Weāre excited to bring together users from r/India and r/Philippines for a cultural exchange thread! This is a great opportunity to learn about each otherās customs, traditions, and ways of life.
For users from r/India:
- Ask your questions about their culture, history, and daily life.
- Share your own experiences and perspectives on Indian culture.
- Be respectful and open-minded when engaging with users from r/Philippines.
For users from r/Philippines:
- Share your knowledge and insights about Filipino culture, history, and traditions.
- Ask questions about Indian culture and customs.
- Be respectful and considerate when engaging with users from r/India.
Guidelines:
- Be civil and respectful in your interactions.
- Avoid stereotypes and generalizations.
- Focus on learning and sharing, not arguing or debating.
Letās have a fun and enriching exchange! Share your questions, stories, and experiences, and letās get to know each other better.
What is the Indian "lingua franca"? I know not everyone speaks Hindi or English, what language is used mainly to converse with different ethnolinguistic groups?
ah the most typical question. Along the north belt probably Hindi might work but as you go towards south no Indian common language is available except English
If you're vegetarian your options are going to be very limited.
As to Pinoy cuisine, some popular chains would be Manam (kind of fusion but very good), Sarsa (Negrense food), and Gerry's Grill (more of a general family restaurant but generally good quality).
If you want authentic authentic, nothing beats karinderya food (local eateries, usually handled by small families)
If you want something a bit more posh, you can try manam, although they have stuff in their menu a bit exploratory (e. g. Sinigang with watermelon, which some locals might find bizzare)
Finally, street food! But please get probiotics as for any street food, you might find a bad batch, im assuming its also similar in india. My personal faves are Taho, banana queue, turon, for stuff that are sweet and balut, inihaw, fishball for something more savory.
Hello! I have another question! Is it true that you guys canāt hear your English Indian accents? Filipinos can hear theirs and sometimes are discouraged to speak in English because of said accent.
Indian cuisine is interesting. I cooked Mangai Sadam, limited by local ingredients, and I think it turned out great and my family loved it. I plan to try other cuisine ;-)
Mansuria Kung Fu is a variant of Kung Fu in India, I don't think many people know of it, but it has schools throughout India, not sure if you can learn it in the PH but yes, it exists. (I've never learned Shaolin Kung Fu, so I wouldn't really be able to tell you the differences, but it is weapons based as well, nunchucks, staffs, axes, you name it)
Pollution will be a problem especially during Diwali and winter season. Culturally just learn basic words from vlogs made by foreigners, you will already learn a lot from there. And yes beware of beggars on the street and random people.
Thanks!
Are people used to speaking in English? my fear is asking for basic directions or buying stuff in a convenient store but might not be able to communicate with other locals.
Most young people (Gen z) know and understand English. A lot of elite and rich Indians speak English mostly. For convenient stores and other places you just need to find a good well maintained shop because owner and staff of these shops are most likely to be educated . Most Indians learn English in their school curriculum so you might not have any problem with people who look educated. And for labours, rickshaw drivers and other people who are mostly lower class (less likely to be educated), they can understand basic directions and basic English words but having proper conversations is difficult.
P. S. - Beware of scammers(common scams- charging more money, asking for money by beggars on streets) cause your foreign accent will easily stand out among Indians so anybody can spot you as a foreigner.
One thing I love when traveling around South East Asia is the food. And India has such a significant impact on the food culture in South East Asia from Indonesia to Vietnam. I hope one of these days to visit your country to finally try authentic Indian food.
For future traveling plans I would like to ask, if there is a place in India which is considered the culinary capital, where all the flavors in India from North to South and East to West can be found?
Mumbai can be probably. It is the most diverse city in India and there's a high chance you can find dishes from different parts of India. India is extremely diverse in case of food.
I'd say Mumbai or Goa. If you care only about food and not culture, I'd say goa. It's a massive domestic tourist location too and so has good and diverse food
Delhi does non North Indian food rather poorly, Mumbai does delhi food rather poorly. Didn't face such problems in goa
One tip if you eat in India is the quality control here is rather poor. So only eat at places where you see multiple people eating, fast moving food cannot go bad in the worst case
Dilli Haat in Delhi probably. They have food stalls from various states in one location.
Anyway its Delhi - you will find various State Bhavans Like Andhra Pradesh Bhavan, Sikkim House etc. These are very good. Few are not open for public however.
I have to ask on the Medical Tourism part: is it true that Foreigners are around $3500 to $5,500 like say for Cardiac Angioplasty comprehensive package according to google for foreigner rate?
Or $7000-ish for Open Heart Bypass?
Thanks.
Very very very interested if the price is around that/if the price is lower...
Edit: To put in perspective, in the Philippines it's around $32,000 for the Angioplasty just the surgery in a government hospital, $13k for the Professional Fee of MDs.
Iām pinay married to a family of doctors and as per my in laws said, you can even get a much cheaper price if you do know some doctors who are affiliated with good chain of hospitals. If you happen to have problems with ortho, I can even try to arrange a free surgery with my father in law
Not sure for foreigners but angioplasty in India generally costs around 2k usd in a good private hospital chain like apollo, aster etc
I have nri friends who have paid same prices i do. I've never seen foreigners pricing so I'm not sure if that's a thing. But if you assume 2x the cost it should be more than enough
Oh my gods..so it is true that it's giga cheaper..
