CULTURAL QA 12-2022-10

BEING  A COMPILATIONTHERE MAY  BE ERRORS

Q1           What offends South Indians the most?

A1           Chaitra Bhat, Avid learner UpdatedOct 27

My home state isKarnataka and I have been living in different statesfrom last 
22 years. I think i am eligible to answer.

Before answering, Iwant to make one point clear that this is not the opinion of 
all there inNorthern part of India. I have many good friends who respect and 
accept what weare and how we are. I have learnt a lot living in different 
states and alwaysbe thankful for that.

And coming to theanswer:

Madrasi :Not all South Indians are “Madrasis”.SouthIndia consists of 5 
different states. Madras ( now Chennai) is the capital cityof Tamilnadu.

Do you eat Dosa/ Idli all three times a day? :Wedon’t eat Idli , Dosa whole 
day. We have wide variety of vegetarian as well asnon vegetarian cuisines.

 How come you eat rice in every meal of the day?:Rice is not the only staple 
food. Rottis in Jola, Ragi, Navane, Sajje, Ragimudde and there are many.

Once I heard someone say, “South people eatusing hands, lick till elbow 
(exaggeration!!!)”: Yes…we prefer to eat with ourhands because it is the best 
way to eat. And we are not ashamed of that.

Making fun of our accent : I want to ask those, canyou atleast say one 
scentence in our language? Please remember, atleast we aretrying.

Kanjoos..Don’t enjoy life : We prefer simple living.We enjoy simplicity. We 
like to save money to invest in Education, Home andGold. So what? Our choice.

Skin colour: Most of us are dark skinned. And to myknowledge, even in other 
states not all are tall, fair and handsome.

Edit1: All thosepoints are just my observations. It is never meant to target 
any or create more of a distance betweenNorth & South…After all we are one. We 
are Indians. Diversity inculture & tradition is what makes our country unique 
and interesting!

My note- Though the answer is recent, in the lasttwo decades the % of North 
Indians in south are much more and such questions are rare.  

Q2           Do Italians eat a lot of pizza,pasta, and garlic bread?

A2           Michael Righi, Italian guy UpdatedNov 22

No,  yes and absolutely no. Let's begin.

Sure, in Italy we eat pizza but it's not an everyday food.Many Italians, 
including me and all the people I know, eat pizza only on weekendsor on social 
occasions.

I eat pizza withfriends or with my parents, usually on Saturday or Sunday 
evening.It canhappen, very rarely, that I eat a pizza for lunch with colleagues.

Last week I had toattend a work meeting which ended at 10pm, in which case I 
stopped by to get apizza as I didn't feel like cooking once I got home.

As for the pasta it’s different.

Many Italians eat pasta almost every day,mostly for lunch. From Monday to 
Friday for lunch I eat 70gr of "light" pasta,for example with vegetables. 
Sometimes I mix in leftovers from thenight before; I had leftover lentils with 
tomato sauce last night, so today I'mgoing to have pasta and lentils with 
tomato sauce for lunch.

During the weekend, when I go to my parents' for lunch,we eat tastier pasta 
dishes, such as tortelliniin broth, lasagna, pasta al forno, carbonara, etc.

 

Let's move on tothe garlic bread. Well, it'svery simple, in Italy IT DOESN'T 
EXIST.

Q3           What the harm of drinking very hotwater?

A3           Som Shubhra De,A technology managerwho loves being with people4y

Is there anyone onthe world who single-sip drank boiling water and survived?

Let me recount an incident which happened in theShyambazar area of North 
Calcutta (now Kolkata).This was some 11–12 years back and was reported in the 
local papers.

A group of youngmen were chit-chatting in a tea shop that late afternoon. When 
one of themsuggested they have a competition on who can drink, in one sip, a 
full bottleof ice-cold cola.

The prize money wasRs. 10/-, which is minuscule by today’s standards, but was 
useful money thattime especially for any unemployed youth.

“But cold drinksare not a challenge” - said one of them as they were sorting 
out the details.“We should have this competition with boiling hot tea” he said, 
with a hint ofheroism in his voice. All agreed, some cautiously, and asked the 
tea shopfellow to give the youth a large mug of boiling hot tea.

When served, theguy held the mug for a few seconds, and then all of a sudden 
gulped it down histhroat. All were silent for a few moments, then broke into an 
applause. Therewas, of course, no one else who dared. So the guy was declared a 
winner andeveryone pooled in and gave him the prize money.

After a few minutes they dispersed and as they came tothe road, he stumbled and 
fell on the pavement.Soon there was blood oozing out of his mouth. His friends 
called a taxi andrushed him to the NRS Medical College & Hospital. The doctors 
tried their best, but he diedearly next morning. His food pipe had kind of 
melted.

