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It's Not That Different
I live in New Delhi, Delhi, India. It's the capital city of India and houses the Parliament etc. etc. People from many different faiths stay here, making the city very culturally diverse.
Contrary to general belief, no, I have not been forced by my father to get married to a software engineer with bad teeth at the age of 8, NOBODY will burn me at the stake if I eat beef, and my diet does NOT consist primarily of curry.
The language generally used by teenagers in Delhi is a combination of English, Hindi and Punjabi. Sometimes we can add some other regional language into the mix. This makes it very hard for outsiders to understand us.
Most of my friends date, but a lot of us have to do it behind our parents' backs, because our society is still ruled by a lot of conservative values.
And guess what? I don't shop at outdoor bazaars all the time! We actually have malls over here! However, the neighboring city, Gurgaon, has the best malls in North India, so I usually go there with my friends. We have UCB, Levi's, Dior, Gucci, Channel, Costa Coffee, Tommy Hilfiger- pretty much the same things that malls in the USA have.
The government schools aren't too good, so most middle-class people send their children to private schools.
Bollywood movies are the best in the world- they have everything- music, dance, drama, comedy, social messages, glamour.
However, what I love most about the Indian lifestyle is the casualness in everybody's demeanor. Friends and relatives drop in and out of each others' houses very often, and they never, ever hesitate before helping each other.
I go to school, have a computer, TV, cell phone, iPod, electricity- pretty much everything I need to survive. See? It isn't that hard to live in New Delhi. In fact, it's quite amazing!
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This article has 2 comments.
heehaw! Thanks for the initiative. I am an Indian too, much to my pride.. A delhite :P
Its amazing to know that people like you try and curb the myths surrounding our country :) Much to others' chagrin :)