From Bollywood to Violence: How Women Live in India. How rich people live in India How India lives today

India is a beautiful country. Tourists who came to rest at the resort and did not visit the province may not be aware that how to live in india simple people. The majority of the population, almost eighty percent, are rural people employed in agriculture. Education is at a very low level, a little more than fifty percent of the inhabitants can read and write. Almost thirty percent can't even write. Contrast in everyday Indian life between different strata of society is striking. The age-old caste system and Hinduism, which professes the inevitability of fate, have accustomed people to a calm perception of everyday difficulties of life. Indians are very calm about the complete lack of comfort. Moreover, this applies not only to the poor.

You can often see a well-dressed person just sleeping on the sidewalk. And next to him perched a stray dog. Such philosophical practices as yoga, Ayurveda allow a person to take a different look at the world around him. People who profess these teachings perceive reality differently. The need for material is reduced many times over. In India, in connection with the thousand-year-old culture based on these teachings, people are very calm about the lack of the benefits of civilization. Although Europeans are sometimes shocked by this attitude of the local population. For example, in India, a husband has every right to put his wife in the form of a bank bond, and this will be in the order of things. Complete disregard for the rules of personal hygiene allows various skin and intestinal diseases to grow in a riotous color. Child mortality remains very high. All this is combined with India's clear economic successes and rapid economic growth. Large Indian companies successfully compete in the international market in light industry, agriculture, and high technologies. India launches rockets with satellites, builds nuclear power plants. Despite this, it remains the leader of countries with a very low standard of living.

Where to go to rest in India, more:.

wedding in india

Still in high gear contractual weddings in india. Parents agree in advance on the marriage of their children and after that no one asks the consent or disagreement of the newlyweds. This is a kind of analogue of a wedding contract. The only exception is that the wife is transferred to the full ownership of the husband. It becomes part of his property. At the same time, the bride and groom can only see each other after the wedding ceremony, and then surprises can await them. Indian weddings are different. The guests first dance, sing and have fun in every possible way, and only then they sit down at the wedding table and the feast begins. Weddings in the villages and the city are very different. This happens not only because in the city they are, as a rule, much smarter and richer. But also because there is no electricity in the villages, the festivities stop at sunset. Although India is rapidly entering the twenty-second century, caste boundaries are very zealously observed and it is very unlikely that young people will be from different castes.

Temples of India and their inhabitants

There are a huge number of active temples in india. Many people live on their territory, worshiping the deities of these temples. Moreover, these deities can be quite peculiar. There are temples dedicated to rats, monkeys, crocodiles, cows, and many other animals. People protect them and take care of them. This attitude comes from the foundations of Hinduism. Since they believe that the soul after death can enter the body of any living being. It all depends on how much a person led a righteous lifestyle during his lifetime. It is quite possible to be in the body of a rat or a monkey, so they take care of them. Basically, the monks of these temples live within the walls of these ancient structures and try to achieve the state of samadhi, that is, inner initiation. True, most of them believe that one can achieve initiation without exhausting prayers, but simply walk around in orange robes, beg, and smoke charas. Monks of India- this is a special caste, they do not bother themselves with work, but are content with what nature gives them.

City life in India

Against the background of the life of poor peasants in provinces of India life in urban areas is very different. For example, the home of a local billionaire is located in Mumbai. This twenty-seven-story fortress makes a grandiose impression. Even in his garages, only crystal chandeliers are lit. The building has nine elevators ready to take visitors up to three helipads. A huge number of rooms allows the owner to relax daily in different rooms, and all this splendor is adjacent to the darkest slums of the city. Only six people live in this giant house, spread over thirty-seven hectares. The owner himself, his mother, wife and children. Nearby, in the slums, without water, light and basic amenities, more than twelve thousand people huddle. According to experts, more than sixty percent of the eighteen million city live in slums. And this does not appeal to the local residents of a special protest. It's crazy for us to see such a luxury, knowing that two-thirds of the citizens of the country live on two dollars a day, and one in three children suffer from malnutrition.

India's economic miracle

Example Minister of India in his speech just recently said that "No force can stop the country on the path to progress." The government of India backs up its words with deeds, and now it is one of the leaders in IT technologies. Experts in this field, who once went to Silicon Valley to earn money, are now happy to return to their homeland. They are paid no less than in America, and the cost of living is much less. India actively attracts specialists in high-precision production, such specialists willingly go to work in large cities of India. Residents of cities in India have the opportunity to watch more than four hundred private TV channels. Perhaps there is no such choice in more than one country in the world. The export of arms to other countries is at a very high level. The growth of light industry ensures the growth of jobs. India has such ambitious plans as a flight to Mars in the near future. Truly, this is a country of contrasts, where fabulous wealth coexists with no less fabulous poverty.

Resorts of India: life near the sea

Life in India near the sea fundamentally different from life anywhere else in the country. Everything is set to meet any needs of tourists. The tourism business is a very significant part of the country's income. He is given special attention. If in the provinces electricity is a curiosity, then on the resort coasts, nightlife is colored with multi-colored lamps that never go out. Life in the resort area has a completely different rhythm. There are always a lot of people here. You won't see any. The local police are very careful about this and try not to bother tourists. Although the caste of beggars is very numerous and ubiquitous, if you carelessly give large alms, then you will be pursued by crowds of beggars throughout the rest, passing each other like a kind of prize. Therefore, once in India, you need to be careful so that Christian mercy does not play a cruel joke. The staff working in the resort area is quite well educated. He has good qualifications. Numerous communities live in Goa, consisting of citizens of different countries, united by one idea. Therefore, their life is very different from life in cities.

Read more about yoga in the article:.

Yogis of India

This caste of people is absolutely different from others. They strive, by means of improving the spiritual, mental and physical abilities of their body, to reach a state where the physical needs of the body begin to be covered by spiritual ones. There are cases when yogis who have reached a high level of self-consciousness could neither breathe, nor eat, nor sleep for weeks. Various schools in india and temples teach all who wish to comprehend this art. But achieving perfection is not easy. There are many branches of yoga. They are very different. Goals can be set different - from improving health to achieving enlightenment. Most often, it all comes down to the study of elementary physical exercises that do not affect the aspects of improving the spirit and soul. Europeans are usually content with this.