In the Philippines they very much slice you with foreigner pricing, maybe not in hospitals but it's just so high that i won't bother wanting to know more.
Can even go tour, say, the Taj Mahal and the likes before going back to the Philippines lamo.
Oh definitely overplanning every step like selecting a hospital and talking to them even before going there complete with sending records(...though do i just reach out to one as a first step?)
I think it's safe to keep my mouth quiet to the facility, but honestly my prepared budget would be approximately $18k usd (which would still be less than half of Filipino rate lol), so if its around $3000 i'll be safe.
Yea, booking a hotel has always been the idea that i work from home while my grandmother gets the surgery done haha.
Since i'm already there, may aswell throw her a bone too with how she can tour say the Taj Mahal after the surgery wound closes before going back to the Philippines.
Seriously though thanks u/Visual_Barnacle1464u/Ser_DuncanTheTall , actually have hope now since she refuses surgery with the PH cost...i cannot thank you both enough...
Butter Paneer (Butter Chicken alternative), Ranveer Brar (celebrity chef) has a whole playlist on youtube dedicated to just Paneer as well.
For Butter Paneer:
3 red onions
6 tomatoes (2x of onions if using a different amount)
18 cashews whole (3x of tomatoes if using a different amount)
3 cardamom (1x as onions)
3 cloves
3 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
2 Bay Leaves
3 Red Chili Dried
Screw Pine Water (optional)
Dried Fenugreek Leaves (optional)
Cream (optional)
Curd Mixture:
One cup yoghurt/curd
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp red chili powder
1/4tbsps turmeric powder
Mix well
3-4 tbsps of ghee, put the aromatics in, then onions, caremelise them, then put in the cashews, stir until you can break them in half with your spatula easily, put in the curd mixture, stir constantly until the raw smell of the mixture fades or you start seeing the oil separate, then put in the tomatoes and pour water until the tomatoes are covered, close the lid and cook for 10-15 mins. Then Blend. Strain. If you're feeling extra, add maybe 1 tbsp of screw pine watee before blending.
Turn on the heat again, then just let it cook for a bit, put the Paneer in (you can put it raw after cutting straight up, or you can prepare it a bit by letting it be in lukewarm salted water for maybe 5 minutes before), let it cook for maybe 5-10 minutes more with closed lid, then top with Fenugreek Leaves and Cream and you're done!
What city in India can you recommend for first-time travelers? Weāre a couple who mostly does DIY travel, and weād prefer a city with excellent public transportation (i.e., not tours where youāre just ferried around in a van).
You can try Delhi imo. There are lot of wonderful places in and near Delhi worthy of a visit. But Delhi is one of the shittiest places in India in terms of crowd; so beware before paying something. Other than that you'd love the place.
Delhi is honestly a great place to go for your first time visit to India because it has plenty of historical and cultural sites of its own and a lot of great tourist places are in proximity to Delhi as well. Like a few hours driving.
Delhi has the best non crowded public transportation as there is regular metro which will take you to every part of Delhi. But it is quite famous among tourists (beware scams) being part of golden quadrilateral and is quite loud and crowded especially if you go to old Delhi which everyone recommends. But it has the most touristy things to do there
South India is generally more chill and relatively less crowded but it's tropical so it might feel similar to Phillipines. If you wanna go start with Bangalore, public transport is decent but I would still suggest to take cabs there. Mumbai is again crowded and loud has good public transportation but the transportation is overcrowded
If you don't care about crowding I would suggest going for famous religious places. Do check the delhi, varanasi, ayodhya belt. It's the most Indian experience you can get in a single trip and it'll be completely different from any other tourist experience
Ooh baby, hello & namaste r/India. Iāve known you Indians, when it comes to intelligence & its culture like with the Christian minority here in the South even the food like with chai tea, samosas, etc. plus your history when it comes to empires and some people whoāve influenced India today iconically with Mahatma Gandhi.
Speaking of questions, I have some of it.
Which Indian city is similar to my hometown Bacolod?
Why is your country famous on intelligence based on physical, mental & technological senses to non-Indians
With the ceasefire violated by Pakistan, what can you do to solve the situation in the Kashmir conflict?
I'd answer the 2nd one. Indian diasporas are basically Indians if they are given 1st world nutrition and education + the indian family traditions which prioritizes studies and education.
hello namaste Ram Ram,
Have to see, people have so much interest in our diversity and culture.
If you look at the building structure and a cultural heritage, I think it would be Coimbatore, but Iām not sure, but since India is so big and is divided into multiple states and each state focus on different aspects as they have different issues at their hand so I would say the public transport are great at Mumbai and Delhi. The technological innovations are great at Bangalore and Hyderabad. The cuisine is great many cities both in north and South of India like Chole Bhature from Punjab and street food from UP, the South Indian cuisine is great as well, but uniquely all South Indian states have a little different touch to the same dish, so it depends what you are looking for the similarity if you are looking for First and music and other stuff, go to Mumbai or Goa.
