The Indian ethos

Indian ethos are difficult to understand by foreigners.But for Indians these are the guiding principles of life. Communication and everyday transactions will become very difficult if you don't follow these. To make it clear I want to give an example.

You are planning to meet somebody and ask for a favour. Before the meeting you need to find out lot of information on the social status of the person.Based on the status you have to buy an appropriate gift to carry with you. It is very important to decide on what your dress will be and how you will travel to the persons office or house.Finally you have to decide on the need for a companion.

Based on the purpose of your visit and your own strength of acquaintance with the person the need and the profile of the accompanying person is decided.Most of Indians are shy to a certain extent. They feel lot more confident to take another person with them who knows the person they want to meet.Also they need a fall back if something goes wrong during the interview.

If the man travels by a car,he will make sure that the car is driven in to the compound of the hosts house and people there see him getting down from the car. The entire thing will be done in an unhurried fashion with enough time interval so that it will look realistic and natural.

When our person meets the VIP he will put on an air of humility and humbleness to show that surely he is below the level of the host. Greetings are delivered in a low tone with deliberate slowness. The gift is not given directly to the host but kept on a side table.The visitor continues to stand till the host asks him to take a seat.

The most important point is not to go to the subject of the visit once the conversation begins. The first 10 minutes will be in praise of the host and how the visitor came to know about the host from various noteworthy sources. If there is an accompanist it will be an excellent opportunity to elaborate and expand.

The next ten minutes will be spent on the visitors background. The narration will be normally done by the accompanist as it is thought unbecoming to praise or talk about ones own self. Usually there will be a mention of the name of a relative or colleague of the host, who will be somehow traced to the visitor as a close friend.

In the third phase there will be talk about the families of both the host and the visitor,which will be a general review of their accomplishments and their current status. The narration might also jump across to relatives who have high social status. At this juncture if the host feel that the visitor is really important coffee will be offered. Otherwise it is customary to ask if the guest would like to have something to drink? The reply expected traditionally is."No. I had coffee just before starting for your house"

If the host has enough time available the fourth phase could go over the situation prevailing currently in the country and how every one is suffering. Finally the host will put an end to the visit by indicating that he had to move on for another task and will get up from his seat. This is the juncture at which our person should casually mention the favour he wants. There will not be much deliberation on this, excepting the host may ask the visitor to come again after sometime as time is needed to study the issue. The host is supposed to never say that he could not do the job or anything in negative, even though it may be the case. The rule is that if it is a negative situation the visitor himself will wind up after 4 or 5 visits.

Any transaction in India if you want to finish in one go is impossible as it requires minimum 3 to 4 visits to progress.Discussions and deliberations are continuous and never within a time frame. The Indian ethos is based on the eternal nature of time.