Stunning vacation in Goa, video:

Not all women who have gone abroad can accept the culture of another country. This is especially true for such an exotic country as India. Continuation of the story of one of the women living in this country.

I continue my story, the first part of which was published about how Russian wives live in India.

How ordinary people live in India

I turn quietly to Indian nature :-) I already wrote that Indians love to litter on their streets.

But when I arrived and met many of my husband's friends and acquaintances, I was simply shocked at how educated people can throw bottles from car windows, chips bags at their feet, etc.

At some point, I broke down and gave a lecture, so do you think anyone understood me? Another time, when they threw the bottle out of the window, then everyone looked at each other, looked at me and started laughing, oh sorry! I realized that no one got it. The day before yesterday, a friend of my husband, at my remark, began to openly laugh in my face with the words: “Relax, this is India, freedom!” I have no words…

And the men also chew constantly dried pieces of various odorous plants, they are sold in small packages everywhere. Some of them contain tobacco. So when they chew them, the saliva turns orange, so you can see where they spat ... Our whole house, the elevator are filthy, absolutely everything is spit! And these people live here! We have a closed area ....

Indians weigh a million times before they buy something.

Indians save on everything. If your vacuum cleaner works, but it doesn’t pull, it’s pointless to explain that you need another one: “This one works!”

An Indian will never buy a new thing while the old one is working, moreover, he will also take it for repair, even if it is clear that he is breathing its last. And if the repair fails, he will exchange it with a surcharge for a new one. This is widely practiced in India. My washing machine jumps up to the ceiling, they thought I was crazy when I hinted at a new one .... and they will always choose what is cheaper.

However, they are willing to spend money on gold. Tours are also not very popular, and then within the country, but to go to a very distant relative for a wedding by train for 8 hours is a sacred thing.

photo www.sunrise.dev.diogenes.ru

Moreover, wedding organizers rent apartments or some hall in a hotel, it may well be even without decoration, they rent mattresses on which you don’t know how many people slept before, throw them right on the floor in rows and guests settle there for a couple of nights.

Fortunately, we have never lived like this, but I was once in such a hall, after 5 minutes I wanted to escape from there, like gypsies or homeless people! They wrapped themselves in saris and everything is ok, they are sleeping. Of course, those who can afford to rent a room on their own will, but why such expenses :-):-):-)

And indeed, some Indians sleep on the floor, even those who have beds, apparently a habit left over from the time when there were no beds. Although they say that it’s more useful this way :-) I asked them, do the sides hurt? No, they say nothing ever hurts, you can only envy :-)

Most families save even on food, they don’t buy any overseas products, they eat only traditional food.

We had a lot of scandals on this topic with my husband, somehow I was not used to counting every penny, and now I count every rupee. And here the point is not greed, but a scrupulous attitude towards money, they treat it very respectfully and every rupee is money for them. Therefore, they will weigh a million times before buying something and buy only if they really need to.

This is their advantage, Indians, with rare exceptions, boast of the money they have earned. Asking how much something costs is not polite. But, if you still ask, they will definitely say that it is very cheap and lie about the price. To not envy!

Astrology is the basis of life in India

photo www.lagna.ru

I have a very big problem with their prejudices. For them, astrology is the basis of life. Not a single Hindu lives without a personal astrologer. And everyone absolutely believes in it. This is science! And, God forbid, you start joking about this topic, they will be offended. Without an astrologer's resume, neither a wedding, nor a major deal, nor a trip will take place. It all depends on the craziness, someone turns - more often, someone - less often.

Also, almost every Hindu wears rings with stones on his hands. As a rule, the rings are of poor quality, as they are handmade, but the rich can also find beautiful rings. But the meaning of the rings is not in the decor, so no one cares about the appearance. It's all about the influence of the stone on you and your destiny. Absolutely everyone believes in it.

So if the Guru says that you have to wear some stone, you have to wear it even if you don't like it. Relatives will not leave you alone, and you don’t want to upset anyone either? :-)

About the religion and faith of the Hindus

Yes, about faith. There are no non-religious people in India. Muslims, Hindus, Punjabis, Catholics, Buddhists, Sikhs and others all live nearby. But there is no open hostility, as we have, and this pleases. But still, according to my surveys, Muslims are less trusted.

Religious holidays are a sacred thing, so if any Hindu festival starts, no one goes to work. During September-October, almost every week there was one day off in honor of different gods, and there are many of them in the Indian religion :-)

photo www.bigpicture.ru

Temples are visited on holidays, preferably every day. Some of the rituals are very interesting, for example, recently there was a festival in honor of Lord Ganesh, everyone bought statues of Ganesh, prayed on them for 9 days, and then, according to tradition, drowned them in the river.

They also pray in offices during such festivals. My husband at work for 9 days in the mornings prayed with the whole office for the statue of Ganesh. Everyone brought sweets in turn, such as semolina halva, and before prayer they put it to God, and then ate it, this is called prosad. Kind of lit food.

By the way, in India, many offices have a six-day work week. Hindus get up early, at 6 or even 5 in the morning, take a shower, pray. In every house there is a room, or place, like a small temple where Hindus pray while sitting, called a puja. Then they have breakfast and go to work, dropping into the temple on the way. I already wrote that they take off their shoes in front of the temple, so it’s better not to wear expensive shoes, they can steal. We've lost 2 spanks. In the evening, before going to bed, shower again, pray, and only then eat. And so every day.

photo www.bigpicture.ru

There is also the concept of puzha, as a prayer service, i.e. a pandid (Hindu priest) comes to you, alone or with colleagues, and performs a puja on some occasion, or in honor of a god during a festival. All this is accompanied by special preparation, chanting of mantras and ends with eating food.

This is all very interesting at first, to look, so to speak, and when the effect of novelty passes, it becomes incomprehensible, but what are they doing anyway?

Why they put a flower here, and here they sprinkled rice, etc., but no one can really explain anything to you, and the pandid will not do this, he does not speak English and there is no time. As a result, you just sit, like a participant in some kind of performance, but you don’t understand its meaning. Sometimes they tell you to say some words, and you start to feel like a sheep.

It's not fun, I'll tell you. And it's good if it ends quickly, but if it's for 4 hours? During the puzha, fire is often used, they simply make a fire in a container, setting fire to some branches of a special tree with some not simple composition, and as a result, it smokes so that you cry. In ancient times, they probably did it on the street or their houses had no windows or doors, but traditions cannot be changed, this is sacred!

