How I Get Free Stuff Abroad Just By Being an Indian

Sometimes, you realize the value of being an Indian only when you are away from your motherland. I live in Pune, but I realized that we should value our identity when I started traveling abroad. We Indians ourselves have an impression that we always look for freebies while shopping. We tend to negotiate for practically everything possible, and even a penny we save is a penny we earn. Nonetheless, we also have an impression that freebies work only in India, not abroad. However, a couple of episodes on foreign lands amazed me, so much so that I started feeling proud of being an Indian rather than taking my nationality for granted.

I can specially recall two incidents from Munich when I went there last year. I got free stuff at a few places; why? Because I am an Indian! I could not believe the words of those acquaintances when they explained their positive gestures to me. Let me begin my experiences in Munich by mentioning that it is indeed a fabulous city. You get clean roads, brilliant infrastructure, recreational activities to do, and the best part is the presence of fantastic people in the city.

When I was there in Munich for quite a long time, my parents would visit me after a few months. My parents love to have dinner in restaurants whenever possible, and my father is a great fan of South Indian food. So there was this weekend when he said that he felt like eating Uttapam, which is not an easy find in Munich. Yet, I googled about South Indian food in the city, and found a restaurant called Kerala. As we entered the place, we felt good about it, especially the Indian sculptures that added a lot of charm to the ambiance.

The service

The waiter who took our order hailed from Kolkata and we shared great vibes. Before he took the order, we talked about India and our respective cities. We might not talk about our culture a lot in general, but it feels good to do so when you are abroad. So we did the clichéd Indian thing and discussed about the latest movies, politics, and our various cultures. After about 20 minutes, he took our order for spinach corn soup for starters, and then the main course.  The steaming hot soup was super delicious, and then we went ahead with our meal of loads of Indian food. The waiter asked us if we would like to have some tea, to which we all agreed. The tea arrived and we asked for our bill.

Here comes the twist. Surprise! Surprise!

The Indian manager of the restaurant had waived off the charges for the tea and soup, and gave us a discount of 50%! Woaahhh! We asked about it and the manager said that he loved doing it for his own countrymen. I had never come across such a generous person in India, probably they become humble towards their brethren when they are away from their country. We talked to him for half an hour and had a great time.  We told him that we get such discounts in India only when we take a car on rent in Pune. Else, everything else comes for a heavy price most of the times without any discount.

This incident was followed by another one when we visited another Indian restaurant. The owner of the place, again, was too kind, and he treated us with a huge discount on the meal, free cups of tea, and a great session of chatting. Blew my mind!