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https://www.thoughtco.com/the-concept-of-time-1770059
Hinduism has a very different releationship with time than the traditional Western, linear tradition. Much of Hinduism relates to a circular view of time and life overall, as seen in the various reincarnations of the main Hindu gods, and of the cycle of moksha (reincarnation). Time in Hinduism is cyclical and constantly revolves around creation and destruction. Everything is timeless and exists simultaneously. This all gets a little more metaphysical than the average Western understanding of time, though! On a more literal note, it is possible to just tell time in a normal conversation without getting into deep philosophical conversations. The Sanskrit way of telling time involves saying the number and then adding “vaadanum” to it to mean “o’clock”. For example, ekam is 1 and ekavaadanam is 1 o’clock. The ‘m’ is dropped because this is initially nasalized and it follows the rules of sandhi, which basically mean adding/dropping letters with combinations to be easier to say. There’s a lot of sandhi rules but lets not get into that now!
There tend to be more estimations in time and people tend to be less strict about being on time in modern Indian culture, from what I’ve experienced/read about. For example I’ve found that people are more likely to round the time to the nearest half hour or quarter hour than an American or European. So they would round 5:10 to 5 whereas a Westerner might be more likely to give the precise minutes. There’s also less of an obsession with being precisely on time or early and it’s much more acceptable to be late without worrying about giving a grandiose excuse. In Nepal, I found that people often blamed traffic for being even an hour or two late, even if they were walking there! I don’t know how much this plays into the nonlinear concepts of time, but I suspect it has something to do with it.
Comments
@Sneha Great response! I really do think South Asians live in a different time frame than a lot of Westerners. They have the same thing in Nepal of "Nepali Time". One time we were having a party for our homestay families, so we told them to come two hours before we actually wanted the party to start since we knew they would all be that late! I can see how business meetings could get frustrating for some impatient Westerners.
I like that you explored the relationships with time in both Hinduism and Western culture, especially the more philosophical meaning of time in relation to creation and destruction in Hinduism. My parents practice Hinduism and I don't know as much about the religion as I probably should, so it's very interesting to read your posts and to have heard your final presentation. I have noticed among my family and the South Asian community I am part of here at UR and at home that time is very fluid. Being punctual is not a priority, and especially among Indians there is an ongoing joke of "Indian Standard Time" because we run on our own schedule.