An Indian woman has caught the internet’s attention after sharing a list of things she does not miss about India after moving abroad. Her video has sparked a discussion on social media about staring in public, personal space, unannounced visits, honking and lane discipline.
The second thing on her list was people turning up at someone’s home without calling first. She contrasted this with her experience abroad, where people typically ask in advance if they are home or free for a quick meet-up. She also spoke about personal space and queues. Her fourth point was honking. She recalled initially finding the quiet abroad strange. However, after returning to India, she began noticing the amount of honking more sharply. The final thing she mentioned was lane driving. Despite her observations, Parinoor stressed that she continues to love India and sometimes misses being there. “Do I miss India? Of course! Do I miss everything about India? Not really!” she wrote. “That’s the peculiar thing about moving away from home – distance gives you a certain clarity. You start noticing the quirks, the chaos, the little cultural habits you once considered completely normal, while still being deeply fond of where you came from,” she added. The post prompted several users to relate to her observations. One user wrote, “True… Experienced both worlds.
In a video shared on Instagram, Dr Parinoor said that the first thing she does not miss is “the staring”. She said that after moving abroad, she can go to the beach in a bikini or relax in a park without repeatedly checking whether someone is watching her. “You can literally just exist in public without being conscious about yourself,” she said, adding that she has become used to the freedom of being able to do so. In India, she joked, it can instead be, “Hum idhar se nikal rahe the, socha aapko bhi hello karte jaayein,” followed by the familiar last-minute request to get snacks. People standing in queues in India can sometimes get so close that there is not enough space for air to pass between them, according to her. Abroad, she said, people generally maintain a gap. “Saamne red light hai, tumhare horn bajane se woh green nahi ho jaayegi,” she said, describing how horns can be heard during traffic jams, at red lights and amid various situations on the road. She said that in India, drivers can suddenly come from the left or right, whereas abroad, drivers generally use indicators before changing lanes. In the caption of the post, she further clarified that moving abroad was not about discovering a “better” life. Rather, she said it gave her “a different perspective” and made her notice cultural nuances she had not previously thought about. “So true and people respecting your boundaries nobody interfering in your life,” commented another. “So true and people respecting your boundaries nobody interfering in your life,” wrote a third user. “After watching this video I came to know that india and pakistan are same,” said one user.
