The Head Bob: India
When traveling in India, always keeps this piece of information in your back pocket. When approaching a local with a yes or no question, a common response you will be given is not a spoken word, but gesture given with the head that looks something like this. After having asked the question, the person, no matter if they are male or female, young or old, wealthy or impoverished, they will stare you in the eye, bob their head slightly to left, and then slightly to the right. Now, the order of bobs does not matter, but the meaning behind the bob could save a lot of time if read the proper way. Set to the pace of a metronome, the head bob means the following:
Yes, no, maybe. It is up to you to decipher which of the three meanings the speaker is trying to convey. As I’m sure you can imagine, this can be a very trying response to decode when your tired, hungry and in search of that guesthouse you know is around here somewhere, you know… the ones that the locals know about!
2010 Copyright, Jennifer Campos
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