The Truth about India

The truth about India is....you cannot generalise.
It is simply impossible.

That is why I must apologise to any Indian readers (like Nish) for having made gross generalisations that aren't applicable to most of India. So, to set my other readers straight, here's the truth (or at least this is closer to the truth than what you've read so far):

• In most parts of India, you have to be civilly married in order to be officially recognized as married, and having to do Sunday School exams is not widespread; it is either confined to Kerala, or to Nedumkandam (probably the latter). :)
• There are polite Indians. Correction: there are many polite Indians. The lack of gratitude is confined to some teachers at Nedumkandam SDA High School, and some students. Of course, you will find many who do say 'Thank You' when they appreciate something.
• Coca-Cola and Pepsi were only banned in Kerala (sorry, didn't specify that!). That was due to rat poison on the cans. They were storing cans in warehouses where rat poison was being used to eliminate the rodent problem, and thus Pepsi and Coke were described as being 'injurious to health.'
• The wife and children taking on the husband's / father's first name as their last name is not confined to Christian families (although I don't know who and how many people do it).

This is what I've also learned (since in Bangalore):

• In India, nobody is ever on time (Nish, an Indian, said this, so blame her if you disagree with the statement). :)
• In most cities, beating children in schools is punishable by law. I realised when I arrived in Bangalore that in India (and probably most less developed countries) the rural areas are worlds apart from the urban areas. Of course, I should have known that already, but experiencing the difference makes it so much clearer. You have to understand that in Nedumkandam, people are still very traditional (many middle-aged ladies tell me not to tie my hair in a bun because that's a sign of being married - I do it anyway due to convenience), whereas Indian cities are changing so much on a daily basis! In Nedumkandam, the idea of a 'love marriage' (non-arranged marriage) is still very foreign, whereas that is normal in cities.

You can never see all of India. And you can certainly never understand all of India. That's why it's so fascinating: it's so many world, so many cultures, so many languages, so many peoples...all in one country. Each state is completely unique, and each district within a state is different from the next district.
India has it all: all types of landscapes, all religions, all cultures, rich and poor, rural and urban, traditional and modern (often all these are right next to each other, making for startling contrasts)...
You simply can't put India into words. And you certainly cannot generalise.
So I apologise for making that mistake, and I hope to see India through new eyes in the future.