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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Manasi: [Namaste hindipod101.com mein swagat hai]
Maya: Welcome back to our all about Hindi, Lesson 10. Top five Hindi Do’s and Don’ts.
Manasi: [Namaste,lesson 10 mein aapka swagat hai.]
Maya: In this lesson, we bring you Indian culture.
Manasi: That’s right. The Do’s and Don’ts in India.
Maya: That’s going to be interesting.
Manasi: Well, some foreigners especially westerners may find it difficult to navigate many cultural norms of Indian culture.
Maya: I know but how can we start?
Manasi: Well I will introduce five Do’s and five Don’ts in Indian culture. How about that?
Maya: Okay let’s go.

Lesson focus
Manasi: Well first is smile.
Maya: Indians smile under any kind of situation to say hello or thank you, to make a request, to apologize, to smooth over bad feelings or to show embarrassment.
Manasi: Exactly. Only fools lose their temper in public.
Maya: And the second Do is
Manasi: Do pick up food and eat with your right hand.
Maya: Yes.
Manasi: Because the use of the left hand is considered improper.
Maya: Oh I see and the next Do is
Manasi: Dress properly when visiting a temple.
Maya: You shouldn’t wear shorts or tank tops.
Manasi: When visiting the most famous tourist attractions like temples, mosque, [darga] or any other religious place, you should dress properly. Long trousers or skirts are fine.
Maya: Next on the list is.
Manasi: Namaste!
Maya: Can you tell us again how to do that?
Manasi: Definitely. Namaste is the way that Indians greet people by pressing their palms together and holding them close to the chest or face and bow down.
Maya: How about in a business situation? If my partner is Indian, should I say namaste or shake hands?
Manasi: I think it would be nicer if you say namaste.
Maya: Okay got it. Last Do for today is
Manasi: Do take your shoes off before entering Indian houses and especially religious places like temples and mosques.
Maya: Yes. I think this one is similar to many Asian cultures where we take off our shoes before entering houses or temples. Now let’s move on to the don’ts.
Manasi: Well, the first don’t is, don’t touch Indian women without permission.
Maya: Why? Are they very conservative?
Manasi: Well frankly speaking, Indian society nowadays is much more like western society but still there are many people who are very conservative.
Maya: Oh I see!
Manasi: Yeah and it’s very impolite or improper to touch, hug, or kiss Indian females especially at the workplace.
Maya: The next don’t is
Manasi: Don’t show affection in public.
Maya: Similar to the first point, Indians are still often conservative. Holding hands is okay but try to avoid doing so in the temple area.
Manasi: Exactly. We really feel awkward when we see foreigners kiss on the street.
Maya: Oh I will keep that in mind and the third don’t is
Manasi: Don’t place your feet on the table or point at anything with your feet.
Maya: And don’t step over or touch anyone with your feet.
Manasi: Yeah that’s because Indians believe that feet are unclean and we apologize if we touch anyone with our feet accidentally.
Maya: The next don’t is opposite to the previous one. It’s about fingers.
Manasi: Yeah. Don’t point your fingers at anyone.
Maya: Indians believe that is the sign of annoyance and in case, we didn’t mean to point at somebody, what should we do?
Manasi: Well in that case, it’s just fine. You can apologize to that person.
Maya: And finally, the last don’t for the lesson is
Manasi: Don’t be upset if someone asks you about your age, occupation or marital status.
Manasi: I guess this is quite rude in some cultures.
Maya: I know but it is common for Indians to ask those questions even in the first meeting.

Outro
Manasi: Oh I see. This is quite different though. Well I hope you all enjoyed this lesson?
Maya: Listeners, are you looking for a cheat sheet to memorizing Hindi vocabulary. Have you checked out our video vocab series. These themed video lessons combine visual cues with the voices of native speakers.
Manasi: Just another effective method of learning and retaining thousands of vocabulary words.
Maya: Go to hindipod101.com
Manasi: Click on the video lessons tab
Maya: And hit play.
Manasi: It’s that easy.
Maya: But don’t take our word for it.
Manasi: Try it out for yourself at hindipod101.com
Maya: Until next time.
Manasi: [fir milenge] Goodbye.
Maya: Goodbye.

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