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Staying with an Indian family in India


Staying with an Indian family in India

If you remain in India for a while, you'll probably be invited to stay with a family at some point. Since Indians are such wonder-fully hospitable people, living with an Indian family is generally a delightful and rewarding experience. You should be aware, however, that you may not have complete freedom to come and go, and you may have to surrender your own agenda in the face of all the hospitality that will be showered on you.

When you go to stay with a family, be sure to bring a gift of some sort. Something from your own country would be much appreciated, as would a nice arrangement of flowers or sweets.

For arrangement staying with an Indian family in India contact Swan Tours, Swantour.com arranges tour luxury tours in India with Indian royal family.

Most Indians feel that by honoring a guest, one is honoring God and this idea that hospitality is a sacred duty is deeply embedded in the culture. Hospitality is a quality you will find in most Indians irrespective of religion, class, or economic level. Indians love to have guests, and even the poorest people will generously share whatever little they have. Most Indians would feel ashamed to allow a guest to walk out the door without having partaken of their hospitality.

Traditionally, no guest should go away dissatisfied or hungry. Invitations are often offered with the words "please come home," in the sense that "our home is also your home." Such expansive hospitality is delightfully irresistible.

When you stay in an Indian home, you will usually find that all the members of the extended family who are living in the same house or compound will come to greet you and sometimes half the neighborhood as well. Many people consider it a special honor to have a visitor from overseas in their home and they will often go to incredible lengths to care for your every need. Some Indians are so eager for visitors that they could be described as aggressively hospitable. You may meet complete strangers in airports or on trains who insist that you must come and stay with them literally within the first minute of your conversation! When this happens, you should be on guard. In such a culture, their motives could easily be pure, but they could also have a hidden agenda that you wouldn't want to be involved in, or even something sinister, so be careful. It's not recommended to accept hospitality from strangers, especially if you have met them on the train or bus. For the sake of courtesy, however, you should say the usual vague but noncommittal yes, whether you plan to show up or not, but don't let yourself be bullied into going with anyone against your will. You aren't obligated to give in to their agenda. If someone keeps pressing you for a commitment and won't accept your excuses, you may have to say a firm no.

On the other hand, if you receive such insistent offers from a person who has been introduced to you by friends, the situation is entirely different. Being a friend of a friend means a lot in India, and by offering hospitality to such a person, one is honoring one's friend as well. In this case, you should feel free to accept as long as you feel comfortable with the situation. But if you don't feel comfortable, then you can simply evade the invitation in the usual manner, or else you might agree to come for tea instead.

For more information staying with an Indian family in India and Holiday packages in India contact Swantour.com

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