But most of the people are very nice. They have no hatred towards people of other nationalities or other religions. They are very patient and everyone talks about love and happiness :-)

The theme of love is in the first place among Hindus

In general, the topic love in india in the first place, true love, at first sight and for life. Of course, in large cities the situation has already changed, and the attitude towards sex has become easier, but still, in the majority, chastity plays a very important role.

Let me tell you one incident that happened before my eyes. We were vacationing in Pune, and my husband's friend was in love with one girl, both young, she went to college and lived in a hostel. We all rested together in the evening, everything was very decent, he gave her a present, held her hand a little and looked at her all the time, not taking her eyes off :-) it was very nice :-)

But, it's 9pm and she's not in the dorm yet! Someone very kind called and told her father that she had not yet come and that she was spending time with a young man. Her father sent his brother, who lives nearby, he took her away, and the next day she was deported to her father's house. That was the end of her college education. But really, why should she need it, anyway, in a couple of years they will marry and she will bake cakes :-) True, with the education of the groom, you can find better, richer :-) These are the customs.

Here marriage is perceived only as for life

To the love of the Hindus attitude is serious. Love, as a rule, is for life, although now divorces are more common.

photo www.getevent.ru

Parents are most often looking for a couple, or a young man can meet his future wife at someone's wedding and ask his mother to find out who she is, or they are looking for an ad in a newspaper. Yes Yes! In ads, they first write what caste, religion, education, and only at the end is height, weight.

In general, appearance certainly plays a role, but not a special one, the main thing is the parameters, the coincidence of horoscopes, the income of the groom, whether the family is good, whether people in the family are happy, his soul, and only then appearance.

Couples are selected, as a rule, harmoniously, I have never seen that she is tall, he is small. They even look alike. Couples created for love by the young themselves are common in large cities, and they are very proud of this and will certainly say so.

But in confidential conversations, I asked women who were married off by their parents, are you happy in marriage? The answer is always the same: "Very". And I believe them, they look really happy. Parents rarely marry children for selfish reasons, only if they are suitable for each other.

In general, Hindus treat marriage as a part of their life - very calmly. Here marriage is perceived only as for life. My husband said this to me even before the wedding: “Just think, this is for life :-)”, and this just bribed me very much.

Yes, divorce happens. For example, one couple divorced because the wife had an abortion quietly from her husband, the husband realized that she did not want children from him, and they divorced. She was lucky her family took her back. Another couple divorced, because the groom before the wedding loved the other, and she refused him a wedding, he got married out of grief. And after the wedding, she forgave him, and he decided to return to her. Like this, so it's also different, you can't guess.

But Indian men mostly loyal, affectionate and will try to do anything for you. The main thing for them in the family is respect. Only with the help of respect can you live your whole life together with each other.

photo www.getevent.ru

The only reason I'm here is my husband. This is crazy love. We, of course, like all couples, quarrel. Once I even packed a suitcase, like everything, I’m leaving for Moscow, but we love each other very much, and everything worked out.

I don't have to worry that his roommate in the office or the secretary will jump on him, that I will stop arranging sex for him, that he will get tired of everything when we have two children and he will find himself a new woman. There will be no more of this nightmare. It's just not possible here. It's just that no one from the family will understand him, he will become an outcast, a rare man will decide on this. Yes, and the mentality is different, they don’t think about this :-) Should you take this into account if you are thinking about marrying an Indian?

You will have a different life...

And yet I recommend not to marry foreigners. Firstly, this is a monstrous adaptation period, it takes years to get used to living in India. It's very hard. But then it lets go and you start to notice good things :-)

But, nevertheless, if you do not know Hindi well and you do not have a job, it is better not to risk it. You will sit alone at home all day, do not rely on the Internet, it does not work here either everywhere and not always, and good speed is money.

In the company of relatives and his friends, you will just be bored. Yes, they will speak English, but only with you. This means that if you ask something, they will give you a short answer and continue to speak in Hindi that you do not understand.

Friends from Russia will forget you quickly. No, they will congratulate you on your birthday, write Vkontakte. But Russia lives its own life, a different rhythm, other things are important, in a year you will no longer understand them, you will simply forget how it is to worry about traffic jams, rudeness in state institutions, rising taxes, and now also opposition uprisings.

You will have a different life, all this will already seem like some kind of madness and unreal. Now you are a stranger among your own and a stranger among strangers. You will always be a stranger here, you will never be perceived as one of your own. And you will feel it all the time.

In the zoo you will be photographed as if you were an exhibit, in the park you will not rest, because you again become the main attraction, and at home you will be spoken to in a language that you do not understand. Yes, by the way, my husband and I speak English, but I really want to be told in the morning: “Good morning”, and in the evening “Good night” in Russian ...

I appeal to lovers of India, lovers of meditation, etc., who will immediately begin to take my article with hostility. Yes, I understand that almost everything that I complain about, you don't care. But I address my article to Russian women who are thinking about moving to India. They need to know this information in order to make such a weighty decision in their lives.

Elizabeth, specially for the site intdate.ru

Stories about residents of Krasnoyarsk who decided to drastically change their lives - to go to another country, find work, housing there. If 20 years ago 5% of the population of Russia thought about emigration, then in the spring of 2013 already 13%, according to VTsIOM (and according to the Levada Center, that’s all 22%) . More than others, students and entrepreneurs (almost every second), as well as employees (every third) dream of “falling down”.

Many people in Krasnoyarsk know them. Here they have relatives and friends. But they chose to leave. Natalia Durbanova. Krasnoyarsk - St. Petersburg - Kuala Lumpur - Mumbai. Online answers to 10 questions.

Do I need to prepare for a move? Or is an impulsive decision the only way to leave with a 100% probability?

You need to prepare - try to acquire the maximum number of skills that will be useful to you in the future. Universal skills - a profession, knowledge of the language (English is a must, another one is better), even a driver's license. In a word, everything that you can study and master at home, so that after moving you do not waste time, effort and money on this.

How was it in your case?

