Why I Feel That Indians Are Sweet to the Strangers

While it is entirely true that Indian men are shy to talk to other females, the elderly people are particularly sweet to the younger generation despite their gender. There have been several instances when I have met utterly sweet Indian men and women who would ask cute questions, just randomly. There was a similar incident when I was there at the Delhi airport and was waiting for boarding my flight.

The battery of my mobile was low, so I decided to charge it at the waiting lounge in the airport lobby. I engrossed myself in the newspaper I was carrying since I could not access my phone. It was surprising to realize that I had not read a newspaper in many years. Just because I bought it that day on my way to the airport, holding a newspaper in my hands felt good and astonishing at the same time. 

An elderly man, who must be in his sixties, approached me and asked if I worked at the airport. I said no, but I was curious to know if he needed something because he was clearly disappointed. I asked him if I could help him to find someone from the staff at the airport, to which he said yes. Unfortunately, we could not find any staff member, and I finally asked him about the matter that concerned him.

He responded that he was there to pick up his son, who was coming from Bangalore. He just wanted to inquire about the timing of the flight that his son had boarded. I smiled at his concern, to which, he got puzzled. I told him that I could help him in this regard if he had the flight number.

Now it was his turn to smile because he had the number with him in his phone. I opened the required website and told him that his son’s flight will be landing in roughly half an hour. We sat together talking about things. He thanked me and asked about my job and introduced himself as a retired bank manager from a government bank.

I was impressed and told him that I come from Kanpur and that I live in Delhi for my job in a company that deals with Self-Drive Cars.

Although he was impressed at my introduction, he immediately asked me if was okay living alone. I nodded, and then he immediately kept a hand on my shoulder and advised me to eat properly. He wanted me to learn cooking and gave me his number so that I can inquire about the quick foods that I can manage for myself. He was really careful that I should not eat too much from outside because it is cancerous.

I was so amused at his elderly affection for a stranger that I could not help smiling for the remaining time that we spent at the airport. Many similar incidences have happened with me in India, where people have proven their sweet nature for me and other strangers. My friends are also the witnesses for the same. Whenever I used to visit any friend’s house for the first time, their parents would treat me with such affection that would melt my heart.

I had once gone to Punjab and the warm nature of the Punjabi folks took my heart away. They never asked any questions beyond my work, food, and family. They just wanted to feed the guest in their house with as much food as they can. Without exaggerating things, I want to say that I love traveling in India, even more than foreign countries.