Take Off Those Shoes!
- deveshpadmey
- Jan 1, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 2, 2020
Growing up in the 1980s/1990s in the central part of India in a relatively smaller town, with a good mix of urban and rural flavors, I can certainly call myself an old school.
As such, many things are part of my cultural experience that I can recall from then, and now. One of the main learnings is ‘taking the shoes off’ every time I enter our house or anyone’s house. As a kid, especially during elementary and middle school, my mom and my sisters could be heard screaming one thing, at me, almost all day – “Take those shoes off!” – be it coming back from school, returning from the playground or from a neighbor’s house, I needed the reminder.
I was not a problem child, but kids are kids. I was always rushing either to attend nature’s call or to barely clean myself to eat something. By the high school days, I was more disciplined and hygienic. I made sure I followed the rules even when I lived independently many years in India, across different cities.
I am the youngest among my siblings. As such, I was introduced to the western world through movies, sitcoms, and cable TV at a lot younger age than my older siblings were. I would take note of so many things! I was fascinated by whatever was broadcasted in India during those decades; the main characters in those sitcoms or movies wearing shoes inside the house were a novelty to me. I don’t recall if those characters would take the shoes off regularly. The only exceptions would be if they had been to a mud hole or fell into a pool (per the script).
The bottom line is I assumed that people in western countries wore shoes inside the house, all the time. Some even sleep with their shoes on – yes, those drunk, or workaholic, or perhaps lonely characters – in happiness and sadness. How naive was I to generalize the entire western world!!
Fast forward to 2016, and I got to live and/or spend a lot of time with the locals in South Carolina, USA. I was ready for the first-hand cultural experience (which I missed in 2007). The very first thing was the “shoes inside the house” experience. I noticed a lot of people would take the shoes off before entering their house or at least take them off, and keep them near the door – as a house rule or family rule.
The reason is the same as in the eastern cultures – to keep the dirt and germs outside the house. I had been carrying the wrong idea of the real-life of westerners. This is something I never told anyone. That is, until now through this writing (I am not sure how I ate my pride so far). I was brainwashed by Hollywood and the other formats of entertainment from this part of the western world, to equate ‘an artistic liberty’ to ‘a mundane habit’ of my fellow humans from the western hemisphere.
There are other wrong impressions I carried for a long time (I may reveal those in my future writings); but, I am too embarrassed to mention them at this point. One insult at a time as to how many wrong impressions I had of the western world, please.
Nonetheless, in these last 6 years, I have lived, traveled across India, USA, and Canada and have interacted with many amazing people - with different backgrounds and family traditions. I have indeed visited many houses, where rules are very casual, and shoes are allowed inside the house. I must say, I never climbed on their sofa or bed!
But, I can say with confidence 'taking those shoes off' is a sign of great respect for the other person, who is welcoming and allowing you to feel at home. Hence, you can never be wrong in doing the same!
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