I never set myself the goal of moving abroad. Firstly, I did not emigrate, but work abroad, just for the sixth year and the third country in a row. Secondly, initially the idea was to work, gain life and professional experience in another country. In 2003, I graduated from the Faculty of Economics of KSU with a degree in World Economy (IEO). The head of the department offered to try to enter the magistracy in St. Petersburg. The decision had to be made within half a day. I tried and did. After a master's degree and three years of work in St. Petersburg at PricewaterhouseCoopers (one of the four largest audit companies in the world), I unexpectedly received a job offer in Malaysia, in the regional office of a large Australian company. I had 2 days to think, I decided. After three years of working in Malaysia, I went to Mumbai as a tourist and realized that my next country would be India. In terms of professional experience, Peter and Kuala Lumpur have given me enough, it's time for personal growth. In all my moves, I made a decision quickly, maybe because every time I thought that it was only for a year or two or three, and I would return. As a result, every time I go further :)

Moving abroad in your case is going there? Or leave here?

It would be more correct to say - to go there. No, I never left "here", I always felt good where I lived. I felt good in Krasnoyarsk, I love St. Petersburg in my own way, I really liked and still like Kuala Lumpur. Just as long as there is an opportunity, why not use it.

In July I was on vacation in Krasnoyarsk, and I thought, “How lucky I am! I was born in the best city in the world! Honestly! - we have big roads, clean streets, no crowds of people, nature, snow, a lot of culture - there is, so many things ... ". But in order to appreciate it, you had to travel half the world :)

Why this particular country?

There are two main reasons.

1. Professional. I am an economist by education, I worked as an auditor, an accountant, in Malaysia I set up an outsourcing department. India is an IT country, and I decided that if you look for a job here, then it makes sense only in the field of high technologies. Now I work for an online payment processing company, something like Paypal, but in a special niche - a high-risk business. This area requires a good technology platform, quite complex from a programming point of view, so the owner and technical team are Indians, but foreigners are hired to work with clients. The difference in Indian and European mentality has a strong effect. I speak with Europeans in a language they understand, my boss does not complicate his life with the peculiarities of written etiquette. So foreigners like me have to deal with communication with European banks and drafting business letters and proposals. In addition, the Indians have a very flexible attitude towards time, respectively, the timing is a very loose concept :), while the Indian has 55 reincarnations, and the European has only one. I understand that if a client from England writes that it should be done today, it should be done today! Not tomorrow or the day after. Nevertheless, the whole world is working with India today, and one must learn to understand the Indian mentality.
2. Personal reason. At different stages of life, you set different tasks in terms of complexity. India is a complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered country, but very interesting. Even if you take a vacation for 6 months between jobs and travel from north to south, you will not understand India. Many things in India seem to Europeans at least - incomprehensible, at most - absurd. But in India everything has logic, we just don't know it! That's why I came here for a long time, to at least partially understand.

What are the biggest differences between Russia and your new country?

— Standard of living, contrast.

In Russia, the average standard of living is much higher. India is a land of contrasts.

There are people so poor we couldn't even dream of living 10 people in one room all their lives and having a cup of rice on the table twice a day. But there are also so rich that our Abramovichs never dreamed of. Mumbai has a house - the most in the world, worth about 1 billion, 27 floors, its own "" and a helipad - a family of 5 (five!) People lives in the house. (The house, by the way, is not only the most expensive, but also one of the ugliest in the city :))

The middle class is far from the majority, the poor are much more in number.

What struck me when I first arrived in India was that this gap between different strata of the population does not lead to a social explosion and revolutions, as in the 20th century in Russia, for example. The reason for this is the caste system. We have those who are "below" - dissatisfied with their position. The Indian, who was born in a low caste and worked all his life as a servant, does not even think that something else may be prepared for him by fate. Of course, even in the low caste there is a chance to get an education, there are state quotas in universities for low castes, but these are few.

- Availability of housekeepers.

In India, almost everyone has a domestic servant. Here, every middle-class family usually has housekeepers, either living with them or visiting. A housekeeper can live and sleep in the kitchen all her life, and this is in the order of things. Plus, a laundress comes to them (very few people have washing machines, everyone was very surprised why I need it, because you can for $ 15 ( ~600 rubles) give everything to a specially trained person a month, he will also iron the linen), a toilet washer, a driver, a car washer, a milkman, a florist (as we subscribe to a newspaper - in India you can subscribe to the delivery of flowers for worship) and so on. And it's not even a matter of prestige - it's just the way it is. By law, all these people, of course, do not belong to anyone, but in fact they are very dependent on their masters. Servants receive, on average, from 1 to 5 thousand rubles for our money. The population of India is 1 billion 200 million people, and all these people need work, and that's the whole point. The upper and middle strata of the population believe that the more servants are hired, the more good the deed is done - otherwise all these people would live in the countryside, in much worse conditions.

- Attitude to personal space (personal space).

If in Russia things are, on the whole, normal, in personal space a kilometer long - “mind your own business” (“do not interfere in other people's affairs”) is highly valued there, then in India there is no personal space at all. Maria Arbatova wrote it right - Indians perceive the whole world as one big family. And when one of the members of this large family does something wrong, he is patiently instructed and guided. My Hindi teacher came to me three times a week and during the learning process she was interested in literally everything - every event in my life, checked all my photos on Facebook, read any comments (she diligently translated Russian-language ones!). I was just shocked by such "care". Another amazing example - once I met a young man, we started dating, in general, from the romantic haze in my head, the work was launched. Two weeks later, my boss finally calls in and, not at all embarrassed, lays out all the ins and outs about my admirer - the name, where he lives, what car he drives, what family, that is, literally opens his file in front of me. It was the first and only time in my life in India when I wanted to take a ticket for the next flight and leave. For the boss, it was an expression of sincere concern. It was such a touching, fatherly approach to solving what was essentially a labor problem, and it is very revealing for India.

- Attitude to family values.

India is a country with a very low divorce rate. And if there are children in the family, it is almost impossible. The tradition of arranged marriage is very strong here - marriages not of convenience, but rather by agreement. They are now about 70%, and in the villages and all 99%. Marriage becomes a kind of deal for families that join along caste lines. In the event of a divorce, you are excluded from the family and society, this is the worst thing that can happen in the life of an Indian. Therefore, the attitude to marriage is very, very serious. And if castes are practically not taken into account when hiring now (and even 10 years ago it was much easier for a brahmin - a representative of the highest caste of priests - to get a job), then when choosing a partner, this is a fundamental factor. Marriages for love are viewed with suspicion here - this is not very reliable, love-carrots are different. And this has its own logic, as in everything in India. People get married with the understanding that this is forever, and there is no other option and there will not be, so you need to build a relationship with who you have.

