Tag Archives: south asian

Stop! Take your Shoes Off!

shoes

Photo courtesy- franandwally.blogspot.com

The above scene isn’t uncommon in India or for that matter elsewhere in the world especially if you happen to drop by an Indian home. Why, you may ask do I have to remove my footwear before I enter your house?

Well, the explanation is simple. For us Indians, our house or home is a sacred place and to contaminate it by bringing dirt from outside is not just disrespectful, it is almost akin to sacrilege. And, if you happen to visit a temple you will be often expected to not just remove your footwear but also wash your feet before entering.

This is not necessarily a religious tradition. It is practiced across most communities in India and  as I discovered,  in many other countries of the world, including Asia, Hawaii, Pacific Islands, as well as some corners of Europe.

So the next time you happen to spy footwear outside a residence, you may want to remove yours too 🙂

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This tradition is mentioned in the PROLOGUE my book ‘INCONVENIENT RELATIONS‘ 

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An ‘Inconvenient Relations’ Excerpt- Raw Emotions

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Another Excerpt from ‘Inconvenient Relations’

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“Here… lunch.” She pushed a box towards him.

“I don’t want it.”

“Why?”

“I feel awkward.”

“But you never felt that way before, so why now?” You took me for granted. She stared reproachfully at him.

“It’s different now.” My perspective has changed. I behaved like a slave master, it’s humiliating. He stared right back.

She pretended to appear disinterested, “you can eat it, give it to your friends or throw it away. This is all I can do to pay you back right now.”

“You don’t have to worry about paying me back. It’s the least that I can do to make up for what I’ve put you through.”

Her chair knocked sharply against the wall, as she jumped to her feet. “What? You think that’s compensation enough? Nothing you do will give me back what I’ve lost! Yes, I agreed to marry you because I was blind and innocent! But who gave you the right to destroy my life, especially since you were having an affair and there was no hope for us? You treated me as if I was a disposable object! Why? Tell me why?”

“Yes I know I’m the worst kind of cad! But my hands were tied! My grandfather was on his death bed, I had no choice!” He snapped back gripping the counter till his knuckles turned white.

Walking up to him, she said softly, “Yes you had  a choice. You could have walked away. You could have been a man.”

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Ruhi has an emotional outburst. She wants to know why? Why did Shaan think her fair game to betray her on their wedding night and then say sorry. Is it that easy to forgive and forget?  

To know more read ‘Inconvenient Relations’ 

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