Moral of story (andstatutory warning) - please do not get any ideas from this 
question and nevertry any such similar stunt.

2NDANSWER- Virendra Srivastava, Manager (2014–present) Dec 3

Drinking water that's too hot can damage thetissue in your esophagus, burn your 
taste buds, andscald your tongue. Bevery careful when drinking hot water. 
Drinking cool, not hot, water is best forrehydration.

Q4           What are some underrated scientistsin the world?

A4           Misty, Astrophysics/math/sciencenthusiast. Loves  science facts. 
Nov 24

Lise Meitner.

A wickedly smartwoman, who was dubbed“mother of the nuclear bomb", and who had 
her Noble prize takenaway from her by male colleagues simply because she was a 
Jewish woman.

The man who did get it? Otto Hahn.

Lise discovered theelement protactinium, which you know, is a pretty big deal. 
Now, while she didwork with Otto to discover nuclear fission and protactinium, 
she never receivedany credit for her work from the Nobel committee. In fact, 
she was nominated 49times, and they still failed to realize how much she 
actually contributed.

Because she was alive during WW2, she eventually had toflee Austria, and settle 
in Sweden. She never returned.

Called the “German Marie Curie" by Albert Einstein,Lise's work in radioactivity 
and nuclear physics is still unknown to many.

Q5           Is India changing?

 A5          Iapplied for a Passport in Tatkaal on Friday.

Now, my dad had the following prejudices due to hisown experience — long 
waiting time, egoism of authorities, nonchalance in theprocess and late 
delivery of passport. But what happened was the exactopposite.

Went to thepassport seva kendra on the next day (Saturday). Took me about half 
an hour forthe whole process there.

On Monday, I wentfor the police verification at a station near my residence. 
That process took15 minutes, and the policewaladidn't ask for a bribe.

Meanwhile, mypassport had already been dispatched on Saturday and reached me on 
Monday inthe afternoon i.e. just after police verification.

So, in 3 days, I had a passport in my hand. Here's a pic asof today:

Me and dad were pleasantly surprised! He saidthings had changed a lot now for 
the better.Is India changing? Definitely.

My note- I couldnot collect the details of the person answered. For very elders 
passport is given without police verification, if living in own 
house-Myexperience before six months. 

I got ordinarypassport in 4 days from Tambaram, Chennai passport office.

Q5           What are some of the interestingfacts about India?

A5           Aniket, Lives in Pune, Maharashtra,India (2020–present)May 28

Night time. The sunjust about to rise in a couple of hours.

Two men arrive on abike at a village. One person gets down and starts tiptoeing 
around the mainroad while the other person waits on the bike.

The person gets into a house. No doors, only door frames,everywhere.

Searches into thelockers while the family is asleep. Finds some valuables and 
loads them up inhis bag his bag is full.. Does the same thing in 5–6 other 
houses until Comes out running to find hispartner and bike missing. Panics. 
Starts running along the roadleading out of the village, runs for around 2–3 
km, finds himself back at thepoint from where he started running.

More panic. Startsrunning in opposite direction and again after a couple of 
kilometres findshimself back at the same point.

Dawn is not far away. Sees a temple to his left, dumpsall the valuables inside 
the gate and starts panic running along the roadagain. Falls unconscious after 
running 5–10 kms, found by locals in morning andadmitted in hospital.

The village — Shani Shingnapur

The only villagewith no doors.

No incident of theft except in 2010 and 2011 when the itemsstolen were 
miraculously found the next day in the owner's homes. IncredibleIndia.

Q6           What is the evolutionary reason forwhy sub-Saharan African people 
(black people) have such tightly coiled hairthat is so distinctly different 
from the hair of other racial groups?

A6           Claire Jordan, Degree in biology andfolklore; programmer, shop 
owner, secretary on newspaper Dec 2

Trapped air pocketsinsulate the skull from the sun - same principle as loft 
insulation or a stringvest - and thearrangement of the hair also helps to wick 
sweat away from the scalp very fast,improving cooling. It’s all about 
preventing sunstroke, i.e. not boiling yourbrains if you’re out hunting or 
farming around noon.

Q7           Is it true that in North India, evenin reserved compartments, 
passengers will be forced to share their seats withothers similar to the 
unreserved compartment?

A7           Ch. Lavanya, Lives in India Updated3y

 “Arey hato na, hamein bhiatna hai” shouted onelady.(just move aside, we want 
to sit)

It's almost like this.

I was looking in her direction and was speechless as shenever bothered to wait 
for an answer but just pushed me aside and sat with twoother people.

I was feelingdisgusted but when I saw around, it was the same everywhere. All 
seats wereoccupied and everyone was helpless.