Do you feel like a stranger in a new country?

I feel like a stranger and my own at the same time.

My own - I go in Indian clothes even in the office (it's much more convenient, by the way, you don't have to suffer in heels :)), I speak Hindi at the household level. Hindi is more difficult than English but easier than Japanese or Chinese. Some complex sounds (there are three of them), the sentence construction logic is slightly different - we have prepositions, they have postpositions (“I am from Russia, I live in Mumbai”), and so on. As one of my acquaintances said - living in a foreign country and not speaking its language, you seem to be looking at the world through a cloudy glass - you can live, but the quality of life is different. All vocational education above grade 10 in India is conducted in English, and educated Indians speak English well, but Hindi is, of course, necessary in everyday life. In Hindi, I mainly bargain, swear, and talk touchingly about my mother, father and brother. Only English at work.

Alien, in a good way - all the same, the attitude towards a European-looking person in India is different, more privileged, I would say. Indians have a very positive attitude towards Russians since Soviet times.

Is it difficult to find a job/accommodation?

Housing in Mumbai is the most expensive in India. This is the largest city in the country, 20 million people live here. It stands on a group of islands that were artificially filled in and began to build a city. Now this is such a peninsula and there is nowhere for the city to grow, it goes into the sea. In Delhi, for example, about 13 million people live, but it is 7 times larger in area - there are wide avenues, huge streets, practically Moscow. In Mumbai, everyone lives very densely, skyscrapers and right there, in general, real estate here is expensive. Prices are somewhere between St. Petersburg and Moscow, by the standards of India they are the highest.

Without a doubt, India is considered one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in the world. She still remains a mystery to most, despite the fact that everyone knows about her, about her traditions, cooking, history. Everyone knows that this is a country of contrasts. And yet in India, in a country with democracy, mobile phones, a developed pharmaceutical industry and Bollywood, there are many strange and incomprehensible phenomena.

It is known that more than a billion people live in India, it is the largest democratic country in the world. It is hard to imagine such a huge amount of public support for the government, but society, in turn, makes the government work hard. Well, or so it seems! Until now, India has preserved the caste system, which indicates to each member of society his place.

In most countries of the world there are only 4 seasons, there are countries in which even less. For example, in countries located on the equator, it is warm all year round, and vice versa, in countries beyond the Arctic Circle it is constantly cold. In India, there are 6 seasons according to the calendar of Hinduism, the main religion of the country: summer, monsoon season, autumn, winter, pre-spring season, spring.

Unfortunately, the national currency of India, the rupee, is not allowed to be taken out of the country. This news will upset tourists, but it rules out currency speculation. Although locals are trying to export currency and speculate with neighboring Bangladesh, this is all happening on a small scale. More and more people in India are starting to use cards.

India is a country of contrasts. In the country, poor and rich, literate and people who cannot write and read live nearby, and such a majestic structure as the Taj Mahal is adjacent to shacks. The country has only 65% ​​of the literate population. There are 45% of literate women and 75% of men. Despite relatively high literacy, India has a high rate of poverty.

The country's population continues to grow. India is said to overtake China by 2028. Already today it has exceeded the total population of Western Europe.

At the time of Pangea, all the continents were one large piece of land. Thanks to tectonic processes, huge parts began to separate. It was then that India began the journey separately from other parts. Later, she came across the piece that is Asia today and stopped.

In India, people speak 1000 different languages ​​and dialects. A traveler will not be helped by a phrasebook, as many local dialects and languages ​​are radically different. True, most people know Hindi.

India has the highest death rate in the world. The main reason for this phenomenon is traffic accidents. Traffic on the roads in India, especially in cities, is extremely heavy and there is no regulation. It takes talent to maneuver safely between cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, animals, and pedestrians. People die under the wheels of cars or due to suffocation in overcrowded buses. The death rate of newborns and pregnant women also contributes to the high mortality rate due to insufficiently qualified medical care. In addition, they still kill for infidelity and for dowry.

When it comes to cinema, everyone has associations with Hollywood. However, about 1,100 films are released annually in India, which is twice as many as in the US. Believe it or not, most Indian films are not made in Bollywood. Although many people like the colorful, emotional, expressive films of Bollywood stars, this is only a small part of the entire Indian film production.

The passion of Indians for records in various fields can be called strange. For example, the Guinness Book of Records holds the record for the largest crocheted blanket in the world. The largest metal peacock in the world was erected in India. The record for the most massive performance of the national anthem was recorded.

Everyone knows the problem that occurs in multimillion-dollar megacities around the world - this is air pollution from car exhaust, which manifests itself visually in the presence of smog, and physically in shortness of breath. China is most famous for this, but in Mumbai the situation is even worse. Staying in Mumbai or Delhi for one day is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes. According to the World Health Organization, 1.5 million people die each year from lung cancer and asthma in these cities.

Although most people in India eat plant-based foods, Indian cuisine has very tasty dishes made from chicken, goat, lamb. But India has the largest number of vegetarians. At the Indian Golden Temple, several thousand free vegetarian meals are handed out daily to the poor and homeless. Be sure to try paneer, naan and biryani - vegetable and rice dishes.

8. 53% of houses without running water and sewerage

In the cities of India, people die under the wheels of cars, from polluted air, and also from unsanitary conditions, since 53% of houses lack running water and sewerage.

Dowry is an ancient Indian tradition. When a guy and a girl are going to get married (very often parents make the choice for them), the bride and her family give a large amount of money to the groom's family. Especially these are large sums when through marriage they are going to improve their social and caste position. Unfortunately, because of this money, one girl is killed every hour in India.

In every spoon of almost all Indian dishes you can find turmeric, coriander, mustard, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, chili pepper. Not surprisingly, 70% of the world's spices are of Indian origin. If you want to try an authentic Indian dish, then it is better to visit any Indian family. They spend several hours preparing the dish, a huge variety of spices - this art is difficult to learn.

Unfortunately, slavery still exists in India today. The number of slaves reaches 14 million people. For a long time this topic was silent, and no one paid attention to it. People in many countries of the world could not even think that in India there is slavery, which exists due to imperfect legislation, corruption of local authorities. Most of the slaves are poor, illiterate women and children who are forced into hard labor and prostitution.

