If we shamelessly admit our true point of view about India, it can be said that it is a country that we are a little afraid to go to.. Yes, it is quite a different culture, yes, we are likely to return home with dozens of good memories, but still people are affected by what they hear and see from others.. Therefore, we thought it would be beneficial to consult a person who knows this interesting country, which has remained a mystery for a long time.. After all, our chance meeting with Cihan Can Şahin led us to the middle of a very interesting interview.. We are sure you will enjoy reading it too.
Why did you start living in India, how long have you been there? Can you tell us a little bit of your story?
It will be 9 months soon. When I was a copywriter in Turkey, my father was about to partner with a company from India.. A position that required coming here and staying here for 2 years was vacant and the conditions were good.. I was tempted by the idea of living in India and I volunteered.. I spent 1 year in Spain before and I had the chance to backpack in Europe.. When the opportunity came my way, I said it was east.. It was a good idea to make money while traveling while life was flowing so fast.. And India…
I left my job, where I live, my friends, and I’m still here.
Which city do you live in? Do you think it is a suitable city to live in? Can you tell us a little about the circumstances?
I live in Chennai. I also had the opportunity to visit Mumbai and Goa.. I say this with the exception of Goa: Frankly, as a tourist, there is a lot to see here.. There are so many interesting frames that will drive a photo lover crazy, there are materials that will make many Instagram phenomena.. There is a ton of experience to experience and a rich culture to explore. In the beginning, I took a lot of photos, there were a lot of things that I was excited to see, I was curious and I was talking to a lot of people.. I guess after a while I must have become desensitized. There’s really a lot of interesting stuff going on around, but I’m walking past it.. I think I got used to it. There was also a smell that started at the airport when I first came here, it seemed to spread throughout the city.. It was such a spicy, intense scent that you could taste if you stick your tongue out.. I haven’t bought it for a while. For example, that smell cannot have disappeared, I guess I got used to it.. One gets used to it.
If we are talking about living, we need to think a bit first.. I’m here for 9 months and I don’t think I will recommend any of my dear friends to live here.. Issues such as hygiene, social life and traffic are troublesome for me.. Of course, I didn’t have high expectations when I came, so I’m not complaining too much.. I knew that there would be deficiencies in these aspects, but I expected India to be more spiritually satisfying and it would make up for the physical conditions.
Goa is a different place, it has a different taste.. It is necessary to open another parenthesis. I had the opportunity to go twice.. It made me want to live there with its spirit and beauty.. I think I’ve seen what the tourists, hippies and hippie remnants see there, who have settled there since the 70s. If I find a suitable job to do, Goa is where I say “why not”.
How do you create a budget? Are living conditions expensive? Can you tell us by giving examples from daily life?
According to my agreement here, my food, house and transportation fees are covered.. Social life is not very rich, so I can’t find a lot of places to spend money.. I spend more money on travel. 1 Lira = 30 Rupees. You can rent a house from 3000 rupees to 45.000 rupees in Chennai. Water Rupees 4, can of coke 10 rupees, bus 1-2 Rupees, a carton of Marlboro 1500 rupees. So it’s a cheap place that can be financed quite easily.. In fact, I calculated that 1000 liras per month would be enough to live in luxury in Goa, according to the conditions there.. Yes, I am seriously thinking about Goa.
When you say “different culture”, one of the first places that comes to mind is India.. Is this cultural difference felt much there? “What am I doing here, friend?” Do you have moments that will make you say?
Definitely a different lifestyle. Everything feels more local and untouched. People who are contented, calm and mostly not very ambitious live here.. I think the effect of belief in reincarnation is huge.. It is possible to see how the effect of the Caste system works naturally in the smallest area of society and social life. You’re superior if you’re from a somewhat wealthy family or a little bit more white.. If you’re on a motorcycle, you’re superior to a pedestrian.. If you’re on the car, you’re on the engine. Not drinking, but a woman’s drinking can be surprising.. I haven’t seen too many women driving.
Machines, buildings, structures are respected. There are feasts where machines are blessed. Out of respect for offices, cars, homes, clinics, shoes are taken off before stepping in.. In short, you definitely understand that you are in another part of the world. It’s not that there are moments when I get bored, but discovering and living in a different place is not bad.. I always tell people, let’s get these girls out of the way. I say “Call me Cihan” but uh-uh. Mom, I’ve become a “sir” and I’m not coming home.
