The norms of the Indian culture essentially shape the Hindi language. One’s identity is closely associated with the identity of a larger group, in Indian culture, that group is family. The survival and honor of the family is to be upheld by all the members of the family. The two very basic and extremely important gestures in the Indian culture are:
One: Holding hands and bowing your head. This is a greeting for everyone, regardless of whether or not you know them. This gesture is a sign of respect for both elders and the younger youth.
Two: Touching an elder’s feet. This a very large and significant part of Indian culture because this is a gesture of respect towards the elder in particular. It entails that you are asking for their blessings. In my family, this gesture often takes place on the Indian New Year day. I also touch my parents’ feet when I leave home for a long period of time, i.e. before coming to UR.
The norms I stated above are the most basic rules of the Indian culture. Owing to the size of the country, norms tend to vary depending on what part of Indian a person is in. But the overall picture is straight-forward: Indian culture is more collectivist than individualistic, it is polychronic as opposed to being monochronic, it is external versus being internal, it in indirect rather than being direct.
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This is great! I can find both of these connections in my research on Indian culture, Gujarat, and surrounding the Gujarati language, as I'm sure you already know :)