In addition to slaves, there are a lot of poor people in India. A large number of families with children live on the street, collect alms. In India, the average person has to work 14-16 hours to earn little money. On average, they earn up to $1.25 a day. The government is trying to provide benefits to the poor, stimulate the development of agricultural areas and motivate the poor to take up farming, but so far to no avail.

There are a number of developed countries in the world where the rights of men and women are equally respected. In India, in some families, newborn girls are deliberately killed, as they will not be able to continue the race. Between 100,000 and 500,000 girls are killed annually in the country, just because of their gender. Selective abortions are practiced here, which were officially banned back in 1994. Those girls who manage to survive are often humiliated all their lives by the male population. If we talk about medicine, then more attention and respect, when talking about vaccinations and treatment, is shown to boys and men.

In accordance with the traditions of Hinduism, which is very common in India, the day of the funeral of the deceased is celebrated and commemorated by relatives. Most often in India, corpses are burned, and at the funeral they are not allowed to drink alcohol or eat meat products, this rule also applies to the next 12 days. The eldest son in the family pours the ashes of the deceased into the water of any reservoir nearby, it can be the ocean, sea, river, lake. Relatives and family friends commemorate the death of the deceased, wishing him a happy afterlife.

In ancient India, marijuana was used for various purposes. Today, this is an absolutely legal action, marijuana is used in different forms, although there are some restrictions that are associated with religion and traditions. For example, it is added to dishes, milkshakes are prepared from it. It is one of the five sacred plants that are mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. Marijuana is also used to treat various diseases and during religious ceremonies. Hindus are sure that Shiva also used marijuana.
Not less than

After seven years of work in the Russian office of Home Credit Bank, I was invited to the Philippines for two years, and from there I moved to the Indian branch - and stayed there for almost a year and a half. I chose India as a professional challenge: the opportunity to take part in the development of a bank in a country where about 1.3 billion people live is not given every day.

When I first came to India "for exploration", it seemed to me that she had a lot in common with the Philippines. In fact, they are united only by the fact that they are in the same part of the world. In the rest, there is little. People, culture, market, business practices - everything had to be re-learned.

India is so interesting and strange that it seems as if you are in several eras at once. Here wild tribes who kill foreigners who come to them. And there are cities with metro, modern shopping centers and the City. There are people who are far below the poverty line and live on the street. At the same time, there are super-rich people. According to a study by Wealth X, in 2017 India fourth place in the world in terms of the number of dollar billionaires - after the USA, China and Germany. According to this indicator, it overtook, for example, Switzerland, Russia and Great Britain.

View from the balcony of the guest house in Udaipur

The ancient city of Varanasi. India is an amazing travel destination

Inhabitants of Varanasi

In the center of Old Delhi

Locals in the center of Old Delhi

Such a gigantic stratification between the rich and the poor is reflected, among other things, in Indian life. It can be said that, in general, the quality of things that are produced for the mass consumer is lower in India than in Russia. But at the same time, you can buy goods of higher quality if you are willing to pay more.

Housing

I live and work in Gurgaon, it is a satellite city near the capital of India, New Delhi - almost like Balashikha or Korolev for Moscow, only more (about 800,000 people live there). Gurgaon is considered a major industrial and financial center. Here are the head offices of many international companies, for example, from the field of consulting or IT. Therefore, the quality of life in Gurgaon - not only for expats, but also for locals - is markedly different for the better from life somewhere in Coimbatore or Allahabad.

Flat rent

Many Indians live for several generations at once under one roof: grandmother, parents, son - perhaps with a wife. For this reason, they often own or rent large apartments with multiple bedrooms. The cost of rent can vary tenfold depending on the prestige of the house and the area.

So, an apartment (or townhouse) with an area of ​​​​about 120 square meters. m without furniture and in the usual area of ​​​​Gurgaon can be rented for 30 thousand rupees (27,600 ₽) per month. But in a guarded residential complex with a park on the territory, renting a four-room apartment (living room and three bedrooms) will start from 120,000 rupees (110,400 ₽). To this amount, you will need to add the cost of maintaining the territory, including home repairs - about 30 thousand rupees (27,600 ₽) per quarter. You also have to pay 20– 30 thousand rupees (18,400– 27 600 ₽) per year for access to services on the territory of the complex: swimming pool, gym, cafe, parking. If the apartment is rented without furniture and appliances, all this can be rented (about 30 thousand rupees per month, or 27,600 ₽).

Public Utilities

The weather in Delhi changes quite dramatically from season to season: in the middle of winter, at night, the temperature can drop to 6– 8 degrees of heat, and in the summer during the day - to reach 48 degrees. In summer, everyone uses air conditioners and heavily overpays for electricity: up to 10 thousand rupees (9200 ₽) per month. There is no central heating in India, so in winter some people turn on radiators - with them you have to pay about 5 thousand rupees (4600 ₽) per month for electricity. The rest of the year, the bills are approximately 3 thousand rupees (2760 ₽) per month.

Gurgaon, golf course and high-rise residential view for wealthy Indians and expats. Smog

Smog haze golf course

In Moscow

My rented apartment in Gurgaon is 15– 20 minutes drive from Cyber ​​City is a corporate business park, something like Moscow City. This roughly corresponds to the Dorogomilovsky district of Moscow (next to the Park Pobedy metro station).

Rent a three-room apartment in the area, Domofond.ru costs an average of 105 thousand rubles per month. A four-room apartment in an elite residential complex"Sparrow Hills" , for example, for 175 thousand ₽. The average cost of utilities for a similar apartment, according to Numbeo, is 8300 ₽.

Directions

Public transport

Gurgaon has a fairly comfortable metro. It can be reached in the center of Delhi in 40– 45 minutes. One trip on the metro costs 65 rupees (60 ₽), but if you buy a travel card, you can save 10%. It turns out that 60 trips per month will cost 3240 rupees (2981 ₽).

Also in Delhi and in neighboring cities, you can travel by shuttle - a bus that travels non-stop to the final station. A package of 30 bus trips costs 2370 rupees (2180 ₽). You can pay for travel and replenish your account through a mobile application.

