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By:

Naresh Kamath

5 November 2024 at 5:30:38 am

Indian Tourists Need a Reputation Reset

India has long taken pride in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ - the belief that guests deserve warmth, respect and dignity. It is an idea deeply woven into the country’s cultural imagination, often been projected as a defining Indian value. As millions of Indians travel overseas every year, the conduct of a small but highly visible section of Indian tourists is increasingly shaping how India itself is perceived abroad. The issue is not about a single incident or a handful of viral...

Indian Tourists Need a Reputation Reset

India has long taken pride in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ - the belief that guests deserve warmth, respect and dignity. It is an idea deeply woven into the country’s cultural imagination, often been projected as a defining Indian value. As millions of Indians travel overseas every year, the conduct of a small but highly visible section of Indian tourists is increasingly shaping how India itself is perceived abroad. The issue is not about a single incident or a handful of viral videos but a pattern that is drawing notice from hotels, tourism operators and local authorities across the world. The debate gained fresh momentum after reports emerged of a Swiss hotel issuing a notice specifically addressed to Indian guests. The advisory reportedly requested guests not to pack food from breakfast buffets for later consumption and reminded them to maintain silence in corridors and balconies. Hotels routinely issue guidelines. But when a particular nationality becomes the subject of a specific advisory, it inevitably raises larger questions about perception. “It is a sorry state of affairs. Indians, especially in groups, are displaying atrocious behaviour. This was anyway bound to happen,” says Subhash Motwani, founder of Namaste Tourism. Embarrassing Incidents Whether the notice was justified is another separate matter. The question is why such perceptions are emerging in the first place. Recent months have seen several incidents involving Indian tourists gain traction on social media. One widely circulated video showed travellers performing garba on an airport tarmac in Vietnam. Garba is among India’s most vibrant cultural traditions and a source of immense pride for millions. Yet airports are highly regulated spaces where safety protocols and discipline take precedence over celebration. The incident became symbolic of a larger problem. The rise of social media has encouraged some travellers to treat foreign destinations as stages for content creation. Public dancing, loud celebrations, disruptive behaviour and attention-seeking stunts may generate views and engagement online, but they can also leave lasting impressions on locals and fellow tourists. India is hardly the first country to confront such a challenge. During the 1950s and 1960s, American tourists acquired a reputation for arrogance abroad, giving rise to the phrase “Ugly American.” Britain spent decades dealing with the international embarrassment caused by football hooliganism. China faced similar concerns as outbound tourism surged during the early years of the twenty-first century. A nation’s image is shaped not just by its economic achievements and diplomatic influence but also by the behaviour of its citizens overseas. India today finds itself in a similar situation. Indian tourists are now among the most visible traveller groups across Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This is, in many ways, a remarkable success story. However, with visibility comes responsibility. Hospitality professionals across destinations frequently point to recurring concerns. Excessive noise, queue-jumping, disregard for local regulations, overcrowding hotel rooms and attempts to bypass established rules through jugaad are among the complaints often cited. Collectively, repeated experiences can create lasting perceptions. The most revealing aspect of the debate is that Indian travellers often display exemplary discipline in countries known for strict law enforcement. In destinations such as Singapore, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, compliance with rules is generally high. Complaints tend to emerge more frequently in places perceived as relaxed or lenient. That suggests the challenge is not one of awareness. Most travellers understand the rules perfectly well. The problem is often a mindset that rules can be negotiated when consequences appear unlikely. Changing that mindset is far more important than introducing additional regulations or issuing fresh advisories. Every interaction at an airport, hotel, restaurant, tourist attraction or public transport system contributes to how a country is viewed. These everyday encounters often shape perceptions more powerfully than government campaigns or tourism advertisements. As India stakes its claim to a larger role in the world, its citizens must recognise that national prestige is shaped not only by economic achievements and diplomatic successes, but also by everyday behaviour abroad. The overwhelming majority of Indian tourists travel responsibly and leave behind positive impressions. Their conduct rarely becomes news because courtesy seldom goes viral. Yet a handful of highly visible incidents can overshadow thousands of positive experiences. The challenge is to encourage responsible travel and a greater awareness that behaviour abroad carries consequences beyond the individual. The conduct of Indian citizens overseas should reflect the confidence and values of a nation seeking not merely recognition but enduring respect. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

The Eye of the Beholder

Updated: Mar 17, 2025


Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wrote the line, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” in her 1878 novel, though several, including Plato, have explored variations of this theme. It is now a well-worn idiom for people agreeing to disagree on the appeal of something, be it a person, a melody, or a work of art. Is beauty inherent, is it perceived, does it exist at all, what is the relationship between art and beauty? Artists have long struggled with such questions.



