Do and don't in India

A few basic things to remember:

1) In many places while it may be accepted, it is still considered rude to eat with your left hand. In other places you simply cannot use your left hand.

2) Always cover up- especially girls! No shorts or tank-tops unless you want some unwanted attention.

3) A lot of men hold hands and hug in the streets. This is socially acceptable and not necessarily an indicator that they are gay.

4) Yes, cows do walk in the streets, and are considered holy by most Hindus, which leads to...

5) (Most) Hindus do not eat beef, and most Muslims do not eat pork. Vegetarianism is quite common, and for the most part only chicken, lamb, and fish can be found in restaurants.

6) Although English and Hindi are the two national languages there are literally hundreds if not thousands of dialects spoken in India. So learning Hindi, while it may help you in some places, will be quite useless to you in other places. Many Indians can speak at least 2-3 languages.

7)Don't be surprised to find that many Indians marry very young and still abide by arranged marriages. Browse a newspaper for the classified section and you may be surprised to find personals searching for prospective husbands or wives, and will mention necessary qualifications: caste, financial situation, education, look, weight, personality...

8)India is famous for it's traffic, which can be quite insane!  Be very careful when crossing the streets, as accidents are quite common. And don't be alarmed if your rickshaw swerves between buses, cars, motorbikes, cows, camels, and wooden carts.

9)Barber shops, for some reason, are all closed on Tuesdays.

10) Indians may ask you personal questions to try to get to know you better, understand what kind of person you are. Some of these questions may seem rude to you (like what is your age? what is your salary?) but are common here.

11) Though Western toilets are growing popularity, in many places all you will find is either a hole in the ground, or a plastic/porcelain covering a hole in the ground.