It is quite interesting to examine attitudes about family in Indian culture. In India, many young people live in multigenerational families, because the sense of respect towards the elderly is manifested by having the elderly live with their children/grandchildren as time passes. There is also a very strong sense of reverence for the elderly -- often, children will make a gesture similar to touching the elderly's feet as a sign of respect. Some Indian families in the US have kept these traditions, but others do not continue with these traditions.
Linguistically, when you greet a relative that is older than you, you must use the formal pronoun -- "aap" in Hindi, and the formal version of the verbs as well.
There is also a large emphasis placed on having close family ties with relatives. Unlike English, where "aunt" or "uncle" can mean any one of your aunts or uncles, Hindi has specific words denoting which aunt or which uncle. It's interesting because it is definitely a lot to remember (like the words for dad's older brother and dad's younger brother are different...despite the fact that they are both your uncles!).
In Hindi, the word bhaiya means older brother, and if a woman uses this while bargaining to purchase something or when talking to a rickshaw driver about the price, it can help in the negotiations -- because it is basically like saying, "How dare you overcharge me when I see you as a big-brother type figure?" However, the pronunciation is a little tricky, but it is definitely a word that could be helpful when trying to negotiate for a better price!! :)
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