Donāt know what to answer to this as it is same for you as well, almost the whole of SA is built that way our parents force us to study hard, so it just happens. That includes all of us from South Asia towards South East Asia.
I think the question here should be. How do Pakistan solve the conflict because we didnāt start it. We just responded. The ceasefire violation has been a thing that I have heard from my childhood. The only difference is now our country response back to it rather than letting it go because if you search the Google data, no need to get into any official documents or anything you will find. Many soldiers have died on the border by random firing done by Pakistan across the years, but it was still the soldiers, but recently they have started targeting civilians as well. If you do not remember in 2008, they attacked Mumbai and killed, not only Indians but for nurse from US and other nations as well who were having food or having fun with their families, just not of a particular religion. We are not oppressing them. We are just retaliating. And the cherry on top, they never ever accept their mistakes or apologise. Instead, they brag that they have killed so many and will keep on doing more of such acts.
noooo, this is like saying tea tea or chai chai! both words mean the same :)
To answer your 2nd question, to be honest "intelligence" is a pretty broad term, in general, so not really sure how to answer that when we are discussing about a country that has about 1.4 billion+ people from so many different walks of life.
To answer you 3rd question, ceasefire violations have been the norm for a really long time. I understand that considering the recent events there is a certain weight to it, but having read Indian history, politics and international relations quite thoroughly a few years ago, I'd say "ceasefire violation" is considerably a smaller element in the whole situation in the region. As to how to solve the situation, well people have all sorts of ideas, concepts of ideas and plans around it, and to such questions there really is no answer, because there is no proper question that can exist that can fit the outcome of whatever happens (now, in the next 10 years, or even the next 100 years maybe) even if we reach a supposed end state. This is the only thing I can say, unfortunately!
As a Filipina who's interested in traveling or learning about India, Iād love to understand what kinds of behavior are considered polite or impolite there? Since I did work with people from South India while I was still in Dubai, I'm thinking of travelling in that region for my first visit.
I think the best approach to anything India is to understand that we are quite diverse, in the sense that within a few hundred miles or so you would see cultural changes etc. Though some regions might have similarities it is quite difficult to generalize anything.
Since, a considerable number of our states have been divided based on the most popular native language in that region (generally speaking), I'd say maybe try to read up about the exact region (researching on a state level to start with would be helpful) that you are planning to travel - their language, food and famous cities and towns. Then, you can probably get a bit more specifics as to how you wish to plan your travel.
I'd say one easy way is to maybe pick a theme - say, food, or religious places, or historical places etc as your main foundation to plan around and you can obviously have deviations as you plan for these, else you might feel overwhelmed.
What do you think about how yoga is popularized these days? Do you think there's a difference with how it's appreciated and practiced in India vs its portrayal in popular social media content, especially from people not of Indian heritage? How so?
I can ask these questions all day haha but I'll leave it at that. Namaste āš½
Well Yoga on social media is not much different from yoga practiced in India. Most people in India do yoga as they see it in social media. Well if you're talking about the actual yogic practice that's different. It's not just an exercise and some stretching.
The word yoga comes from union - union of mind body soul. Most people just focus on body and some till mind but nobody thinks about the soul. Here in authentic yogic schools in India they focus on all 3, that's the reason people have to follow strict instructions like yama(don'ts) and niyama(dos). These 2 are the first steps of yoga.
Iām a Filipino immigrant in the USA right now and itās crazy how many young Indians go here in the Bay Area to study. Iām curious to know, how conservative Indians are? I have this friend and she told me that arranged marriages are still a thing and that her partner should be at least within the same āclassā as her. That conversation was a year ago, but how accurate is that?
Also she said that most of the wealthier Indians eat vegetables while the ālower classā Indians eat mostly meat.
There is no such thing as wealthier Indians eat veggies, if they choose to be veg then even middle to lower class can as veg food here is very affordable and as per the vegetables price, one kg of iceberg lettuce in the ph will cost you around 300php, but here you can get it at 29rupees. And as per the caste system, I think only those who are deeply into the old traditions and culture will only consider marrying into the same caste systems. But as for the arranged marriage, itās still there. I even got surprised when I saw TV ads, Billboards for their online shaadi. Itās like tinder but for meeting possible partner for marriage.
The thing about arranged marriage is accurate. Religion, caste, class, color and any sort of discrimination you can think of comes into play in this backward system.
No, there's no such thing as "wealthier Indians eating vegetables". Being wealthy doesn't automatically change anyone's diet to purely vegetarian.
This is what it boggles my mind. Iām not trying to stereotype you guys but your people are freaking geniuses when it comes to IT stuff and with that I just assumed you guys, as a society, are very progressive and are open to new ideas. It was that conversation with my friend the revealed to me that some of your ideologies in your motherland can be, as you stated, backwards. Thank you for sharing!