How is an ordinary day going there, are your activities similar to those in Turkey?
When I talk about social life and night activities, I keep Goa, the paradise homeland, separately.
India hasn’t had its share of globalization in general, but as far as I’ve researched, the region I live in is a bit more local in this regard. left. In addition, the activities to be done before the sun goes down are very limited because it is very hot.. A temperature that does not fall below 30 degrees in what they call winter.. A climate where you will never experience hair loss due to the change of seasons. Because it’s always hot! It’s hard work standing in an environment without air conditioning between 9am and 5pm. You can see the Indian youth who have devoted themselves to cricket with their sticks in the fields at 5 am.. They stay on the field until the sun feels the heat. Apart from that, there are of course large and small shopping malls.. It gets very crowded here on the weekends.. In fact, people fill the malls just because it’s cool.. There are even places that charge entry fees from non-tourists to avoid the crowds.. I don’t like shopping centers very much, I don’t go much except for necessity.. In the past few months, Chennai Hard Rock Cafe has opened inside a large shopping mall.. It was good for me in terms of social activity and music.. Funk, blues and rock concerts happen regularly. I’m going to watch them.
We can say that nightlife in Chennai is limited to the bars and discos of 5-star hotels.. There are not many alternatives. In addition, there are parties on the beaches according to the periods of the universities.. It cannot be said to be very satisfactory.. Nightlife in hotel bars is mostly the activities that high-end Indians participate in economically.. Westernized rare environments are here. It’s not a style of entertainment that I like very much, but this is where women wear dresses and men wear shoes instead of folkloric outfits.. Honestly I miss women in beautiful dresses. These places are places where you can frequently encounter tourists.. Therefore, I rarely throw myself into hotels.
The place where I live is outside the city and one of the few TOKİ style sites is here.. A settlement consisting of 8-9 buildings. There is one of the great universities here just off the site.. University students make up a significant portion of the population of the site.. There is a social life mostly in the form of house gatherings and parties. Every now and then I mingle with those young people.. Apart from that, I think that the large time I spent here was gifted to me for doing sports, reading, writing, watching movies and TV series and playing games.. I accept and enjoy the calmness and free time.
Are people friendly? Did you find it difficult to make friends with people in such a different culture?
There are different relationship balances due to the caste system. As a foreigner I get confused exactly how I act.. I did not see any negative behavior from anyone I smiled or talked to.. I would say people are friendly.. I am happy for myself. The lower-upper class situation among them works very naturally and no one complains.. They are satisfied with the situation. There is nothing left for us to say either.
Is your city safe? What features do they stand out for?
People are generally calm and not belligerent.. I don’t expect any harm from people who don’t want to kill even a lizard or snake, but I’m being careful, of course.. Whoever I asked about the recent gang rape news in the international press, none of them were able to digest the situation.. There have already been huge protests about it.
I actually asked the retired Chennai police chief about common crimes, just to get him out of his mouth if it’s okay to use soft drugs.. They said that they encountered the most house robberies.. Food and money were stolen from homes in relatively affluent neighborhoods.
One of the most prominent features of India is its overpopulation and insane traffic.. Is this in a way that will disturb you or is it as much as we are used to in Istanbul?
A place with 1.5 billion inhabitants India. I never thought everyone counted. Population of Tamil Nadu state where Chennai is located is equal to Turkey. There’s a crowd you don’t want to enter, obviously.. Here’s the choice right now. It takes 1 month to complete the selection in total.. Social awareness campaigns are also carried out here.. There are slogans like “1 vote changes a lot”. Frankly, I can’t say much to the man who says “What will happen from 1 vote” here?. Since I live a little far from the city center, I am not exposed to large crowds.
We need to talk about traffic separately.. Cars and motorists don’t like mirrors very much.. I don’t know, their stars may not have made peace with the mirror. Mirrors are mostly in closed vehicles. Some vehicles do not have mirrors at all.. It’s strange and dangerous actually in so heavy traffic. It’s not just intense, there’s also an irregularity. No sense of lane. On a road that normally has two lanes, the vehicle moves in 4-5 lanes and there is no slowing down or stopping.. All vehicles can continue at the same speed. Everybody’s flowing like a shooting star band. I’m telling you they don’t use mirrors, they close that gap with a horn.. Almost all vehicles have “sound horn” written on the back.. A sensitive act to let other drivers know that he is there, honking the horn here.. A kind gesture also; never in the sense of an aggressive reaction or cursing at a car that popped up in front of you.. Rather, a request from other means. Try to imagine that many people in traffic have their hands pressed on the horn.. It was very frustrating at first, I wanted to get into the cars one by one and say, “Well, why are you honking the horn right now, sir?”. I got used to it later.. Let me try to describe the traffic as follows to refresh your eyes a little: Imagine that all the saw taxi drivers of Istanbul are in the same wedding convoy.. That’s the traffic in India. Noisy, erratic and dangerous. “I’m honking the horn, so I’m on the road.” Is the generalization “Indians are not very good at hygiene” true? Are you having trouble with this?