Taxi

In India, the two main taxi providers are Uber and Ola. They are cheaper than in Moscow, but also of lower quality in terms of cars, cleanliness, skills and knowledge of the driver. Traffic in India is chaotic, with drivers constantly changing lanes, driving in the middle of the road and signaling to each other. It will be extremely difficult to communicate with a taxi driver if you do not know Hindi. Although, in fairness, taxi drivers in Russia hardly speak English better.

The trip from Gurgaon to the center of Delhi by taxi will cost 400– 500 rupees (368 – 460 ₽), depending on traffic. At rush hour, a 30 km journey takes 1.5– 2 hours. For those who often travel by taxi, Uber offers a profitable service: you can buy a package for a month for 250 rupees (230 ₽), and then any trip will cost 39 rupees (35 ₽).

Taxi in Kolkata

In the center of Old Delhi

Five traffic controllers at one traffic light teach motorists to stop at red, Cyber ​​City, Gurgaon

In the center of Old Delhi

Also in India, tuk-tuks, or three-wheel auto rickshaws, are popular. It is curious that tuk-tuk drivers accept payments not only in cash, but also by transfer to a mobile wallet. Imagine: an Indian landscape, a cow is walking along the road and chewing plastic, a tuk-tuk is driving nearby - and then the driver takes out a smartphone, opens an application (it is called Paytm), scans a QR code and accepts payment for the trip. Awesome!

In Moscow

A card for one trip in the Moscow metro and on land transport costs 55 ₽. It is more profitable to pay for travel using a Troika card, with which each trip will cost 38 ₽. For those who often travel by metro or buses, the most profitable option is to “sign up” a package for 60 trips for 1900 ₽ on Troika.

Popular taxis in Moscow include aggregator apps Uber, Gett and Yandex.Taxi. A trip, for example, from Tsaritsyno Park to VDNH (distance about 30 km) will cost 700 ₽. Approximately the same will cost a taxi from the center of Balashikha near Moscow to the Moscow Kremlin. Taxi trips within Moscow for medium distances cost an average of 300– 500 ₽.

Food

Products

Most Indians are vegetarians, they do not eat meat or eggs (although the trend is changing recently). In the state of Haryana, where Gurgaon is located, eating beef is generally prohibited by law. Instead, it is proposed to eat buffalo meat, it can be bought for 400 rupees (368 ₽) per kg.

The main emphasis on the shelves of stores is on vegetables and all kinds of seasonings. Fruits are sold all year round - bananas, watermelons, pineapples. January is strawberry season, summer is mango and lychee.

My girlfriend and I usually buy food in supermarkets. There are both local (Le Marche) and international brands such as Spar. You can order food online at Amazon.in, they deliver not only groceries in packages, but also fresh vegetables and fruits. You can create a basket that will "come" to you regularly.

In total, it takes us about 15 days to buy groceries.– 20 thousand rupees (13,800– 18 400 ₽) per person per month. To compare food prices in Gurgaon and Moscow, I made a table. For Gurgaon, these are average prices, but for a visitor they can be higher than for a local. It is a matter of choosing the quality of products, knowing the places and bargaining skills.

Product	Gurgaon	Moscow
Milk, 1 l	47 rupees (43 ₽)	67 ₽
White bread, 500 g	30 rupees (28 ₽)	40 ₽
White rice, 1 kg	71 rupees (65 ₽)	70 ₽
Eggs, 12 pcs.	77 rupees (71 ₽)	82 ₽
Local cheese, 1 kg	307 rupees (282 ₽)	553 ₽
Chicken breasts, 1 kg	287 rupees (264 ₽)	275 ₽
Apples, 1 kg	154 rupees (142 ₽)	91 ₽
Bananas, 1 kg	57 rupees (52 ₽)	61 ₽
Potatoes, 1 kg	23 rupees (21 ₽)	37 ₽
Tomatoes, 1 kg	38 rupees (35 ₽)	139 ₽
Water, 1.5 l	28 rupees (26 ₽)	45 ₽
TOTAL:	1119 rupees (1030 ₽)	1460 ₽

Source: Numbeo.com Prices are rounded to the nearest ruble.

Cafes and restaurants

There are many expats in Gurgaon, so there is a large selection of not only local, but also European cuisine. In addition to Indian, Italian and Asian restaurants are especially common. True, they also have a local flavor: for example, Italian pizza resembles Indian wheat naan cakes, and pasta or noodles are most often buried in sauce- similar to curry.

The Indians themselves adore national cuisine with tandoori, curry, rice. And bread cakes - they are made from different flours, on water, with or without yeast. At the same time, products cooked in a closed oven, tandoori, are always considered a snack. And curry (pieces of meat, vegetables or cheese in a lot of sauce) is the main dish. One of the most popular Indian dishes among expats is butter chicken, chicken in a creamy tomato sauce. I also love palak paneer, which is an unleavened cheese in a thick green sauce made from spinach leaves. In the south of India, the cuisine is a little different, there is more seafood, and coconut milk is often added to curries.

Flower market in Varanasi

Pan merchant (pan - tobacco with spices that is put under the lip)

Vegetable Market in Old Delhi

Food prices can vary greatly. You can buy lunch on the street - eat dosa (this is a flour pancake from South India) and drink lassi (a spicy yogurt drink) - for 50 rupees (46 ₽). And you can dine in a good restaurant with wine for 5 thousand rupees (4600 ₽), and the main part of the cost will be alcohol, for which the state of Haryana has a very high tax (15%).

In the business centers of Gurgaon, the average cost of lunches is 500– 700 rupees (460 – 644 ₽) per serving. By local standards, it is quite expensive. But the final cost of lunch will be even higher: you need to take into account the amount of taxes of 5%, which is not indicated in the price list, and about 10% of the service charge - it is included in the bill automatically, but you can bargain.

There is a stereotype that in India you need to be very careful when trying food from public catering, otherwise there is a risk of poisoning. My family and I have never experienced this - probably because we avoid "suspicious" places and choose only proven street food. It is also possible that some tourists confuse poisoning with the adaptation of the body to an unfamiliar climate, water and food.

In Moscow

You can taste Indian dishes in several establishments of the Russian capital. For example, in the Jagannath vegetarian cafe you can eat palak paneer for 120 ₽, in the Indian restaurant Khajurao - butter chicken for 790 ₽, and in Darbas you can drink lassi for 300 ₽.

Business lunches in Moscow City cost an average of 300– 450 ₽.