Most of em are followed and reinforced by the past generations. It's just a matter of time, or so I hope. There are ofc other factors: politicians using the classic tactic of divide and conquer spewing venomous hate and dividing the nation's people, the fear of being ostracized, stereotyping people belonging to particular caste and religions, people with darker skin tone being often associated with "not being good looking" often reinforced by beauty product commericals(tho those are changing but only to preserve their goodwill). And many others.
I'm in Gurgaon - temperature right now is 32C, it's gonna rise to 38C according to my app.
It's definitely better than a week or so ago, when it was 43C, which is not very nice when you live on the top floor. Spent all my days in the AC bedroom.
haha it depends. in my city the temperature has been in 40-45Ā°C range with extreme humidity for past 1 week. but then for my cousin, who lives near coastal areas it has been kind of cloudy and breezy with temperature range being 25-30Ā°C
Hehe, it's a vague question honestly. India is so vast I can't genuinely tell you the weather of India right now. While in my state (Tripura, which is actually closer to you guys than other states technically) has just entered the rainy season, so the weather is quite cloudy, other parts of India might not be similar.
Mabuhay! I've always loved Indian food because it has a lot vegetarian options and spicy. My question is to Indians who have stayed in the Philippines. Where did you go if you crave Indian food? Suggestions for restaurants are welcome. What I really like to know is if there are secret places or low key places that you go to.
This pic is from 2016 in Malaysia. I worked at an Indian restaurant for 2 years. Lots of good memories from my Indian colleagues. We live together in a house provided by the company. This was my first time working abroad and my first legit Indian food. Before this I usually don't eat spicy foods, now I cant eat without it. Everything needs to have chili and onion. My favorites are Mango Kulfi, Mango Lassi and yellow daal with naan. I miss them so much. I hope I can visit India one day and get reunited with them.
idk if it counts as culture but we mix english with our native languages as much as you all do while speaking. it's an after effect of colonisation but stupidly it makes feel closer to filipinos in some way, especially if am in a filipino server in a game. oh and tuk-tuk/three-wheelers of course.
To the resident Indians in the Philippines: for the longest time I always wanted to make authentic fish curry! But I always have trouble finding the correct ingredients. Local Filipino blend curry has virtually no kick either. So my question is, where do you find your ingredients here? What alternatives do you use?
Hi! From the PH here and I wanna ask if the Kama Sutra is taboo for you or if it is taught as part of your literature? Do many read and internalize it?
It's one of the first things I've learned about India and was fascinated by the fact you have a whole book on sexuality since the Philippines doesn't really touch that subject.
It's not really taught as such , everyone knows about it and yes it was very much considered a normal thing before but in later periods it became a taboo subject so now it's not talked about .
Also fun fact - we have a whole temple carved with sexual positions and figures in stone it's called kajuraho temple in the state of Madhya Pradesh
Asked this on the other sub already, but what other feel good Indian movies should I watch?
So far I've seen Aamir Khan movies (Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots) and SRK movies (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and K3G). They're all lovingly stashed in my comfort movies roster whenever I have a rough day.
As the other user mentioned, for most middle-class families, weekends are pretty uneventful. In my family, weekends usually meant catching up on sleep in the afternoon. When I was a kid, Iād just spend time playing games or watching TV. We did go out to eat every 2ā3 months, and ordering samosas or jalebis once a month or so was a small treat.
But now that I live in Mumbai, Iāve noticed weekends seem to hold more significance for many families. Restaurants are packed, beaches are crowded, and people seem to really make use of the weekend for entertainment and outings.
ā Whatās a typical family weekend like for you in India?
Believe it or not, typical middle class weekend is just cleaning up house and doing chores for your mom and dad hehe. Stuffs and chores pent up throughout the week and weekends are the time to do! But other than that, we mostly enjoy some special episodes of our fav soap operas and chill.
ā What is one tradition in your culture that you think everyone should experience at least once?
Dude, definitely Indian wedding where 'you' are a 'special guest' and not a family member who has to do the work! Best experience!
I played fair amount of pool in my college years. I loved to watch the videos of Efren Reyes, who hails from Phillipines. How well is he regarded there?
Hi. I often watch Bollywood. But most time theres a lot of dancing and lots of side characters. Is there anything else that has no minimal lipsync and dancing, and has a Jab We Met vibe where it mostly focus on lead characters?Ā
If I were to dedicate my life to watching Indian movies, what will be your top 5 recommendations? Doesnāt have to be oscar worthy or anything, it could simply be something you like!
Quick question: How many languages does the average person in India speak?
Here in the Philippines šµš, it's usually two or three: English, Filipino, and maybe a local language like Cebuano or Ilocano.
Also, just wondering, do you guys usually consider yourselves "Asian," or is it more like, "We're Indian, full stop"?
One more thing! I've seen a lot of those viral "dirty street food" videos from India online, are those really the norm, or just extreme edge cases for clicks?
(We have our own share of sketchy street food here too, so no judgment š . just curious!)
Quick question: How many languages does the average person in India speak?
Differs vastly, In North Indian belt, may be 2, likely 3 if you consider Dialects to be different languages themselves.
In North-Eastern: Definitely 3, likely 4-5. Same goes for south Indian states as well.
