I am sure most of us must be aware of this famous proverb "a smile is a curve that makes everything straight" , but I guess in Indian culture this proverb doesn't fit the bill.
It often happens that people in India think a lot before giving a courtesy smile to known and unknown colleagues, or greet people in their respective workplaces or their neighbours. After all how much effort does it take? I have observed in my workplace that people from the US of A or UK don't hesitate to smile at you even when they are not directly involved in any work project. This gesture makes a workplace so much friendly. After all we are fast aping the foreign culture, so why do we fail to imitate and adapt the good things? Does this Indian attitude stem from the way we are taught in our childhood to refrain from talking to strangers?
20 Replies
I am sure most of us must be aware of this famous proverb "a smile is a curve that makes everything straight" , but I guess in Indian culture this proverb doesn't fit the bill.Everything starts from own culture and there is gap between east and west and for sure, lifestyle, family life all been different, here, we warned not to talk to strangers and that is why in India social networking is famous,
It often happens that people in India think a lot before giving a courtesy smile to known and unknown colleagues, or greet people in their respective workplaces or their neighbours. After all how much effort does it take? I have observed in my workplace that people from the US of A or UK don't hesitate to smile at you even when they are not directly involved in any work project. This gesture makes a workplace so much friendly. After all we are fast aping the foreign culture, so why do we fail to imitate and adapt the good things? Does this Indian attitude stem from the way we are taught in our childhood to refrain from talking to strangers?
My advice to women is- Do not smile- Others are likely to misunderstand. Here the environment is very unhealthy. There is a proverb that naughty males have coined- Hansi to phansi- (Laugh indicates concurrence for ??) :sick: :sick: :sick:
The belief that laugh indicates concurrence is the creation of male Chauvanism .
I agree the likelihood of getting misunderstood in India is really high. Yet another reason why people don't smile. The fear of being judged in a wrong way stops many. But i never said that we need to smile every passer by..no! What i meant was that if we can give a courtesy smile to people we meet everyday like our neighbours or colleagues that shouldn't be a problem.
Smile - it is a natural gesture that happens with a knee-jerk effort. It is the reflection of our heart and always emanates a friendly aura. Unfortunately most of us hesitate to express this great performance, knowingly or unknowingly. It depends upon the nature and culture of every one. One thing is sure; if it is continued like this, we will lose this great ability of human kind for ever.
Smile - it is a natural gesture that happens with a knee-jerk effort. It is the reflection of our heart and always emanates a friendly aura. Unfortunately most of us hesitate to express this great performance, knowingly or unknowingly. It depends upon the nature and culture of every one. One thing is sure; if it is continued like this, we will lose this great ability of human kind for ever.[/quote
A smile is that language which can be understood by all irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Wisdom lies in using this language as much as possible.
Topic Author
M
Mousumi Ghosh
@Mousumi9
Topic Stats
Created
Saturday, 21 June 2014 19:07
Last Updated
Tuesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
Replies
0
Views
2.1K
Likes
0