India GOTraditions and Restrictions
Indians are patient with guests. Forget every word of Hindi, mix up two gods, and you will be forgiven. Disrespect is another matter. This deck shows where the line runs.
Shoes off
At temple doors, in homes, often in shops
A heap of shoes by the door means yours join it.
Temples, mosques, homes: always. The Taj Mahal and ashrams: expected.
Malls, offices, street cafes: keep them on.
Slip-ons save you from re-lacing ten times a day
The left hand
One hand for food and money, the other for everything else
The left hand is for washing, and everyone knows it.
Both hands at once is the most respectful of all.
Right hand: Eat, Pay, Give and take, Shake hands
Left hand: The left hand does none of this
Mind your feet
The rudest thing you can point
Never aim your soles at a person or a shrine.
Do not nudge or move anything with a foot, not even your own bag.
Brushed someone with your foot? Apologise straight away.
What to call people
A country of brothers, sisters, uncles and aunties
Age and rank matter here.
Nobody interrupts an elder or argues with one in public.
Bhaiya: brother: for a waiter, a driver, a shopkeeper
Didi: elder sister: for a woman a little older than you
Uncle / Aunty: for anyone older, strangers included: it is a courtesy
Sir / Madam: at the police station, the bank, any office
Namaste
The greeting that is never wrong
Palms together at your chest, a small bow, and say namaste, or namaskar.
Shaking hands with men is normal in cities.
With a woman, wait for her to offer her hand first.
Personal space
Queues press close. Nobody is being rude
Crowds and jostling are simply part of the day.
Between men, that closeness is normal.
For women it is different: a stranger pressing in is not normal here either. Move away.
Affection in public
Fine in Goa, frowned on in a village
Two men strolling hand in hand are friends, nothing more.
A man hugging a woman in public is the awkward one.
Goa, Mumbai, Bengaluru: hands and hugs are fine, kissing is not
Small towns: even holding hands draws stares
Villages: keep it to yourselves entirely
The cow is always right
On the highway. In the shop. Everywhere
Drive around her. No horn, no shooing.
Cow slaughter is illegal in most states; hitting one can land you in court.
If it happens, stay in the car and call 112.
Monkeys
Adorable only from a distance
No eye contact, no smiling: bared teeth mean a challenge.
Plastic bags, fruit and glasses get snatched, even from a moving rickshaw.
Do not feed them, and stay away from the babies. A bite means a trip for rabies shots.
A light stick in hand keeps them at bay
A gecko on the ceiling
Your roommate, not a problem
Harmless, and it eats the mosquitoes. Leave it alone.
Keep food covered.
Ahimsa, non-violence, runs deep here: nothing living gets hurt, not even a branch.
At the temple door
Six things before you go in
Never take another pair, even if yours has gone.
Skip meat the day before, and shower before you go.
- Shoes off at the entrance; a pricey pair goes in the cloakroom
- Shoulders and knees covered
- Head covered if asked; they will hand you a scarf
- No photos of the altar without permission
- Leather stays outside the sanctum: belt, wallet
- Leave a donation, even ten rupees
Temple dress code
Stricter the further south you go
Stalls outside any big temple sell the kit: a kurta pyjama for 300–500 rupees, a dupatta for 100–200.
Women: Shoulders and knees covered; Nothing tight; In the south: sari or churidar
Men: Long trousers; Shorts only in Goa, and not everywhere; Southern temples may ask you to take your shirt off
Books are sacred
Not only in the temple
A book is Saraswati herself: never on the floor, never touched with a foot.
Dropped one? Touch it with your right hand, then your forehead.
No alcohol or tobacco anywhere holy.
Where you cannot go in
Four temples admit Hindus only
Everywhere, the inner sanctum is for priests alone.
In doubt, read the sign at the gate or ask a priest.
Jagannath, Puri:
Padmanabhaswamy, Trivandrum: strict dress code even for devotees
Lingaraj, Bhubaneswar:
Guruvayur, Kerala:
Prasad
Blessed food. It is never refused
Take it with the right hand, or both.
Do not refuse it and do not throw it away.
Can’t eat it? Pass it quietly to someone, or take it with you.
Reading the menu
Green dot, red dot
The dot on any packet says it too: green for veg, red for non-veg.
Veg: vegetarian, dairy included
Non-veg: meat, fish, eggs
Pure veg: no eggs, and often no onion or garlic
Jain: no root vegetables either
Beef
Not eaten here. One rule for the whole country
To Hindus the cow is sacred. In most states, slaughtering cows is against the law.
Beef does appear on menus in Goa, Kerala and the northeast.
Holy towns like Haridwar, Pushkar and Vrindavan are vegetarian through and through: no meat of any kind.
Eating with your hand
Try it at least once
Right hand only, fingertips only; the palm stays clean.
Gather the rice into a ball and push it in with your thumb.
Nobody minds if you ask for a spoon. The attempt is what wins people over.
What to wear
Dress the local way and the stares stop
Harassment is always on the harasser. Never on the outfit.
Big cities: jeans, T-shirts, knee-length dresses; in bars, almost anything
Small towns: a kurta with leggings, a long skirt, a dupatta in your bag
Beaches: Goa: a bikini is fine. Kerala: cover up more. Gujarat: local women swim in saris
If you are harassed
Two numbers to keep
Harassment is a crime under Indian law, with prison terms behind it.
Ask for a female police officer if you prefer.
With men you don’t know, be polite but reserved, and trust your gut.
112: the all-in-one emergency number
1091: the women’s helpline
Pockets and passport
A safe country. With pickpockets
Temple crowds, buses, bazaars: money goes in an inside pocket or a money belt.
Passport in the hotel safe; carry a copy.
Valuables out of sight, never left alone.
Bathing in the Ganges
A rite, not a swim
No swimwear: loose clothes that stay opaque when wet.
At the water’s edge: scoop, pour it back, sprinkle your head, then step in.
No soap, no wringing clothes into the river. The current is strong: stay by the steps, never dive. And don’t drink it.
A few drops on your head count as respect too
A selfie with you
Strangers will ask. It is meant kindly
For them it is a small event: meeting someone from far away.
Say yes, or say “Sorry, no photo”.
Either answer is fine.
Fine in Goa, trouble in Varanasi
The rules change with the state
Goa: almost anything goes: alcohol, bikinis, beef
Kerala: easy-going; beef and alcohol are everywhere
The Northeast: a culture of its own; beef and pork are everyday food
Uttar Pradesh: conservative, especially in the holy cities, though meat and alcohol are not banned
Gujarat: a dry state (tourists can get a permit) with a deeply vegetarian food culture
Bihar: a dry state
If you slip up
Three steps that fix almost anything
Smile.
Fold your palms in namaste.
Say “Sorry, I didn’t know.” You will be forgiven, and then shown how it is done.
The golden rule
Sincerity beats perfection
A badly tied sari or a mixed-up god: forgiven.
Arrogance, or photographing poverty like a zoo: not.
You are a guest in a civilisation thousands of years old. Be a guest.