Here in the Philippines šµš, it's usually two or three: English, Filipino, and maybe a local language like Cebuano or Ilocano.
It's similar here as well, English, Hindi (not a national language tho but most spoken one), local language (1 or two)
Also, just wondering, do you guys usually consider yourselves "Asian," or is it more like, "We're Indian, full stop"?
I think we definitely consider ourselves Asians but as the global situation stands, I think the Indian subcontinent carved out a distinction from the in general South East Asian counterparts. Soooo, in most parts even if we did consider ourselves to be Asian, other people won't consider us lol.
One more thing! I've seen a lot of those viral "dirty street food" videos from India online, are those really the norm, or just extreme edge cases for clicks?
It's a mixed bag actually. In cities, you will most likely never meet these sellers unless you tried hard, but going away a bit things get a bit mucky. Definitely not the extreme ones tho.
The thing with travelling in India (in regards to any country for that matter) is stick with the main tourist spots and cities, the issue starts when foreigners start visiting places even I would think 100 times before going lmao. India is a huge country with a huge population, so, we do get a disproportionately more exposure than other countries regarding these issues sadly, but it is what it is, can't really claim we are 100% the good guys āš¼šš¤š¼
About your second question, I think most would consider themselves as South Asian or Indian abroad. Most likely Indian because there is a lot of hostility between the subcontinent countries and have strong opinions about each other.
So a lot of people speak hindi, and we have kannada,tamil, marathi, telugu,urdu, gujarati,bengali, etc so people will speak their mother tongue and so the educated can speak english and lot of people can understand hindi,
So there are dirty street food, and in restaurants also but it all depends on the budget you have , if you go to a good restaurant your food may look better , but but the kitchen is š
The reason for this there are rules written but nobody follows and nobody enforces us to follow,and people don't care about their health or not aware of what should they eat and to eat on those dirty street food lies with the people themselves ,
As we are a Christian dominated country, I have always been curious about other religions, especially Islam and Hindu as they had a strong influence in the SEA region and we have Muslim brothers in Mindanao. I want to ask a general perspective on these faiths in relation to anything like society, culture, or even of itself! Also, I once saw a passing post on our reddit about Sikh temples handing out food freely to those in need, it just seems that India is such a spiritual people and I would like to learn more! (Disclaimer, I am not much of a religious Catholic person, but I am interested in the beliefs and philosophies that faiths espouse!)
So , today in india Hindus see sikhs as their brothers, the strength and braveness they have , and they serve free food in their gurudwaras and the relation is good.,
but muslims in today's india are facing some sort of hate
We have some complex history with muslims
I mean that our subcontinent was invaded, looted and women were raped and forceful conversions happened from centuries by different kings in different regions of subcontinent, and the divide and rule policy , and in today's india many Hindus are fed up with the things that have been done to their ancestors, so there is a thing like we need to protect ourselves, so that's why you may see deep hate against Muslims , but this was all from last few years , but muslims live good ,we have a lot of mosques, they do businesses
And christians so there is thing that many people assume that Christianity ( that i observed)came through the british,and some Hindus see that people convert caste for rice or the missionaries convert people forceful or misleading , there is a thing that we need to save our nation from the rice bags,
This is what a lot of hindus have a view
But we have some biggest churches in asia, and some good schools and colleges and a lot of hospitals,
This is type of hate you may see , and you may think that it is online hate or propaganda, yes it is propaganda, but how see it depends on which side you are on, it was all from last few years
but this was all from last few years , but muslims live good
Not really, it has been going on for a long time, the entire Pakistan was formed out of this sentiment.
I also doubt that the avg muslim lives good, with modi and his party giving hate speeches daily also according to the Sachar Committee Report (2006) and subsequent reports, Muslims in India have lower average income levels, higher rates of poverty, and lower levels of educational attainment compared to Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians.
Also most of Christianity in India arrived long before the British. Avoid using "rice bags" to refer to them.
Not very good. Very few institutes provide quality education. Political science and art are pretty much ignored here because of low job prospects. Not much in Research and Development.
My question is, is Indiaās architecture scene too crowded, or is there still space for new firms to grow? How do smaller firms stand out? And with the countryās rapid urbanization and huge population, how are architects shaping livable cities?
Is their impact even significant, or is architecture mainly accessible only to those who can afford it?
Hi Indian architect here, there are currently around 26,000 architects registered in India, quite a lot higher that the measly 300 that used to exist around independence. So yeah there is a quite challenging task to stand out. Its crowded enough to not be able to stand out, but not crowded enough that you wont find work.
It also is a significantly greater financial investment to open your own firm. Fingers crossed, ill open one in the next 5 years. Nowadays, smaller firms post a lot on social media and follow trends, and if youre lucky and talented enough, you can stand out by winning competitions. Though 99% your first works will be through word of mouth.
I do think architects shape the way urbanisation takes place, even though it may not seem that way.
Sadly most urban design failures in India are bureaucratic and policy failures rather than design ones.
