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Most of the houses in South India (I'm from Tamil Nadu) forbid us wearing slipper or shoes inside the house. It's simply unnecessary as our houses are regularly
by amrrs 8y ago
Most of the houses in South India (I'm from Tamil Nadu) forbid us wearing slipper or shoes inside the house. It's simply unnecessary as our houses are regularly swept and cleaned. I found it weird when I moved to North India where people find it usual to wear slipper inside. The plausible explanation I came up with is cold
- parthdesai 8y agoMost of the houses in India* (I'm from Gujarat, have friends from Delhi, have relatives living in Mumbai.) If you find people wearing slippers inside, they are a separate pair of slippers only meant to be worn inside the house. We were taught that not removing your shoes/sandals when you visit someone's place is a sign of disrespect.
- sreenadh 8y ago"Only-for-HOME" footwear needs to be stressed. Then there are "bathroom-only" slippers that is specific to 1 bathroom and will be used by all.
- rahimnathwani 8y agoMy family is from Gujarat. Even though neither my parents (born in Uganda) nor I (born in London) have ever lived in India, I still feel strange when I visit a home where shoes are not removed at the door.
- parthdesai 8y agoYeah I moved to Canada in uni and it is still so weird when I go to a random place where they don't remove footwear. I'll usually remove my shoes even if there are other people who still have their shoes on. I'll also ask anyone and everyone who visit my apartment to remove their footwear at the door.
- saiya-jin 8y ago> We were taught that not removing your shoes/sandals when you visit someone's place is a sign of disrespect. This can be said about central/east europe as well, and our western european friends seem to behave like that too. And I don't mean just removing dirty heavy winter boots, I mean any boots/shoes/sandals/etc used outside.
- twic 8y agoI am English, and was brought up this way, but many of my English friends evidently were not, because they keep their shoes on when coming in unless i ask them to take them off.
- twic 8y agoBut you know what, we don't take our shoes off in the office, do we? Why is that different? I had an Indian colleague years ago, and she did take her shoes off at work. We'd sit down at a computer to pair on something, and she'd slip her shoes off as she sat down. I must have found that unusual, because i remember it clearly. I have started taking my shoes off at work, but only a year or two ago. I think it's because i got a pair of heavy boots, and my feet can get too warm wearing them. I will walk to the printer in socks, but i have a pair of smart office slippers for going to the kitchen or bathroom.
- mijamo 8y agoIn Sweden it is not uncommon to remove shoes at work, especially when it's a wooden floor. I know we do it in my company. On the other hand in France it is very uncommon, but it is pretty usual to switch shoes when entering the office. Especially for those who have fancy shoes in Paris and don't want to get them ruined in the metro. So you take sneakers from home to work and switch to nice shining leather shoes at work.
- freshm087 8y agoBut you know what, we don't take our shoes off in the office, do we? Why is that different? My mother would say: I clean this house, someone else does it in your office!
- newyankee 8y agoI have never been to a place in India (except may be some suave modern urban folks who may follow things differently) where we did not have to remove footwear at doorstep
- bo1024 8y agoYes, in winter, even socks are not warm enough. (For others: houses typically don't have heat, and the temperature can drop below 10C / 50F.)
- ip26 8y agoIn addition to temperature, dominant construction materials could have an effect. For example stone is both fairly unforgiving to feet as well as feeling much colder at the same temperature compared to wood, bamboo, etc.