10 Habits Of Indian Elders That Will Never Make Sense

Our elders are a lot of things, sometimes being unreasonable is one of them. If you have grown up in a middle-class Indian household, you must have come across many weird practices that make no sense at all. Not washing hair on Tuesday, not cutting nail on Wednesday, not cleaning after sunset and what not.

The list goes on. There are some common weird habits that all the elders seem to follow in every Indian household. When asked, they will have no rational explanation to it, but only one rhetoric, Bade humesha sahi hote hain (elders are always right).

In this post, we have summed up 10 such weirdest habits of our elders that we will never understand.

1. Comparing children

Sharma Ji ka Ladka will always be better than you. You get a job in NASA? Sharma Ji’s son already went to the moon. Our family never learns to embrace the individuality of their own children. While they occasionally criticize you, appreciation comes seldom.

2. Saving crockery and good things for special occasion

That gorgeous silverware, those fancy cups, that beautiful carpet you purchased from a trade fair. All these things go straight into a trunk that is labelled “Only for special occasion”. And the funny part is, that special occasion never really comes until all the stuff rot without being used.

3. Keeping separate utensils for house helps

This is a rather discriminatory habit practiced by our elders. How many times have we seen them serving water or tea in a different crockery to our house helps and keeping them isolated from all the regular utensils. Maybe they don’t realize, but its utter discriminatory.

4. Relatives giving unsolicited advise

You just got married? Why don’t you have kids? Why don’t you quit job now that your husband is earning? These are some of many unsolicited advises we have received from our distant aunt or uncle. They just can’t keep their wisdom to themselves.

5. Having a cookie jar with old buttons

You’re hungry, you find a cookie jar. Elated, you open it quickly only to find some old buttons, threads and needle in in it. It seems like our elders like to play with our feelings and feast on our disappointment.

6. What others will think?

Kuch to log kahenge! This song doesn’t make any sense to them. They are ready to put their children’s life on stake just because they are worried about what the SOCIETY will say. Although, that society is never there for them when anything bad happens.

7. Inviting too distant relatives in a wedding

How many times have you bumped into a complete stranger at a family wedding and they introduce themselves as your distant aunt or uncle? Plenty of times, I assume. Following the traditions, for no apparent reason, our parents can’t just stop themselves from inviting almost everyone of the family tree to a wedding (shooting up the budget by 10 folds).

8. Don’t cut nails on Saturday, Tuesday or At Night

Does it make any sense? Not at all! Why do we have to follow it? Because our elders said so. If you ask him to give any one reason behind it, you will be thrashed for questioning your elders’ wisdom. You will be reminded about your forefathers in the next five minutes.

9. Don’t wash hair on Tuesday, Thursday!

This weird rule however only applies to women of the house. Dad or your brother can wash their hair anytime of the week, why? Because they are men and their hair are made up of gold.

10. Pestering their adult daughters to get married!

Their son got 28 this year, great! They will congratulate him, give him pep talks about his career, money, etc. Daughter just got 25, they will bring Rishtas to her as her birthday gift. They will be after her life till she feds up and says yes to get married.