Meidias Hydria, Athenian red-figure water vase, circa 420 BC
Meidias Hydria, Athenian red-figure water vase, circa 420 BC

The first hurdle lies in defining the concept of beauty. Reading philosophies of aesthetics as postulated by Aristotle, Nietzsche, and other empiricists and rationalists is enough to make one’s head spin. Is beauty a primordial truth contained within the Golden Ratio, which has been superimposed – sometimes inaccurately – on the Parthenon, da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, and Hokusai’s Great Wave of Kanazawa? Is this math applied to works retrospectively a marker of inherent beauty, or merely an interesting, if flawed, coincidence? Johann Winckelmann, often considered the first art historian, believed that unity and simplicity are the two sources of absolute beauty which can only be achieved in man’s artistic creations and not in nature.


Immanuel Kant claimed that to the contrary, ‘true beauty’ can be found only in nature. Poets and artists have embraced this notion with exaltations to the natural universe.


David Hume suggested a complex relationship between the object, its perception, and its comprehension stating, "Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.” If it awakens pleasure or passion in the viewer, then that which is being viewed could be termed beautiful, be it a sunset or a work of art. And then there was Keats with his Ode on a Grecian Urn: “Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty. That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." If you’ve ever looked at a Grecian Urn in a museum, you’ve likely pondered some of these questions. Or perhaps it made little impact in comparison to the Khavda pottery from Gujarat, thought to trace its roots to the Indus Valley civilization. The eye of the beholder, after all.



Rummana Hussain, Earth Picture, 1993
Rummana Hussain, Earth Picture, 1993

The traditional ‘purpose’ of art was to transcend the banal and prosaic, to rise into being sacred and sublime. Statues of gods and goddesses whether Indian or Greek were representations of idealised beauty which was determined within the context of time, place, material, and culture. Cows imbued with metaphoric love in a Pichwai painting can evoke feelings of divine devotion, but only if you have knowledge of the lore. Notwithstanding the treatises of philosophers about the Platonic ideal and a priori truths, much aesthetic taste is a result of conditioning.


The women painted by Flemish artist Peter Paul Reubens in the 1600s have little in common with the women in scroll paintings from the Ming dynasty in China, which lasted until 1644. Whether voluptuous or stylized, each artist was creating what was considered glorious to them and their audience.


Though many even today continue to equate art with beauty, art gradually evolved into the portrayal of “real life,” which of course is not always beautiful, no matter which way you define it. Indeed, much modern and contemporary art would lead one to believe that beauty isn’t top of mind for most artists, no matter where they are in the world. Somnath Hore and Chittaprosad Bhattacharya’s drawings of the 1943 Bengal Famine are heart-wrenching.


Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says, “Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.” Vivan Sundaram’s politically conscious art raised awareness about many “crises,” as he termed them, including communalism and migration.


Last week, an artist left piglets to starve in a cage at an art show in Copenhagen to make a statement about the mistreatment of animals. The elusive Banksy says, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable,” his anti-establishment graffiti art presenting ironic commentaries on socio-political absurdities. Rummana Hussain’s broken terracotta pots are a response to the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992 – wouldn’t Keats’ ode to truth and beauty hold true for her work as well, even though the urn she depicts is shattered and in pieces?


The relationship between art and beauty is complicated. George Bernard Shaw said, “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” The joy and sadness of the human condition is what makes life magical, and art necessarily responds to both. We can lose ourselves in the dreamworlds of Sakti Burman as deeply as in the nightmares of Hieronymus Bosch. Dostoevsky’s Prince Myshkin declared, “Beauty will save the world,” but let’s not forget that he was The Idiot of the book title. Idiots, however, sometimes speak profound truths.


One could argue that art which moves viewers to reconsider their reality in any way offers salvation because, to quote acting teacher Stella Adler, “life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.” Could there be anything more universally beautiful than rediscovering our humanity?


Vitruvian Man 


Great Wave of Kanazawa 

 

Khavda pottery 

 

Pichwai 

 

Reubens 

 

Somnath Hore 

 

Chittaprosad Bhattacharya 

 

scroll paintings from the Ming dynasty 

 

Sakti Burman 

 

Hieronymus Bosch 

 

(Meera is an architect, author, editor, and artist. Her column meanders through the vibrant world of art, discussing ideas, offering critiques, delving into theory and exploring everything in between and beyond.)

 

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