Eating And The Right – Hand Rule

The biggest minefield of potential faux pas has to do with eating. This is usually done with the fingers, and requires practice to get absolutely right. Rule one is: eat with your right hand only. In India, as right across Asia, the left hand is for wiping your bottom, cleaning your feet and other unsavory functions (you also put on and take off your shoes with your left hand), while right hand is for eating, shaking hands, and so on.

Quite how rigid individuals are about this tends to vary, with Brahmins (who at the top of the hierarchical ladder are one of the two “right handed castes”) and southerners likely to be the strictest. While you can hold a cup or utensil in your left hand, and you can usually get away with using it to help tear your chapati, you should not eat, pass food or wipe your mouth with your left hand. Beat is to keep it out of sight below the table.

This rule extends beyond food. In general, do not pass anything with your left hand, or point at anyone with it either: and Indians won’t be impressed if you put it in your mouth. In general, you should accept things given to you with your right hand – though using both hands is a sign of respect.

The other rule to beware of when eating or drinking is that your lips should not touch other people’s food – Jutha is a strictly a taboo. Don’t, for example, take a bite out of a chapati and pass it on. When drinking out of a cup or bottle to be shared with others, don’t let it touch your lips, but rather pour it directly into your mouth. This custom also protects you from things like hepatitis. It is customary to wash your hands before and after eating.