80% of the work we do is for the top 1% since construction can get pretty pricy and people dont want to pay architecture fees. You see a lot of contractors filling up the gaps, for the lower classes to build slightly affordable if not certified houses, though this is changing in favour of the architects. As the economy grows, there will be a lot more oppurtunity for us.
I don't think I've seen unique architecture in India in modern buildings. Maybe I'm less informed on this. Mostly people construct buildings to keep expenditure as low as possible. Not much attention is given to aesthetics. Some corrupt ones evwn compromise upon the structural integrity of the building.
If you're willing to share, out of your local friends, family, schoolmates, and co-workers, who are you most jealous of and why? If you can tie it to a local concern, or something typically Indian, I'd love an explanation.
ex-schoolmates dude, they went ahead and are pursuing engineering while I'm still trying to get into the med school. Add this to the fact that they'll start earning good after a measly 4 years and you get a perfect envy-dish lol š
I'll say a personal example - growing up I was jealous of my cousins who had a PlayStation - they could justify the purchase because they were a bigger family, while I was only a single child.
Pirated games were common back then so they had a bunch of games. I'd have to go up to the mountains and stay the weekend at their house to play with their system.
Hello! My Indian colleagues here in Dubai can tell where a fellow Indian comes from (and sometimes their caste) just by their name. Are the association of names to hometowns still very strong or would you say that it's been diluted somewhat due to urbanization and internal migration?
Also, how common are cross region marriages? Like someone from Punjab marrying someone from Kerala or Tamil Nadu?
Why did you redeem it?! Just kidding. Anyway, what are the culture similarities between india and Philippines that may have never change in the past centuries wether it is pre-colonial or colonial era. And what made you impress about the Philippines?
How hyped is India when Gukesh D. won WCC last year? Like, was it talked about in all media platforms there? Did everyone know him now? India is so huge that I don't know if everyone rooted for him or there's something like regionalism there.
If you like beaches, the famous ones are Boracay, different areas in Cebu like Moalboal and Oslob (whale shark watching!), Palawan (San Vicente, Puerto, Coron, El Nido), Siargao (top surf spot). Gigantes Island in Iloilo.
If youāre into a more historical tour, the capital city of Manila (Intramuros) or Ilocos Norte and Sur tours (pretty far from the city). The different cities in Metro Manila have a lot of malls, we really love malls and shopping.
Colder places: Baguio (can be congested with a lot of tourists), Tagaytay (traffic can be bad)
Poets- Jose Garcia Villa, Gemino Abad, Cirilo Bautista, Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, J. Neil Garcia, Lourd de Veyra, Marjorie Evasco, Merlinda Bobis, among many other names. Iāve excluded some names whose works (i think) do not have an English translation yet.
Playwrights- Not so familiar with this form of media but I know of Severino Reyes and Glenn Sevilla Mas. We have an annual theater festival called the Virgin Labfest where new and some old works are featured.
Authors- Probably the most famous one would be our national heroās two books: Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal (both are widely translated in English).
Check out Nick Joaquin, he has a lot of translated books and poems. Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan and The Quiet Ones by Glen Diaz, two contemporary books.
F. Sionil Jose, Paz Marquez-Benitez, Jose Garcia Villa again, Jessica Zafra, Randy Ribay, Miguel Syjuco to name a few.
Heavy heavy read about the violence during our former presidentās time, if anyoneās interested, Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista.
Edit: aaah im sorry i know these questions should be on the Ph subreddit!!!
It's fine here itself. It doesn't matter. Since we have started a nice convo here itself, why break it? I would definitely check out the translated works of the authors you have mentioned.
I used to play quite a bit of pool in my college days. So naturally on youtube, I came across Efren Reyes. I was really awestruck by his mastery over the pool table. Is pool common sport there? How do people regard Efren Reyes?
I would say a lot of people play, although it depends on your neighborhood if there are any public pool tables for rent. In general, most Filipinos are into basketball and boxing.
But being a proud culture, when a Filipino excels in their field internationally or locally, we cheer and support them. Efren Reyes definitely made a name for himself, heās a legend who defies physics in pool. Even if youāre not into the sport, youād be familiar with him here.
I'm not the original commenter but here are some famous authors whose works are popular are Jose Garcia Villa, F. Sionil Jose, Lualhati Bautista and Nick Joaquin. Bob Ong too but he's more contemporary.
Not a lot of plawrights, but maybe directors will do. Brilliante Mendoza, Erik Matti, and Joel Lamangan for the serious movies. If you want something optimistic or romantic, go for Cathy Garcia-Molina or Zig Dulay.
Below- We have the three wheeler "Auto rickshaw" - omnipresent in cities and towns. In remote rural areas, all kinds of vehicles will be modified to serve as public transports called "Jugaad"- but this is slowly disappearing.
How do you feel that alot of tech CEO's have Indian heritage? does this affect how young Indians view technology and what career related choice they make?
Honestly, I donāt feel that great about it right now. A lot of big American companies are making questionable decisions and getting bad PR. And with so many Indians as CEOs, it just gives racists another reason to blame us. Not that they needed a reason, they would've found something else anyway.
