CultureShock! India: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Cultureshock India: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette)

I read this book approximately a month before going to India on business. Although this added to my already growing excitement, I found that this book was really geared more toward one who was either going to be casually traveling or living there on a permanent basis.

I found that I was not at all prepared for what India had to offer - now, that wasn't because I hadn't done enough research, rather because of the random and chaotic nature of where I was located.

Pros: The first few chapters go into topics such as political history, represented religions, holidays, festivals, and other good things to know. The author then takes us through setting up a household, to having servants, how dinner parties are organized and executed, and other feasibly useful information.

Cons: Although this is written by an Indian person, the information within is simply given without explanation. I didn't learn why some of the comments made in the book were true until I had been there for a...Read more

I'll be brief, so as not to echo others' comments. Preparing for a six month stint in India for business, I was unsatisfied after reading other "guide" books. Looking for something more than a history lesson and hot spot list, I reached for Culture Shock!. This book details subtle nuances that exist between US and Indian cultures. Great read and highly recommended!

This book brought me interesting thoughts about India; both nostalgic and humorous. The book is written with a view to satisfy a female traveller, but it does not make much generalizations in this aspect. Even though a person living in India might feel this book paints a distorted view, anyone who has seen the world outside India will find this book more entertaining and useful.
This is not considered as a tour guide for a person who is just passing through the airports. If you ever thought India is just like what you see in Jackson heights (N.Y.) or Devon St (Chicago) or as in the movie "City of Joy", you are mistaken . Nowhere in the world you could see people living with contrasting environments and outlook of life, sharing a wall between 19th and 20th (21st?) century at the same moment.
Gitanjali Kolanad introduces some assumptions as to why the Indian life is so contradictory in many aspects. The author provides a brief, but well narrated history of this south...Read more