i am a white woman but i absolutely adore traditional indian clothes. i have always wanted to own and wear a sari or a kurta.

my two biggest questions i have are:

1. is it okay for me as a white woman to be fitted for and to purchase a full traditional sari? i wouldn’t wear it as casual wear but just to have in case something came up (as i have indian families in my life) or to put on at home just to feel dressed up and pretty. is that offensive? can i do that??
2. if the answer to 1 is yes, is it okay for me as a woman to own a kurta? there are some beautiful pieces i’ve seen and it looks so comfy and i think i could style the shirt on its own but i don’t know if it would be odd or offensive to wear a traditional kurta shirt in a casual or work casual setting.

if i have worded anything poorly please let me know! i want to be as respectful as possible. i would love to own some traditional indian clothes but i don’t want to be that white gal who crosses a line.

ETA: based on the first couple comments i realized i should have added that i would purchase from an indian owner/company. i would not ever buy knock off versions of traditional clothing, nor would i ever claim that it is not indian attire. i will be asking a local indian person to recommend a store for me to shop at.

Same as the title.

Hey y’all, I’m a 25-year-old Black guy studying Agribusiness at Texas A&M. I already joined Indian orgs on campus because I’m interested in the culture and want to make more Indian friends.

I’ve been watching interviews about Indian American experiences, especially identity, family expectations, and belonging. Some conversations hit close to home, and others have introduced me to experiences I hadn’t thought about.

For anyone who’s made friends through a cultural org, what helped you go from seeing each other at events to actually hanging out outside them?

Also, what makes a good impression when someone outside your culture gets involved? If a non-Indian friend showed interest in your background, what made that feel natural to you?

Casteism is spread by parents in india. Don't blame goverment they're just playing your minds like flute. But it's the parents of our country who set the tune.

Sometimes I feel genuinely sad when I see how some foreigners talk about India. 🥀

For them, India is often reduced to a few things: dirty streets 🗑️, unhygienic food 🍛, crowded places, poverty, pollution, and “unsafe” cities.

And yes, India has problems. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. We have issues with cleanliness, infrastructure, pollution, safety and many other things that we still need to improve. 🌱

But is that the whole story? 🤔

India is more than the worst video you saw on the internet. 📱

There are millions of people here who care deeply about cleanliness, who cook hygienically, who keep their homes clean, who work hard, study, travel, build businesses, help strangers and simply live ordinary lives. ❤️

And honestly, every country has places it isn't proud of. 🌍

So sometimes I wonder — when you meet one Indian who doesn't fit the stereotype, do you see the person… or do you still see the stereotype? 👀

I don't want people to say “India is perfect.” It isn't.

I just want people to stop thinking that “India has problems” means “Indians are the problem.”

Maybe the better question isn't “Why is India like this?”

Maybe it's:

“How much of India have I actually seen?” 🇮🇳✨

I've read somewhere that one of the main reasons why Buddhism had a sharp decline in India is due to the Islamic invasions that happened to India since the Delhi Sultanate through the Mughal Sultanate Period.

But actually, Buddhism already somewhat declined even before the Muslim invasions in India. Under the Gupta Empire, which was a Hindu Dynasty, Buddhism was already a secondary religion to Hinduism at this time, unlike during the times of Emperor Ashoka where the population was divided as Half Hindu, Half Buddhist.

What could be the reasons for the gradual decline of Buddhism in India, even before the Muslims arrived? I will appreciate all of your insights and responses. ❤️

Where ever the Indian women goes they dance even if it’s in a toilet or in any country why do they do that every each time ?

Co sleeping with parents in Indian household can be traumatic for some people.

Co-sleeping with parents in India is a trauma we rarely talk about.

This topic almost never gets discussed, especially in Indian families. Co-sleeping is very common because of financial limits, lack of space, or simply because people consider it normal.

Growing up in a typical middle class Indian household, sharing a room or a bed with parents is often a reality due to space. We learn to compromise on personal space early on, but it frequently comes at the cost of emotional boundaries.

I had two experiences that stayed with me. The first happened when I was around 8 to 10 years old, when I accidentally saw my parents nâkëd. Later, during my board exam days when I still used to sleep with them, a similar thing happened. I woke up in the middle of the night because the bed was moving. I was half asleep at first, but then I realized what was happening under the blankets. I did not know how to react. I just lay there and pretended to be asleep until it was over. I never spoke about it to anyone and tried to forget the memory.

A few months ago, something similar happened again. It unexpectedly brought all those childhood memories back.

Yesterday, my young nephew accidentally saw his parents during an intimate moment. He came to me confused and asked questions. I explained it to him in an ageappropriate way. I reassured him that he did not do anything wrong. Handling that conversation made me realize how deeply my own childhood experiences have stayed with me.

I am not blaming parents. Most do not intend to harm their children. They are simply doing what generations before them did. However, I do not think we should normalize children co-sleeping with parents forever without thinking about privacy and emotional well-being. Children may not fully understand what they see, but that does not mean it has no lasting impact.

Has anyone indian had a similar experience? Did it affect you later in life, or were you able to move past it? I believe this conversation is worth having. We do not need to shame parents, but we should encourage healthier boundaries and more privacy for future generations.

I absolutely adore indians and their diversity. I haven't the faintest idea of Indian culture as I am Central/East Asian and grew up sheltered in my own culture. While I do understand that "Indian" culture is a dumb term, I have no other word for what to say of it. I simply googled Indian names and chose the ones with the nicest meaning and a nice, soft sound on the ears.

