Indian Culture

I only have about a week left in India and I wanted to share some of the things I've gathered about Indian culture. After being in India for an extended period of time I believe that I've been able to get a more accurate picture of the country than had I only been here for a week or two. My extended stay has allowed me to get accustomed to and better accept certain differences that exist between India and America (more precisely Southern India and mid-western America). These differences were only shocking on the surface and after accepting them, I was able to better see what's really going on here. Indian culture is extremely old, and it seems like over time they have learned to live more naturally. What I mean is that the majority of Indians do not concern themselves with certain customs which may seem normal to a westerner, but which in reality are fairly unnatural. For example: It is somewhat of a custom in India to discard of your trash where ever you might be at the time (what most would call littering). As you can imagine this amounts to there being garbage everywhere, especially in urban areas. This isn't because the people have no respect for their surroundings or are too lazy to throw their trash in a trash bin, its just that the thought of doing so has never occurred to them. For the poor man, this also goes for defecation. Now let me ask you what is more natural, discarding of your waste wherever it gathers, or seeking out certain "trash receptacles" in which to throw your junk. Trash doesn't just disappear; in America most of it goes to the landfill where we never have to see it again. Here they can't just say "out of sight, out of mind".
Another example of this is in the way most Indian people eat. Instead of using silverware Indians eat with their hands. This may seem barbaric and unsanitary but it makes sense when you think about it. When you eat at a restaurant they always provide the silverware. How do you know it's clean? How do you know that they even washed them? With your hands, you know where they've been and if they're clean or not. I should also mention that Indian people do not use toilet paper, they use their hand and water (cleaner than TP if you wash your hands with soap afterward). This might seem to contradict what I just said about eating but in India there's an rule: Wash with your left hand and eat with your right. This is the logic most Indians go by.
These natural ways may also be behind other aspects of life in India. From birth, children are rarely scolded or punished for bad behavior. They are allowed to run free and wild and learn from their own mistakes. This is probably what fosters the free spirit that most Indians seem to posses. Childhood freedom could also be the reason that the traffic in India is the way it is. At first, the traffic seemed like utter chaos but now I can see that there is a method to this madness. When driving in India, fortune favors the bold and defensive drivers die in fiery crashes. You have to make your intentions know early to avoid getting hit or hitting someone else. Traffic lines are only a loose guide and they are rarely obeyed. It's a dangerous life for pedestrians and motorcyclists but that's just the way it is.
There's a lot more to this subject than what I've said here but I hope you were able to get a small glimpse of what life is like in India from this post.