What culture shocks can a South Indian face in North India?
It’s been 2 months since I moved to Delhi after spending 22 years of my life across South Indian states. Culture shock or not, these things took me a good while to get used to.
- Filter Coffee doesn’t exist in this part of the country.
Having woken up to the aroma of filter coffee filling the room for the past 5–6 years, it was hard for me to digest that North Indians don’t know what filter coffee is. So much that my parents carried a carton full of coffee with them while relocating to Ahmedabad last week. I personally go by the belief that people haven’t tasted coffee until they’ve tried filter coffee. Makes me want to cry.
- Lack of supermarkets
While in Bangalore, I got used to a fully stocked supermarket at the end of almost every street. My parents stayed there for 3 years, and I continued staying there, albeit in a different area, for 9 more months, and not once did I have to walk more than 500m to buy any sort of groceries and household items. Here in Delhi, I had to go all the way to Sarojini Nagar (a good 8km) only so I can get myself a stand for my toiletries, some hangers for my cupboard and plates for the kitchen. Even a Star Bazaar or a Big Bazaar are scarcely placed. The small kirana stores here take the fun out of monthly grocery shopping. - Dearth of healthier food options
I come from a health freak family and looking at healthier alternatives for anything has become a habit. In this regard, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai were heavenly: fruit juice stores were always round the corner, and oil-less dosas and upma wasn’t hard to find. Here in Delhi, it’s easier to find a Pani-Puri stall than a fruit juice shop, and people thrive on butter wale paranthas. I’m sure there are healthy food options here as well, they’re just not as commonplace as they were back home. - Caste system
Back in South India, it didn’t really matter what caste you belong to, as long as you can work your way around with the language barrier. Here in Delhi, I’ve met maids who refuse to finish certain work because it’s below their caste. - Safety
Coming from a place like Bangalore where I didn’t really hesitate to hail a cab at 10 in the night, it came as a bit of a shock to me that people here in Delhi don’t hesitate to stare at a woman, irrespective of what she’s wearing. I got lucky with extremely flexible office timings, else this would’ve been a big challenge to overcome.
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