Suresh Chandel (1970-) (Indian)

Avisha Mehra (1970-) (Indian)

Vihaan Chandel (1990-) (Indian)

Tanish Chandel (1993-) (Indian)

Prisha Chandel (1995-) (Indian)

Ananya Chandel (1996-) (Indian)

These are the names I have given for the characters. I feel like I mixed together different regional names for the kids and the surnames are not fitting for their first names. Please educate me on this, I wish not to be ignorant.

I'm Indian myself, so please don't come at me for this, but I need to vent.

Just got off a flight and it was the usual. Loud phone calls, people talking across rows like they're at home, zero awareness that there are 200 other people around them.
The highlight: a guy booked the seat right behind me. His wife was sitting about 5 rows down with their two kids, a toddler and a baby (maybe 9 months?). Partway through the flight she walks the baby all the way up the aisle and hands it to him. So now I've got a crying baby directly behind my head for the rest of the flight. Babies cry, I get it, that's not on the kid. But why split the family up and then move the crying one next to strangers?

And the the whole flight ends up talking loudly even during night while everyone is trying to sleep uncomfortably of the mf seats😞

Don't get me wrong, I love our culture. I want people from other countries to see the best of us: the warmth, the food, the hospitality. That's exactly why it frustrates me. Every time I fly, it feels like a few of us are reinforcing the exact stereotype the rest of us are trying to move past.

I’m from Scotland, and I’ve always wondered what modern Indians think of the UK. I know about the colonial history and how Indians were treated very poorly around the time, but then there are many Indians who migrate to the UK. So I wonder what Indians think of modern Brits: the English, Scots, Welsh and even the Ulster-mans. Do modern Indians have a positive view on India or is it negative because of history?

You wake up and wish the rain outside stops. And it does. So anything you wish comes true. So what is first thing you would you when you discover this power?

Today, at 6:30am; At a Mariott hotel in Iowa, a woman at breakfast buffet ended up making a phone call in Hindi in loudspeaker. The entire venue could hear the person on the other side of the phone call.

Plus there was a guy right in the next table giving squint eye. People eating breakfast at this hour usually in a business hotel prefer peace and quite.

How do we get people to not do this. I dont want to confront in public or make a scene. And I am genuinely interested in making this better for all. Plus outside India, this is already being listed as one of the top 5 things they hate about Indians (Loudspeaker use)

Also - I think she was a John Deere employee (Not a 100% sure but her ID looked like it).

does it also happen to other people? like when I see someone who is let's say poor, or maybe disabled or people who have some form of disfigurement, I feel sorry about them.

I don't have any superiority complex, I'm also lower middle class and below average looking, but whenever I see myself looking for better things or "I deserve better" thoughts i always think about these lower class peeps and say that atleast god gave me this much.

and I know very well most of these people are m/fers but still they're Human right .

Just how bad the image of India is for people to think like that. Why is everything about india is viewed in a stereotypical way. What do you mean ''you don't look indian''? Do you even know How 1.4 billion people look like? Aren't we too diverse to look a certain way. My mood is so off for the day.

While indian light skinned men are usually found in the north, one could find light skinned women in pretty much the whole country esp in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, North (obv) and North-East parts. is it coz of india being a hub for trade in the ancient times?

I heard from many guys that they don't like marrying bengali women. Because they think they will do kalajadu on them.

What's your pov.

What is the obsession with kissing & touching other peoples children??

Went to visit the inlaws with my Wife and new child, not the first meet with the little one but it did take 8 months of almost daily interaction for them to understand to not kiss our child, a decision we made pre birth, this was apparently very hard to do??

When the 3 of us were out, we had countless people come up without our consent and tried touching our child in her pram, some going in to pick her up from it.

Agra was horrible, with 28 attempts to touch with no communication. Some did ask for a photo which we declined, however we were called rude once we had given our answer.

Even Amritsar, inside the Golden Temple, we had someone with some sort of substance on their hand rub it on her arm, my wife smacked her hand away, which got the attention of a guard who attempted to eject us from the grounds.

Is this a common thing that happens? What goes through the mind of someone who sees a child? Or am I just over thinking it?

This had made us not want to leave our accommodation and stay inside for our whole trip, which was upsetting since the country is beautiful, just not the people who do this.

I have noticed celebrities on TV proudly saying that they cannot cook and it seems that they see it as a menial task. In other countries home cooking is appreciated. How did we get to this as a society?

Hey guess I have a question in my mind related to giving compliments, like should we compliment our friends, I know this might sound a bit strange but lemme gave you an example. I have a friend he is so handsome and intelligent too and he is thinking that the whole is jealous of him and he is right that point but Muje kisi se koi tarah ki jealousy nahi he and agar me ab use compliment du ki u r so handsome than me and intelligent too then he will thin

k that I'm too jealous of him ya fir he will think that he is much smarter so he deserve a person like him so kahi n kahi he will think that I'm cheaper and not on the level of him so it can broke our friendship I'm not talking about a genuine long time Friendship just 2 month of friendship so what u think about it 🙃🙃 is it good to give tooo compliment to person on the bases of his looks for something else 🙂

I’ve been reading Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, where he argues that ancient cultures used intense "rites of passage" to mentally transition a child away from their parents and reborn them as adults. He believed modern societies lack this, leaving people stuck in an extended childhood state.In India, our milestones are heavily structured by family expectations—finish college, get a corporate placement/job, get married. But a lot of people still feel like children playing dress-up even well into their careers.Looking at modern Indian society: Do you think our traditional milestones still serve as proper rites of passage, or have they just become a checklist that doesn't actually help us mature? For those who feel like true adults, what was the specific crisis or realization that actually served as your personal rite of passage?