Hygiene issue is really troublesome. There are also aesthetically sad images.. I’m used to people peeing on the roads.. What I have in mind is that only men pee on the roads.. So this means that there are places where these people can meet their needs, where women do it.. Therefore, this is an arbitrary and careless situation.. What I have observed in Indian homes and where I work also supports this.. You would never believe that a place has just been cleaned. As if dust and dirt are not included in the concept of filth here.. People are also very happy in this situation.. I always get into the argument of not taking off my shoes when entering the room in government offices and hospitals.. I find myself saying to the staff, “Oh man, it’s dirty but inside”. Our hygiene norms definitely do not match each other.. Also, I am having a conflict whether the master entering the house takes off shoes or not.
What do you think about Indian cuisine? Does it make you say, “When you eat it once in a while, how far is it good and spicy”?
I’ve been biryani. Indian cuisine is quite rich. While eating original Indian food, you inevitably preoccupy your brain with the question “what am I eating right now”. What you see on the plate, on the tray, was the vegetable, the grain, familiar things, but the taste you get is not familiar at all.. I spent a lot of time separating the spices used in my head.. “The pain of this place is a pain we do not know, Altan”. There is such a pain that it forces the unaccustomed body quite a lot.. I think they also have problems after eating, that in every restaurant I’ve been to, they offer something to strengthen the digestive system after the meal.. Also, whoever I went to eat with from here said the same thing as if they were in agreement, after seeing the expression on my face: “Is that too spicy for you?” (with a slight sarcastic smile). I am calling out to the Ministry of Tourism of India from here.” Let them add this next to the slogan “Incredible India”. “Incredible India, is that too spicy for you”
Note: You can see people here keep their thumb nails long. This is because they eat with their hands and the thumb nail helps in this regard.
What attitude do they have towards religion? Is Hinduism heavily experienced and applied to life, or is it possible to see the dominance of other religions as well? Did this situation affect your life there?
There are obviously many religions and languages. No matter how different beliefs are, as far as I can see, tolerance and respect prevail.. As far as I researched, this comfort is more in the area where I live.. Religion is clearly reflected in the culture of the country.. The caste system has permeated every cell of social life.. People who are Christian or Muslim also live this culture.. Because of the belief in reincarnation, there is respect for all living things. Since the owner of my business is Jainist, respect for living things and veganism is the unchangeable rule. No meat is eaten within the factory boundaries.. However, to make up for it, my partner takes me to the steakhouse and orders lamb.. There is also respect and tolerance in this.
What is the sensitivity situation regarding cows, is it really as it is known around the world?
Cow sensitivity is known. I saw traffic paralyzed by the cow standing in the middle of the road.. Everyone waited for the animal to go away by itself.. There are restaurants with meat, but I have not seen any restaurant with cow meat.. I know the muslims here are secretly slaughtering. cow holy. Employees who learned that we eat cows in Turkey at work had a hard time perceiving the situation.. After a while, I got tired of the reactions and I said that we also eat human meat in Turkey and it is very tasty.. I told you that the meat in the area of the outer arm of people is the most delicious place. I said that poor people in Turkey cut off this part of his body and sell it.. There are kids at work who hide their arms when they see me the next day. Even so, it seemed strange to these people that we were eating cows.. Then I said I was joking, it’s okay.
“They cut my Sarıkız and ate it, yes they did that too”
The weirdest thing that ever happened to her can you tell us
As I said, everything was weird at first, but I’m slowly getting used to it.. Still, there are a couple of things that I can’t forget.
Finally, can you give some tips that you can say don’t go back without seeing them while you’re here?
Go to Goa. Eat Indian food and share my pain. Pee on a street first so you don’t feel like a stranger where you come from. Wander through the markets, bargain with any seller. Don’t expect much, but when you come back, make sure India has something for you.. Go to Goa.
