Indian Culture vs American Culture - Essay Example

Indian culture Vs American culture "Indian culture provides an instructive contrast to American cultural patterns" (Jain Nemi: 89, 1996 As each of these cultures shows various assumptions, beliefs, values and practices, one can see various norms that overlap or contradict each other. While the Indian culture is strongly influenced by its age old thinking and wisdom of over 4000 years, the American culture is relatively new, fresh and appealing. The differences and similarities are thus seen to exist in various religions followed, social customs and the concept of religion. Also, while the Western culture is more verbal in communications, the Asian and Indian culture inclines more on non verbal communications. It is only when we understand the differences and similarities between the cultures of the two nations; we can better understand why people behave as they normally do. In the below paragraphs, the essay tries to examine the contrasts and similarities Meaning of color People respond to colors in different ways and this greatly has to do with the cultural backgrounds they are from. In the American culture, black signifies death and mourning. Worn mainly due to the weather conditions, it also refers to formality and sophistication that reflects in dressing. However in the Indian culture, black signifies mourning, evil influences and penance. In certain cultures, completely black attires are worn by men for a chosen number of days in form of penance. White in the US signifies purity and life. However in India, the meanings are contradictory and white suggests peace, marriage and mourning all at once. In Southern part of India, women wear traditional white saris on the day of the wedding. In times of someone's death, white is also seen to be worn by widows. Blue color refers to trust and stability in American culture while in India it refers to calmness. Besides individual colors, combinations also have diverse meanings in the two religions. Red, white and blue remind Americans of the native flag and convey patriotism while in India the same patriotism comes through saffron, white and green (colors of the Indian national flag). The colors red and green represent prosperity and marriage in India and refer to Christmas in America. Red and yellow are considered auspicious in India as they represent kumkum2 and turmeric, two ingredients imperative for every Indian wedding. However in America, colors of red, orange and yellow signify warmth and thanksgiving. Religions The freedom of religion is seen to be prevalent and a common point between the diverse cultures of India and America. In India, the major religious communities include Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis. Among all religions, Hinduism is most prevalent as the 'religion of India' (Ellwood, 1992) with its origin dating to over 4000 years ago. Over 672.6 million people in India are Hindus and they believe in 330 million different Gods, Goddesses and incarnations. Thousands of beautiful temples have been constructed for these Gods and each day of the week is dedicated to a special God. Mosques, churches and gurudwaras (holy places for Sikhs) coexist in all cities and people from different religions go to their respective places of worship. In India religion plays an important role for many people in taking decisions about their personal lives, professional lives, and even food habits. For example, in many parts of South India, families do not eat onion and garlic, as their religion dominates so. While in certain fasts certain food items and vegetables are avoided, there are various seasons where certain food items are considered to be good for consumption. Yagnas3 are a popular means to appease the Gods and are conducted for varied purposes like for getting rain during drought, attaining prosperity or for winning a cricket match. While no specific religion is imposed on people, many follow the religion of their forefathers. In many cases people are seen to convert to another religion (usually from Hinduism to Christianity) for their personal reasons, external influences or marriage. While like India, US allows freedom for religion, unlike India, US does not have a question in its census regarding a person's religion. However surveys4 on religious preferences, reflected that the most prevalent religions in order of preference were Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Unitarian Universalist, Wiccan/Pagan/Druid, spiritualist, Native American religion and Bahai. There is no specific state religion and people are free to choose the religion they wish to belong to. Social customs Social customs of the two nations are diverse and understanding them can give a good idea of how people behave. In India, the traditional form of greeting is by joining hands in 'namaste'. This is followed by traditionally asking people 'how they are doing', in their native language or in English. In more formal settings or business meetings, men usually shake hands while women nod their heads and smile. Women in India show more reluctance in shaking hands with people of the opposite sex. "Hello!" or "Hi!" are the common informal greetings in America. In formal settings, men and women usually shake hands when they meet. They greet each other with formal greetings like, "How do you do", "Good Morning" and "Good Afternoon". While people often ask, "How are you doing" in America, many often do not expect a response in return (American values, assumptions and social customs, p4). However in India, not giving a response to the question may be considered rude. In India, social invitations for functions are usually conveyed on phone along with invitation cards. People are not expected to respond to the invitations. However in America, people are expected to respond to invitations as soon as possible. Thank you is commonly used in US, even for small favors done by a person who is just doing his job. While thank you is used in India also, over usage is considered as artificial behavior. Men and women in India do not mix as freely as in America. While they do study together and work together, they still maintain a distance. Men and women seldom shake hands in India and usually greet each other with Hello or a nod. In America however, men and women