On Being a Westerner/White in India or Almost Famous

A group of guys at the Taj Mahal who wanted a photo for their social networking site

I have never experienced what it is like to be a minority until travelling here. Being a Westerner in this country is almost like being famous. I am amazed at how often people come up to us and ask to have their picture taken with us. A lot of people even try to take our picture surreptitiously. We get more than our fair share of stares as well. I have been riding in a cab or car and seen people in vehicles next to me pratically getting whiplash so they can look. I generally like to remain anonymous or unnoticed so this is hard sometimes.

A rather large group of guys and me. Where's Waldo?

Sometimes I am surprised at how quickly I am surrounded. In the photo above, Jon had walked in the opposite direction and I turned around to take a photo of a shrine and was quickly surrounded by all of these guys asking for a photo. They were a little overwhelming, but they liked that I asked to have them take a picture for me too. It is pretty forward for them to ask to take a photo with an unknown woman, but I will deal with that in a post on being a woman here. I always laugh when they take turns to have a photo with me and take turns using the sunglasses. Young men are more likely to ask us for a photo, but we have had families with kids who want to take pictures with us too.

A nice family that wanted to take a photo with us. The boy was a little unsure though.

Another random group of guys wanting a photo.

Kids taking a picture of me.

I have been trying to understand why we are so interesting to the people of this country. This country of more than a billion people does not have a big tourist industry. Only 2.5 million people come here every year to tour and a lot of the tourists are from other Asian countries. We are probably the first Westerners encountered by people from some of the smaller villages. I even notice other Westerners and we usually exchange a smile and nod.

Jon being surrounded by guys who want to take a photo with him.

I was surrounded by this group of guys who wanted a photo in this market in KodaiKanal.
It was one of those times when I felt overwhelmed so I called for Jon, who came and took a photo.

I think that money also has something to do with the curiosity people have about us. Most Westerners are perceived as having a lot of money. Whenever we go to buy something or take a tuk-tuk ride, the price quadruples. Most items in tourist markets are not marked which makes it easy for the seller to raise the price on Westerners. I have learned to walk away if I think the price is outrageous; it is amazing how quickly it comes down then. All of the paying museums and sites charge higher prices for foreigners. We generally do not have a problem with this since we can afford to pay more than the locals.

Another aspect is that Indians desire fair skin. There are numerous commercials advertising products to make one's skin fairer. Indians are such a handsome people that I find this hard to comprehend. Most of the famous actors, Amitabh Bachchan being the most famous, are lighter skinned. I am not sure that they are impressed with the paleness of our skin since we are probably too white and maybe even a little sickly looking to some.

A cute boy Jon met in a village who wanted a photo

While I think Indians may admire the wealth of Westerners and are curious about us, I do not think they admire us. When we strike up a conversation they most often ask if we speak Hindi, Telugu, Tamil or the local dialect. When we say no you can see them thinking, "poor fool." Also, I think they think Western women dress like peasants, which is true compared to the way Indian women dress.

A group of women who wanted a photo, a rarer event

Generally, Jon and I are accommodating and take pictures with people when they ask. If I see someone taking a photo on the sly, I will sometimes give an exaggerated smile or a thumbs up. We feel that since we are visitors and observers in this country, it is a fair exchange; however, sometimes it is overwhelming and I find myself looking for a quiet out of the way spot. When I go to the store there are thousands of people there, but I rarely see another Westerner. We stick out wherever we go and I have to accept that I will probably be attracting attention if I strike out. In this country of over a billion people, it is hard for a Westerner to be inconspicuous.