Trying to decode the many variations of the head bobble.
Figuring out what grammatically bizarre "Indianisms" actually mean.
Marveling at how creamy, delicious kulfi manages to stay so cold in summer.
That's probably what the 17 million tourists to India wonder each year as they flock to the country of 1.2 billion people.
Just for them, here's a list of ways India outshines the rest of the world.
1. Barbers
In India, a simple hair cut is anything but.
Barbers will take their scissors to wayward eyebrows, tufts of ear hair and nostrils.
That's just the beginning.
Once the customer is
shorn, wet-wiped and toweled off, barbers begin a firm head, neck and
shoulder massage, which can descend into facial slapping and
skull-pounding known as "champi," which is where the word "shampoo"
comes from.
Be warned: their signature move is a swift neck crack, which can come as a shock to first-timers.
2. Enterprising street vendors
India's street vendors sell the usual wares, from fake DVDs to earrings to bags of masala popcorn and roasted peanuts.
But there's also ear-cleaning, street dentistry and pavement astrology.
Vendors possessing the
presence of mind to seize any opportunity -- last year when Starbucks
opened in Mumbai, the queues were so long, a tea-vendor set up shop
outside and sold his wares to waiting customers.
3. Old world train travel
Thundering through
cities, inching past villages, snaking along coastlines and climbing
mountains, the network of toy trains, luxury trains, Shatabdi speed
trains and commuter trains is lovingly known as "the lifeline of a
nation."
In terms of safety,
however, there's still far to go, owing to the trains' decrepit state,
unmanned crossings and lack of government attention.
Tip: travelers should choose the new derailment-proof Duronto trains -- there's no better way to see the country.
4. Notorious celebrities
They might endorse
skin-lightening creams, produce terrible films and become embroiled in
one scandal after another, but almost nothing can't dim their stardom.
Current fave Sunny Leone
-- a former pediatric nurse trainee in Orange Country turned porn star
and now mainstream actress -- is the most searched celebrity on the
Internet, racking up 35 million searches in India this year.
5. Accessorizing
In the markets in
Rajasthan, maids sweep temples and Rabari tribeswomen in Gujarat
effortlessly carry buckets, mop floors and balance heavy loads -- all
while wearing five-inch diameter nose rings, toe-rings, glass bangles to
the elbow and gold necklaces swinging by their bellies.
6. Comfort food
From Mumbai's Mohammed Ali Road for kebabs to Amritsar's Lawrence Road for Makhan Fish, India's addictive food leaves no room for worries over waistlines.
Steaming chicken kathi
rolls, crunchy sweet and sour bhel puri or creamy lassi from even the
starkest of roadside shacks are bewilderingly tasty and satisfying.
7. Gesticulating
In South India, pointing a thumb toward the mouth can mean anything from "what do you want?" to "have you eaten?"
To make matters more
confusing, Indians will often shake their heads from right to left to
signify that they are, in fact, following what you're saying and
agreeing, rather than disagreeing.
8. Obsessing over cricket
Not just the preserve of
the upper classes wearing club ties, drinking Pimms and eating cucumber
sandwiches, cricket in India is a way of life, enjoyed by every class,
age and sex, while cricketers are revered as gods.
Watching a live Indian
Premier League match is a nighttime floodlit spectacle featuring
semi-clad cheerleaders, fog horns, fireworks in the crowds, drummers
and, of course, with a brand value of just less than $3 billion, a lot
of extravagantly rich cricket players.
9. Festivals
With so many religions and cultures existing side by side in India, it's rare for a week to go by without some sort of celebration.
Indians will normally
extend invitations to anyone and everyone from next door neighbors to
stray travelers who they may have met that morning on a train.
It's wise to bring along
a change of clothes when invited to share mutton biryani during Eid or
set off Lakshmi banger fireworks in the street at Diwali or be doused in
colored water during Holi, the festival of spring.
10. Cities in the mountains
Less well known than other hill stations, Matheran is one of many we love.
Hidden between the
jungle-topped Sahyadri hills 80 kilometers east of Mumbai, it was
originally used by the British to escape the Bombay heat, and is free
from fume-spewing vehicles while being accessible on horseback, on foot
or by the narrow-gauge toy train that trundles along tiny tracks.
Recommended: picnicking
on Charlotte Lake, lookouts at Celia Point and chikki (a sweet made from
groundnuts and jaggery) at Nariman Chikki Mart.
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