The very first thing I notice when I come to India is that there’s absolutely nowhere you don’t see people. Seriously, whether it’s outdoors or in an office, people are overflowing everywhere you go. It sounds strange, but even in toilets and elevators, the only place I’ve been where I didn’t see people was my hotel room.
Photo Lovers
People in India really love taking photos. I’ve been to India several times, including with my previous job, and every time I go to the office, for some reason, I get pulled into group photos in front of the building, and I often get photographed during meetings. And then, before you know it, those photos are just casually shared.
When taking photos, they don’t strike dramatic poses (at most, maybe a 👍️). My impression is that they prefer taking photos where everyone is neatly lined up and looking at the camera.
And this time, I hired a guide at a tourist spot, and even though I didn’t ask them to take pictures, and I really wanted to take my time and look around, they’d just drag me around saying things like, “Come here, hand me your phone, I’ll take your picture!” Then, after taking photos with my colleague, they’d say, “Now solo!” and just start snapping a bunch of individual shots. And they’d take multiple pictures of me in the exact same pose and composition, lol.
What’s even funnier is that when I look at the photos they took for me, for some reason, there are a few other people besides me looking at the camera. What’s more, there’s even someone just casually standing between my colleague and me, looking our way… Who is this?!
Unwavering, Never Giving Up (Guide Stories)
At famous tourist spots in India, there are government-licensed guides who approach foreigners like me and start negotiating for their services. Watching my colleague and a guide argue, I seriously doubt I’d ever win if I tried to negotiate myself. Since I don’t understand the language, there’s only so much I can say, but they’re incredibly persistent and assertive, badgering you non-stop. They follow you even after repeated rejections, never giving up until they’re hired as your guide. I guess the guide fees for foreigners must be incredibly high (the admission fees are actually totally different too), but still, it’s quite something. From an outsider’s perspective, it looks less like a negotiation and more like a fight.
Because of all that, even when my colleague said, “Negotiation successful, he’s our guide,” I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is this guy really okay?” After an experience like that, I worried it might leave an impression like, “Guides are persistent, so it’s better to refuse them.” But actually, the guide itself was quite enjoyable, and they taught us a lot of things not found in guidebooks.
On the other hand, the guide we hired at Fatehpur Sikri was quite sly. Even though I said I wasn’t going to buy souvenirs, they’d forcefully drag us to a souvenir shop, saying, “Just look, just one minute!” no matter how many times I refused. The shopkeeper showed us various things, and when I told them, “Sorry, I’m just looking, I won’t buy anything,” the guide would then say something presumptuous like, “Which one do you like from these? Your colleague will negotiate the price for you.” To top it off, after the tour ended and my colleague handed him money saying, “Here’s a tip for two people,” he took it and then immediately started saying, “My guiding was great, right? Give me a tip!” This kind of brazenness, honestly, all you can do is laugh, but it’ll definitely make for a good story about a weird guide.
Even on Seemingly Chaotic Roads, Do People Maintain a Subtle Order?
While there are some areas around Delhi where roads have become somewhat organized, in many places, cars, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, and people are still all mixed together. Sometimes you’ll see cars driving the wrong way, or suddenly notice a cow in the middle of the road – situations like this are everywhere.
When you see cars honking loudly, driving precariously close to each other, and people crossing amidst all this, you can’t help but wonder how there aren’t more accidents, or if all that honking doesn’t feel aggressive. But if you look closely, you hardly see anyone angry on the road. When I asked about it, they explained that honking is mainly just to signal your presence from behind, not typically used like in Japan to mean “get out of the way, danger!” And when I asked how they cross such roads, they calmly said, “Just walk slowly, and cars will avoid you, so it’s fine!”
The traffic situation honestly makes you nervous, as it looks like everyone is driving self-centeredly. But upon closer observation and listening to people, it seems they are surprisingly considerate of each other. It’s puzzling how a subtle order is maintained in an environment that seems to lack any traffic rules, but it might be the easygoing nature of Indian people that makes it possible, which I find very interesting.
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