associate more freely with each other. Family life and relationships The family is the basic and most important social unit in India. Through history the trend of families in India has comprised of grandparents, cousins, parents and children. However, with changing times, families in India have become more nuclear and often comprise of parents and children only. The values of the family are important and it decides on the behavior, attitude, bringing up and career of the children. Finally the family offers an emotional support system for individual members. The informal head of a family is the father and his consent is usually sought by children regarding all large and small decisions. Once children grow up they move out of the home only if their job needs relocation or they get married. While it is imperative that the daughter leaves home to live with her husband after marriage, it is not necessary that the son leaves home. In America however, individualism (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, 1985: 142) is given more emphasis as compared to social relationships. Thus families play a much smaller role than in India. These families are also nuclear, comprising of parents and two children. The decisions of children are more independent and families have little interference, advising only when they are asked to. The children usually move out of the home and begin living on their own from the age of 21 onwards. Clothing In India, the most popular form of clothing for women is the traditional sari, designs and materials of which change depending upon the occasion. For example, women may opt for cotton saris to work, while heavy silks are usually worn during weddings. A long kurta with a fluffy cotton pant (known as salwaar) is another traditional attire commonly worn to work. Due to growing western influences, many Indians today are also opting for informal jeans, or formal trousers and shirts. Men usually wear trousers and shirt to work. At informal occasions Indian men can be seen in tee shirts-jeans or kurtas and dhotis. Informal dressing in America mainly comprises of jeans and tee shirts. Formal dressing on the other hand comprises of suits, mainly in black and blue. Women usually wear trousers or skirts. While it is acceptable to wear deep necklines and short clothes for women in America, they are considered lewd in India. Verbal and non verbal communications Honesty and frankness are important elements of the American culture and this reflects in their verbal communication also. Many Americans are seen to discuss issues in conversation that are considered embarrassing by people of other cultures. American conversations are often frank and to the point, a trait that often appears like rudeness to many. The outcome of the communication is more important than the process (June Ock Yum, 1996). They are quick to make a point and do not waste time on polite social talk as in India. Americans also tend to ask many questions, that often sound elementary or uninformed. However, this is only their genuinity in learning about other cultures. Americans are also seen to freely use superlatives and exclaim, its beautiful, its wonderful etc. A direct and firm no is the way disapproval is given in America. In India however, non verbal communication plays a more important role than verbal communication. Thus polite social talk is the norm and if people speak to the point it is often considered rude. Communication is perceived to be an infinite interpretive process (Cheng, 1987) and it is considered important to engage in small talk before initiating business. Superlatives are not used much, unless Indians mean it. Questions are not very commonly asked. In India, people avoid saying "No" and may usually respond with 'let me give it some more thought' or 'let me see'. Saying a direct 'no' is considered rude in India. Concept of time Punctuality is a very important feature in American society and people are expected to be on time for formal occasions. If they are going to get late, many prefer to inform the other party of their delay. Social functions like theatres and lectures begin sharp on time and it is considered courteous to reach the venue at the allotted time. However timing for parties and informal gatherings is more relaxed and if the invite is for 8:00pm people may go to the party even as late as 10:00 pm. Though punctuality is liked in India, it is not strictly followed. Social functions usually begin an hour later than the allotted time and it is not rude to reach late. Business meetings also begin a little later than the allotted time as members wait for others to reach the venue. A final word The above discussion clearly indicates that the cultures of North America and India have something distinct and interesting to teach us. Thus while Indian culture gives a higher emphasis on social relationships, in America individualism is respected and emphasized. While in America, people are direct in communication; in India small talk is important at every social occasion. Each culture shows its own orientations and these have far reaching influences on the meshwork of how the society operates. For example, it has been suggested that modern individualism in America has progressed so much that most Americans are trapped by the language of individualism and have lost the ability to articulate their own need to get involved (Bellah et al, 1985). Indian cultures also show great influence of the West and it seems inevitable that the nation will soon have an increasing number of people without traditional relationships (June Ock Yum, 1996). References used Samovar and Porter (1996), Intercultural communication, Wadsworth publishing, http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/color2.htm http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html American values, assumptions and social customs, http://72.14.235.104/searchq=cache:avEaOw-80Z4J:www.sfsu.edu/oip/Handbook/AmericanValues.pdf+social+customs+in+America&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=in, Accessed 6th August, 2007 Bellah, R., Madsen R, Sullivan W, Swidler A and Tipton S (1985), Habits of the Heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. New York: Harper and Row. Ellwood, RS (1992), Many people, many faiths, 4th Ed, Prentice Hall Read More