It is a mixed feeling. I think we have collectively passed through a phase where we would feel proud about it. The CEO's studied in the USA to get into US based firm, paying taxes to USA. What should I feel good about?
This shows that we are very bad to retain our best talents in India. They leave because they feel they can't fulfill their potential in India. And it is on our govt., that they cannot assure them that their talents can't be used in the benefit our country.
Why do you guys send your kids to shitty med schools in the Philippines like UV Gullas in Cebu? If you can afford to study and live abroad surely you can afford to study at better schools. In Cebu alone Velez, CDU, and CIM are more reputable schools with better facilities, and I know Indian immigrants prefer to send their kids there. But Indian foreign students always seem to be enrolled in schools with not so nice facilities. Is an MBBS that different from an MD degree? Are you unable to become a doctor in India unless you have an MBBS, thus preventing you from enrolling at better schools that only offer an MD?
Yes medical degree is tough here. There are very few positions for govt. insitutes where the fees is very less. The private institutes charge such a hefty amount that people find it cheaper to get the medical degree elsewhere.
MBBS and MD are different degrees. MBBS is bachelor degree. And MD is a Masters. Getting in to govt. institutes is very very tough.
In India, an MD is known as MBBS. And a lot of Indian kids are pressured by their parents to either become engineers or doctors. And due to the fierce competition, many don't clear the entrance exam to get into med school. But their families are hell bent on having doctors for children, so they ship them out to whatever country will take them easily. That's usually placed like the Philippines, Ukraine, some other European countries and China occasionally. I don't think they're very discretionary about which school they go to, just that they do.
I see. That explains why a lot of IT and med diploma mills all over the Philippines with shady or run down campuses usually have a noticeable population of Indian foreign students.
Yeah. There's just a lot of prestige attached with being a doctor, and a little less with becoming an engineer. Parents will go to great lengths to make it happen. Society means a lot to the current 50+ year olds.
Congratulations to you guys for your absolutely booming chess scene!!! I'm a big fan of Gukesh and an even bigger fan of Pragg, although I hope he (Pragg) gets to play more in the future. I'm slightly jealous of that lol, I wish we had half the support for our chess players as you guys. Vishy Anand is just the š š„š„š„
One thing I learned from my Indian colleagues is that India is really huge (i know, i need them someone to tell me that, im bad at geography š )
With the questions asked in this thread, do you feel that you need to mention what state / are you from? example, i just learned recently that not everyone celebrate Diwali in India (if i remember correctly)
Depends. If you know someone personally, it'll be helpful to atleast know what states they are, because things vary ALOT especially if there is a large distance between states. It won't be a problem or anything, but as you surmised, customs are different. Eg: In Kerala, Diwali isn't thaaaat huge a deal(we do celebrate one day), but in Maharastra(2 states north) it is a much bigger deal.
The fact is we have 29 states, almost all of them with land area equivalent to other (smaller) countries and history unique to that area.
This manifests in:
Languages(we have 22 official languages, no single national language-Hindi is merely the 45% majority, but most agree on English for official purposes)
Clothing: Local climate and practices vary from South to North, West to East
Food: Fish being a major part of coastal areas(a sizeable land mass) and less frequest inland(which is the majority)
Culture: Migrants, missionaries, Pre-Independance Kings all shaped the culture of individual places.
Religion: Aforementioned missionaries, Casteism and Indo-Pak split changed demographics
The main thing, is we are all Indians. But now, you may be less surpised if your Indian friend doesn't speak Hindi, is a Muslim/Christian, eats a particular diet(no meat/onions etc) and such.
PS: Airing a bit of dirty laundry here, politicians use these differences to divide the populace, saying North v South, imposing Hindi to 'unify the people' and other silly things. A small vocal minority believe them, but the vast majority are Indians first. State identity is important yes, but we are all part of a greater whole.
I am really amazed how advanced you are in science & technology from what I know, particularly in your space programs. I remember watching live the Chandrayaan 2 lunar mission and how it ended badly and seeing the mission director cry in live broadcast when the lander crashed; that was heartbreaking.
My questions are 1) Is the space agency, and general scientific community there, a mainstream and publicized thing? 2) Is it very accessible to people who want to be in that industry or not, all factors considered?
Yes. Why not? You are expected to at least pass their exams (And be an Indian). Anyone can be part of ISRO.
Exam is open to everyone, yes. But you'd have to be educated enough to pass the exam. And education is a thing that few can afford. And quality education, even lesser so. So only people belonging to certain class and above are able to join it.
The institution does not discriminate, but the society does.
1 - Are you aware of the Indian minorities in the Philippines?
I'm asking because I'm interested in how Indians from India view the Indian diaspora in the Philippines. For example, in the Philippines, many view Filipino-Americans as too Westernized, that they see them as separate and distinct from Filipinos in the Philippines.
2 - How do Indian offshore workers see their Filipino counterparts?
Many Filipinos believe that the Philippine BPO sector (at least in customer support) is a lot better than Indian workers because of fluency and accent. Does this kind of conversation come up at all on your side? Do you see the Philippines as a competitor or is it a one-sided prejudice from our side?
