NRI's reply to American colleague's 'Does India have elections' question is viral
An NRI described an awkward dinner in the US where a colleague's relative made bizarre assumptions about India. His post sparked wider discussion about cultural ignorance, stereotypes and limited exposure.
An Indian man living in the US shared an awkward dinner conversation where a relative of his colleague made a string of bizarre assumptions about India, like believing lasagna was unavailable in the country.
The Non-Resident Indian (NRI) shared the experience on Reddit’s r/Indiansinusa forum in a post titled, “You won’t get lasagna in India” + other dinner table gems,” where he detailed what he described as a series of “mind-boggling comments” made during a fine-dining dinner at an Italian restaurant in the US.
In the post, the man explained that the evening took an unusual turn shortly after he was served his food. According to him, a colleague’s cousin, casually remarked, “Yeah... you won't get a lasagna in India,” seemingly assuming that Indian cities lacked access to international cuisines.
The man wrote that he was left stunned by the comment, joking that the relative appeared to think “1.4 billion people are entirely cut off from global cuisine and caf culture.”
But the conversation, he claimed, only got stranger from there.
At one point, the relative also asked him, “What is that yellow animal that people in India travel on?” a question that left him completely baffled. The man said he initially guessed elephants and tried explaining that they had historically been used by kings centuries ago, though he admitted he still had “no clue” what animal the person was actually referring to.
Another moment that stood out to him came when the man reportedly asked, “Can you go to India?” a question the man said caught him off guard. He recalled responding with, “Yes, why not? I can travel whenever I want” while wondering whether the person had perhaps intended to ask if he planned to move back permanently.
The “grand finale,” as the man called it, came when the dinner guest asked whether India even had elections.
Recalling his response, the man wrote that he replied, “Yes, which is why we have a Prime Minister and not a Supreme Leader or a King.” He added that this was not the first time he had encountered such confusion in the US, claiming he had previously been asked the same question twice by Uber drivers.
The experience eventually prompted him to ask fellow Reddit users how they dealt with such situations, questioning whether others chose to educate people, laugh it off, or simply ignore such remarks.
Take a look at the post here:
The post gained traction online, sparking a wider conversation around cultural ignorance, stereotypes, and how little some people know about countries outside their own.
Several users appeared sympathetic, saying such encounters could be frustrating but were not entirely surprising.
Some suggested that ignorance about other cultures existed everywhere and pointed out that similar misunderstandings were common even within India, particularly among people unfamiliar with regions beyond their own surroundings.
One user remarked that the questions were “not that bad,” arguing that ignorance was fairly common worldwide and often stemmed from limited exposure rather than malice.
The commenter even made comparisons to experiences their white wife faced while visiting India, suggesting Indians, too, sometimes asked foreigners deeply uninformed or awkward questions.
At the same time, several users said the post was relatable, sharing their own experiences of answering surprising questions about India abroad, ranging from assumptions about wildlife and infrastructure to misconceptions about technology, education, and democracy.
An Indian man living in the US shared an awkward dinner conversation where a relative of his colleague made a string of bizarre assumptions about India, like believing lasagna was unavailable in the country.
The Non-Resident Indian (NRI) shared the experience on Reddit’s r/Indiansinusa forum in a post titled, “You won’t get lasagna in India” + other dinner table gems,” where he detailed what he described as a series of “mind-boggling comments” made during a fine-dining dinner at an Italian restaurant in the US.
In the post, the man explained that the evening took an unusual turn shortly after he was served his food. According to him, a colleague’s cousin, casually remarked, “Yeah... you won't get a lasagna in India,” seemingly assuming that Indian cities lacked access to international cuisines.
The man wrote that he was left stunned by the comment, joking that the relative appeared to think “1.4 billion people are entirely cut off from global cuisine and caf culture.”
But the conversation, he claimed, only got stranger from there.
At one point, the relative also asked him, “What is that yellow animal that people in India travel on?” a question that left him completely baffled. The man said he initially guessed elephants and tried explaining that they had historically been used by kings centuries ago, though he admitted he still had “no clue” what animal the person was actually referring to.
Another moment that stood out to him came when the man reportedly asked, “Can you go to India?” a question the man said caught him off guard. He recalled responding with, “Yes, why not? I can travel whenever I want” while wondering whether the person had perhaps intended to ask if he planned to move back permanently.
The “grand finale,” as the man called it, came when the dinner guest asked whether India even had elections.
Recalling his response, the man wrote that he replied, “Yes, which is why we have a Prime Minister and not a Supreme Leader or a King.” He added that this was not the first time he had encountered such confusion in the US, claiming he had previously been asked the same question twice by Uber drivers.
The experience eventually prompted him to ask fellow Reddit users how they dealt with such situations, questioning whether others chose to educate people, laugh it off, or simply ignore such remarks.
Take a look at the post here:
The post gained traction online, sparking a wider conversation around cultural ignorance, stereotypes, and how little some people know about countries outside their own.
Several users appeared sympathetic, saying such encounters could be frustrating but were not entirely surprising.
Some suggested that ignorance about other cultures existed everywhere and pointed out that similar misunderstandings were common even within India, particularly among people unfamiliar with regions beyond their own surroundings.
One user remarked that the questions were “not that bad,” arguing that ignorance was fairly common worldwide and often stemmed from limited exposure rather than malice.
The commenter even made comparisons to experiences their white wife faced while visiting India, suggesting Indians, too, sometimes asked foreigners deeply uninformed or awkward questions.
At the same time, several users said the post was relatable, sharing their own experiences of answering surprising questions about India abroad, ranging from assumptions about wildlife and infrastructure to misconceptions about technology, education, and democracy.
