India which hand to eat with

Standard Indian food. Use of cutlery. Use of the right hand. Sharing food. Finishing food. Paying compliments. Leaving the table. Give us feedback. Read Next View. GG Bed and Breakfast. Laika Boutique Stay. Royal Heritage Haveli. Fairfield by Marriott Pune Kharadi. Regenta Central Noida. Mangalbag Gallery and Residency. 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 unsavoury functions you also put on and take off your shoes with your left hand , while the right hand is for eating, shaking hands and so on.

While you can hold a cup or utensil in your left hand, and you can get away with using it to help tear your chapatti, you should not eat, pass food or wipe your mouth with your left hand. This rule extends beyond food. In general, you should accept things given to you with your right hand — though using both hands is a sign of respect.

This custom also protects you from things like hepatitis. It is customary to wash your hands before and after eating. When entering a temple or mosque , remove your shoes and leave them at the door socks are acceptable and protect your feet from burning-hot stone ground.

Some temples — Jain ones in particular — do not allow you to enter wearing or carrying leather articles, and forbid entry to menstruating women. In a mosque, non-Muslims would not normally be allowed in at prayer time and women are sometimes not let in at all. In a Hindu temple, you are often not allowed into the inner sanctum; and at a Buddhist stupa or monument, you should always walk round clockwise ie, with the stupa on your right.

Hindus are very superstitious about taking photographs of images of deities and inside temples; if in doubt, desist. Funeral processions are private affairs, and should be left in peace. In Hindu funerals, the body is normally carried to the cremation site within hours of death by white-shrouded relatives white is the colour of mourning. But, what did we ever do before cutlery? This summer, Oprah Winfrey took a trip to India, where she visited an Indian family for a traditional dinner.

There are rules to follow and manners to mind. Here, a rundown of tips for three cultures that practice the custom. India First, always remember to wash your hands thoroughly. This is obvious, but crucial. Genet Agonafer also grew up eating with her hands.

This is called gursha. Like in India, the left hand is a no-no.