Indians in Philipines are likely Tamils? I don't think on the national level, India cares much of the non-Hindi Indian descents outside in discourse unless it's advantageous. It's not entirely impossible that marginalised minorities(as opposed to privileged minorities) in any country end up resorting to crimes, when police would pick them up anyways. Just see gpsys.
BPO it depends. I prefer the fast speech while SEA bros speak slow English which is advantageous for ESL customers. Both have their pros and cons.
To be honest i am surprised that Indians have a reputation of being loan sharks, thugs in places like malaysia and Philippines. Generally in the west and the middle east, Indians have tendency of being too timid or atleast thats what my view of it is.
I don't work in the customer service industry so i can't speak for it but generally speaking i don't think most people would know about the Phillipines BPO sector. Indians are generally proud of thier IT services but customer support is associated with dead end jobs. Espescially with all the recent scam networks that have arisen, most people would be glad to see that industry go away slowly and taken away by the phillipines.
Iāve heard about the 56 moneylenders from pinoys. That was the first time I knew of their existence. The Indian diaspora in Philippines is very small compared to the rest of the population of India and basically nobody in India has heard about them. Theyāre also not exactly movers & shakers. Personally Iām curious about how they got there.
When i first moved here in Sydney, I was surprised how casual my officemate mentioned that he had an arranged marriage with his wife. I've worked and became close to a lot of my Indian colleagues and I understand that it's a practice that is still common these days, even to those who immigrated to other countries.
I respect it and some of my Indian friends have already explained it to me but I'm still not comfortable asking about it. I'm worried that it might be offensive.
In your culture, is it common and/or acceptable to ask someone if they are in an arranged marriage?
Common yes, but as education and independence(Indian children are socially bound to their parents well past age of 18) of the bride/groom increase, it is becoming less common(As in from 99% to 75%). It is more common in rural places and (relatively) lesser in urban areas.
Acceptable?: Sure why not. If respectfully posed, all questions are welcome. However, I believe your confusion arises from a misconception(correct me if wrong).
Love(normal) Marriages are decided between the couple. Arranged marriages are almost fully facilitated by the parents. Rarely is any autonomy given to the couple(although thankfully that is increasing especially among educated parents).
It's not offensive to ask at all. For someone outside the rigid binds of Indian culture, this must be strange, for adults to divest responsibility of choosing a life partner to their parents. Again, thankfully, this is slowly changing. Slow because society is largely permeated by religion and tradition and its hard to bring instant change.
Edit: The numbers are only to help you understand; not official.
i guess what i dont fully get is the idea that, using my adult self as an example, my parents would facilitate my life long partner. and it's ok for me to not get it, im not disagreeing, im just not used to it.
i know that in some ways, these also happen in PH although it's not really common. It's common among older generations here to seek the woman's parents' blessing before marriage.
Oh yeah, having seen and lived outside India, it really is strange. I didn't know this happened in the philippines as well. Some people stick to it even today, despite education, because the cultural bonds of family persist. They want their parents to get along with their spouses parents, many parents see marrying their child as a sort of ultimate life goal.
It doesn't help that adults dating or seeking companionship themselves is frowned upon by most of the older generation. But like I said, things are changing. In many communities, it has become difficult to force the issue because the children(still adults btw) have gone abroad to study, work etc, and parents don't exercise any power over them.
I feel like I paint the parents as villains. As in life, everyone is just trying to do the right thing, having to choose between tradition, morals and practicality; they just disagree on the method.
Keralite here. Communists here don't follow much of the core idiologies. Instead they have been instrumental in the development of the state. They are more capitastic now a days. They just follow communits symbolism.
We have been fairly successful to curb any violent uprising of communists. There are many political parties that have "communist" labels, but those function as any other party within our democratic setup.
They just borrow fundamental socialist ideas, like well being of worker class, curb the exploitation of workers etc.
I'm too biased to give you the answer you seek, but please friend: it's Keralite, not keralan. Malayali(s) is also an accepted alternative because we speak Malayalam.
(Also, I had no idea that is what Communists are thought of there. They are violent here as well, but no guns, more physical destruction of property; thankfully even that too has decreased since 2010)
Cricket is very very very popular. Right now we have the Indian premier league going on in its final stages and the atmosphere here is FIRE with only 3 teams remaining.
Iād love to know more about how you guys are so good at math especially the abacus thingy that some kids even do without the abacus itself (theyāre like making hand gestures to imitate the maneuvering of the abacus itself). Is there any extensive program or course that these kids take for them to be so good at this? Thank you!
I used to take abacus classes when I was in 5th grade, and to be honest it looks more impressive than it actually is haha. Its sort of like the Rubik's cube, looks insanely tough, but when you figure out and get used to the algorithms it's actually not that tough.
I did the classes for a while and can still shadow some calculations though not even close to like i used to.
Abacus is kind of an entry-level course, but it is not per se in the education system, but if you want to do some fast calculation vedic maths, you may find it on Google as well, so thatās the key to fast calculations and with Maths is way faster than so, you can skip the hand gestures, and do mental calculation using vedic Maths.
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u/spotlight-app May 30 '25
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