An NRI in America shared his experience at a dinner party, where he was surprised to hear strange notions about India. The guests asked whether lasagna is available in India or whether there are elections. This post went viral and caused a debate on cultural ignorance.
An Indian living in America has shared a post on social media, which is now very much discussed. In this, he narrated a strange incident of a dinner party, where he was surprised to hear the strange notions people had about India. One guest even said that “Lasagna is not available in India.” This incident has been shared by an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) on Reddit’s popular forum r/Indiansinusa. The title of the post was, ‘Lasagna is not available in India + other gems of the dinner table.’ He told that he had gone to dinner in an Italian restaurant in America, but the conversation there turned his head.
According to him, as soon as his food arrived, a colleague’s cousin casually said, “Yes… you don’t get lasagna in India.” It seemed as if he was assuming that India has nothing to do with global food and café culture. Recalling that moment, NRI jokingly wrote that the guest probably thought that 1.4 billion people were completely cut off from global food and café culture. But the series of strange questions did not stop here.
The Reddit user reported that the same person asked after some time, “What is that yellow animal in India that people travel on?” This question was so confusing that at first they thought perhaps he was talking about an elephant. He politely replied that kings and emperors used elephants centuries ago, but the truth was that he still had “no idea” which animal the man was talking about.
Another question surprised him equally when the guest asked, “Can you go to India?” The NRI replied, “Yes, why not? I can go whenever I want.” However, in his mind he was thinking that perhaps he wanted to ask if he intended to settle in India forever.
But, in his words, “the biggest bombshell” came when the same person questioned whether elections were even held in India. The NRI told that to this he gave a sharp reply, “Yes, there are. And that is why we have a Prime Minister, not a Supreme Leader or a King.” He also told that this was not the first time he was facing such misunderstandings in America. Even before, Uber drivers have asked him similar questions regarding India’s democracy.
The post soon went viral, sparking a debate about cultural ignorance, stereotypes, and how many people know little about the world outside their own country. While many Reddit users sympathized with the man and acknowledged that such experiences can be very frustrating, others argued that ignorance of other cultures is not just an American problem, but a global problem.