Internet and mobile communications

Until recently, there were three main mobile operators in India - Vodafone, Airtel and Idea. In 2016 richest Indian billionaire another network - Jio. And this served as a tangible impetus for the development of the mobile communications market in India. Jio came with very low rates and the fastest mobile internet in the country and allowed many users to go online for the first time. So, they launched a data plan with a smartphone included, which you can rent for a small fee.

This forced other operators to significantly reduce tariffs. So now mobile communications in India are very cheap. For example, a tariff plan for 28 days with unlimited calls and 1 GB of Internet per day will cost 169 rupees (156 ₽). A package for 82 days with 2 GB of internet per day will cost 499 rupees (459 ₽).

Home internet in Gurgaon is also cheap and relatively stable. My tariff includes about 50 GB of Internet per month, and the rest is carried over to the next term - and in 1 year and 2 months I have accumulated a whole terabyte of unused Internet, although I often watch online TV in HD format. Such Internet costs me 1300 rupees (1196 ₽) per month.

In Moscow

In Moscow, a similar story happened with mobile communications - when the Tele-2 operator entered the market. The cheapest package with conditions similar to those in India (30 GB of Internet, unlimited calls within the network and 800 minutes outside of it) costs 700 ₽ per month. Home Internet for most providers is completely unlimited, and its price is an average of 500 ₽ per month.

Entertainment

Gurgaon is located near Delhi, where there are many famous attractions - the 12th century brick minaret Qutub Minar, the tomb of the Mongolian padishah Humayun, the historical citadel of Red Fort. For foreign tourists, visiting each of them will cost about 500 rupees (460 ₽), but for locals it will cost only 20 rupees (18 ₽). The discount also applies to those who work in India and pay taxes here.

Monkey Temple in Jaipur

Evening performance in Udaipur. This woman dances on broken glass

Taj Mahal and surrounding area

Indian cinema is known far beyond the borders of the country, and it is easy to guess that the locals love to go to the cinema. Gurgaon has an IMAX cinema that shows Hollywood blockbusters in English with subtitles - a ticket for such a session will cost about 500 rupees (460 ₽). But in general, Indians are unlikely to be very interested in American films. In the cinemas of small towns or villages, only local films are shown, and a ticket there can be bought for 30 rupees (28 ₽).

In Moscow

Visiting popular metropolitan attractions is not a cheap pleasure. A ticket to the architectural ensemble of the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin costs 500 ₽, for admission to the Armory you will have to pay another 700 ₽. An entrance ticket to St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square will cost 500 ₽. There are no discounts for local residents, but there are benefits for schoolchildren, students and pensioners. IMAX movie tickets will cost 400– 600 ₽, depending on the location of the cinema and the time of the session.

Money

Indians are born negotiators, they love to bargain. They are very reluctant to make concessions if they see the needs of another, and vice versa, they are ready to offer favorable conditions if the need is on their side.

I recently sold my stuff online. And absolutely all potential buyers demanded huge discounts for the fact that things were already in use - despite the fact that they were all almost new! Let's say my ad for a price of 17,000 rupees (15,640 ₽) received bids of 3,000 rupees (2,760 ₽). Of course, there were more adequate proposals. But all discussions had to be conducted for a very long time, without hurrying.

Payments and banks

November 2016 in India monetary reform: the authorities withdrew old banknotes of 500 and 1000 rupees (460 and 920 ₽) from circulation in order to bring the country's economy out of the shadows and force businessmen to pay taxes. These banknotes accounted for about 90% of all cash in the country. For the first few weeks, it was possible to exchange small amounts for new banknotes, but then the government stopped the exchange and left the only option - to put money on deposit. Huge queues lined up at the banks, and there were even riots in some Indian cities. However, the reform gave a big boost to cashless payments and the use of mobile wallets. Partly for this reason, every tuk-tuk driver accepts payment via smartphone.

India has a very complex banking system and is heavily regulated by the government. There are universal banks with a license for all products. There are depository financial companies - those who can only accept deposits from the population, but do not have the right to lend it. Lending companies, in turn, are prohibited from accepting deposits. Literally, each area of ​​activity has its own narrow financial company: someone finances construction, someone finances cars or household appliances.

Salary

Let me remind you once again about the gap between the rich and the poor and about the rather high standard of living in Gurgaon compared to the rest of India. The average salary of yesterday's graduate in the initial mass position, say, a call center employee, is 10– 15 thousand rupees (9200– 13 800 ₽) per month. Specialists from 6– With 8 years of experience, they earn around 100 thousand rupees (92 thousand ₽) per month. At the same time, graduates of good universities that are in the top 10– 20 in terms of performance in their course, they can count on employment in some large corporation and on a monthly salary of about 150 thousand rupees (138 thousand ₽) immediately after studying.

in Moscow in 2018 Mosgorstat, the average salary was 78,946 ₽ - this is also a figure before taxes.

Average spend per month:

Expenses	Gurgaon	Moscow
Rent ½ apartment	65,000 rupees (59,800 ₽) (1/2 apartment with three bedrooms in a secure complex)	87 500 ₽ (1/2 four-room apartment in a luxury residential complex)
Payment of ½ utilities	2500 rupees (2300 ₽)	4150 ₽
Metro, 60 trips	3240 rupees (2 981 ₽)	1900 ₽
Taxi, 2 times a week	1362 rupees (1253 ₽) (Uber package)	3200 ₽ (in Moscow for medium distances)
Buying products from the list, 2 times a week	8952 rupees (8236 ₽)	11 680 ₽
Business lunch, 5 times a week	13,200 rupees (12,144 ₽)	7500 ₽
mobile connection	169 rupees (156 ₽) (28 days)	700 ₽ (month)
Home Internet	1300 rupees (1196 ₽)	500 ₽
Entertainment (2 cinema tickets, 1 museum ticket)	1020 rupees (938 ₽) (Museum ticket for residents)	1500 ₽
TOTAL:	96,743 rupees (89,004 ₽)	118 630 ₽

Prices are translated into rubles at the rate of 1 rupee = 0.92 ₽.

Total:

India: 96,743 rupees (89,004 ₽)

Moscow: 118 630 ₽

When calculating the total costs, we used the prices indicated in the text. If the price range was indicated, the arithmetic mean was considered. When writing the text Sravni.ru did not cooperate with any company and brand.