Then weunderstood we entered north India where it is very common.

Nobody listens to your complaint also.

But as soon as youenter south India your seats are yours.

2ND ANSWER-Bhupendra Kantharia, Studied atUniversity of Delhi Nov 24

This is the journeyi took with my family. I booked the tickets two months in 
advance anticipatinga good and comfortable journey but the sleeper coach of 
Indian railways are now become general coach.

Its a journey of 25hours and the crowd keep on increasing.

Atlast I logded complaint on twitter as have heard thatthey (Railways) responds 
on it but thats not true. No one cared to respond.

Atlast we have tocomplete the journey in this way.

So sad part of it that no ticket checker has come and not asingle police 
personnel. Old age people, kids and womenwere not even able to use toilets and 
washrooms.

Indian Railways arethe biggest employer and claimto have introduce new trains 
but this is in our hand to make the best out ofit.

My note- Howto solve the problem in North India?As said in 2nd answer, Railways 
must try to solve the patheticcondition of such passengers.

Q8           What are some natural ways toregulate blood sugar levels?

A8           Thomas Johnson, I work as a medicalresearcher. 2m

It's no secret thatdiabetes is becoming an epidemic, and that's why it's 
important to keep yourblood sugar levels regulated.

Nowadays,there are many natural ways to regulate blood sugar levels. One way is 
to eat adiet rich in fiber, which is proven to help regulate blood sugar 
levels.Fiber also helps with weight loss and can help lower cholesterol and 
bloodpressure.

Some foodsthat can help you regulate blood sugar levels are almonds, 
blueberries, andavocados. Ifyouwant to regulate your blood sugar levels, it's 
important to make sure that youeat a low-carb diet, exercise regularly, and 
consume enough protein.

Another way is to try intermittent fasting, whichinvolves restricting your food 
intake for 16-24 hours a day. Intermittentfasting has been proven to help 
regulate insulin, which is the hormone thathelps regulate blood sugar levels.

Q9           What is the biggest culture shock youhave ever faced?

A9           MohanDev Sukumar, Studied at Indian Institute of Technology, 
Kharagpur (IIT KGP)Oct12

After landing inCopenhagen airport I was looking for a drinking water tap to 
refill mywaterbottle.

I couldn’t find atap around me, so I went to a security personnel and asked her.

Me: “ wherecan I get water? “

She: “ It’sthere “She pointed her finger towards a toilet.

I didn’t get her. Ithought she didn’t understand my question or my accent. So I 
asked her again.

Me: “ I meandrinking water “

She: “Yes.. vand..It’s there”

I didn’t dare toask her again. I went straight to the toilet and searched the 
premises.

She saw me roamingclueless and came to me.

She: “ seemister, you can either buy a water bottle for 60 krone in the store 
or fillfrom the tap in the washroom. It’s the same water. “

Same water?Seriously?

I stepped inside the toilet and was shocked to see manypeople filling their 
bottles directly from hand wash taps inside the toilet.

I know waterquality in Denmark is great, but not to the extent that they supply 
that evento the toilets.

Q10         How did Alexander the Great defeatIndian kings so easily when they 
were known as powerful warriors?

A10         Bob deWitt, Art History Professor, UtahValley University Nov 24

In reality, Alexander’s toughest battles were foughtagainst Indian kings in 
which he came closest to defeat. He was lucky tosurvive them.

Note, for example,that it was only after those hard-won battles that his men 
uncharacteristicallydefied him and refused to go any farther into India on his 
quest to reach theEastern Ocean which he erroneously thought was just on the 
other side of India,less than 1,000 miles away. His army, exhausted, homesick, 
and overwhelmed withthe prospects of having to face large Indian armies, 
mutinied and refused tomarch any farther east. After pouting for three days and 
refusing to come outof his tent, Alexander finally listened to reason, 
acquiesced, and turned theexpedition around to head back to Babylon.

In the words of the historian, Plutarch:

“As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle withPorus [an Indian king] 
blunted their courage and stayedtheir further advance into India. For having 
had all they could do to repulsean enemy who mustered only twenty thousand 
infantry and two thousand horse,they violently opposed Alexander when he 
insisted on crossing the river Ganges.. . .while its banks on the further side 
were covered with multitudes ofmen-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they 
were told that the kings ofthe Ganderites and Praesii [two Indian kingdoms] 
were awaiting them with eightythousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, 
eight thousand chariots, andsix thousand fighting elephants.

So, no, he didn’t defeat the Indian kings easily at all.

All the above QA are from Quora  website  on   09-12-2022

Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers .

Compiled and posted by R. Gopala Krishnan,former ITS, 79 years,  on 10-12-2022

 

 

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