too much, she is likely to get spoiled and want all kinds of things; if you give the driver too much time off, he will probably expect more holidays.

Now, as I am writing this, I am thinking that the whole story probably will grate your on the American sense of "all men created equal" and in the end, you may not find the story humorous at all, but rather a little twisted. I hope not, because these India blogs are only intended to iterate the stark differences between Indian and American culture.

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