Practical Information for India

Passport
According to law, you must have your passport with you at all times. To check into a hotel you must show your passport to the hotel clerk and fill out a form with your passport and visa information. If the police ask to see your passport, you must show it to them. They have the right to ask you for it at any time, for no reason.

Visa Extensions
If you plan to stay in India more than the period for which your visa was issued, then you will have to extend your visa. You need four photos. Depending on the office you apply at and your personal circumstances, you may or may not get an extension. The official policy is that a tourist visa cannot be extended.

It is unlikely to get an extension on a six-month visa, and officially the only office that can give an extension now is the main Delhi office. If a person has a good reason, for instance extreme illness, it may be possible to get a two-week extension for US$40. For visa information try this site (www3.travel.com.au/everest/index.cgi?E=bevisreq). 

The Delhi office has a sign that says it is not possible to extend a three or six-month tourist visa. You are more likely to get an extension on a three months visa than on a six months visa. One woman told me, she saw seven people turned down in the Delhi office. She got a one-month extension because she had gone to Nepal for a part of her visa period. The men in the visa office are intelligent and do not appreciated ridiculous excuses. Make sure you have your story together.

Usually the only reason that you will get an extension is because you were, or are sick (you need a doctor’s letter saying this is a fact), or you have some very special circumstances. Also, if you can not get a flight out of India you can often get a visa extension. You must show your airline ticket with a confirmed flight date on it, then you will usually be issued a visa for the number of days until the flight.

In theory, you can apply to extend your visa in every state capital at the office of the Superintendent of Police. In actuality, you can usually only extend a tourist visa at the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, or Calcutta. Usually officials are friendlier in the smaller towns than in the big cities. You should try to extend your visa at least a week before your visa expires. In case you do not get the extension, you should have your plane trip scheduled to leave India within the time that your visa is scheduled to expire.

Over extending your visa is taken very seriously by Indian officials. You many be arrested and blacklisted, which means you will not be able to get another visa for India.

Many people go to Nepal (can only be done once, if that) or other neighboring countries to get a new visa. Many people have told me that most of the people applying in Nepal for another six-month Indian visa have been turned down. People who are turned down are usually given a 15-day transit visa, if their international flight is out of India. Sometimes a visa in Kathmandu can be arranged through a travel agent.

WARNING! If you plan to stay in India for more than six months, you must register at a Foreigners’ Registration Office within two weeks of your arrival. When you register, you will fill out four forms and turn in four photographs. One of the forms is returned to you. You should keep it very carefully because you will have to show this form when you leave the country. If you can not show this form at the airport there is a good chance you will not be allowed to get on your flight leaving the country.

If you do not register within two weeks of your arrival, usually there is no problem doing it later, if you have a reason (excuse). Such as, you did not think you were going to stay for more than six months, which is often true. If you have a tourist visa and did not register in time, it is better to tell the truth and say that you were spaced out or did not know you were supposed to register, rather than coming up with a stupid excuse and insulting the intelligence of the person registering you. The people working in the Foreigners’ Registration Offices are usually high-ranking police officers and are usually highly intelligent (and usually reasonable).

Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO)
In most major cities there are Foreignersxe "Tourist Offices" ’ Registration Offices. Visa extensions are issued at some Foreigners’ Registration Offices. If you come on a student visa or entry visa, you have to report any change of address, or if you plan to travel for more than two months from the place where you are registered. When you leave India, you must inform the FRO office where you are registered. You also are supposed to get an AIDS test within one month of registration. If you are found positive, you will be asked to immediately leave the country. In practicality, you can often avoid getting this test.

Main Foreigners’ Registration Offices
New Delhi
1st Floor, Hans Bhavan, Tilak Bridge, by the Tilak Bridge Railway Station
(011-331-9489)
Calcutta
237 Acharya J C Bose Rd (033-247-3301)
Mumbai                                
Special Branch II, Annexe 2, Office of the Commissioner of Police
Dadabhoy Naoroji Rd (022-262-0446)
Chennai
Shashtri Bhavan Annexe, 26 Haddows Rd (044-827-8210)

Tax Clearance
If you stay in India for more than four months, you are supposed to get a ‘tax clearance certificate’ before leaving the country.

To get one, you go to the Foreign Section of the Income Tax Department in Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, or Mumbai and show them your passport, visa extension form (if any), and whatever bank exchange receipts you have, so you can prove that you have changed your foreign currency officially and have not worked in India.

The Foreign Section of the Income Tax Department in New Delhi is in the Central Revenue Building, near Hans Bhavan and the Tilak Bridge Railway Station.

If you are in India for education or other business with a long-term visa (one year or more), you can get a letter from the organization that you are with. This letter must say that you have been supported by the organization while you were in India.

Warning Many people are being turned back at the airport for not having income tax clearances, so it is advised to get one before going to the airport. If you do not have it you will not be allowed to get on the plane.

Consulates and Embassies
If you have a problem, like your money or ticket was lost or stolen, you can often go to your embassy or consulate and they will often help you out. This is definitely true of the USA and British Embassies. They will usually have a good list of doctors.

If a serious crime has been committed against you, such as rape or physical violence, and you know who did it, and the local police will not do anything about, you can sometimes go to your embassy and they will help you get justice.

Customs
You are allowed to bring in 200 cigarettes, food, and a still camera duty free. If you bring more than US$2,500 in cash or more than US$10,000 in cash and travelers cheques combined, you are supposed to declare this to the customs officials when arriving in India. If you bring a video camera or computer, you are supposed to declare them, and they may be marked in your passport to insure that you take them out of the country.

I do know of cases where people have not declared their computer or printer and had to pay a $200 fine. They can also legally seize what you were supposed to have declared, and I have heard of cases where this has happened. This will usually only happen if you bring in four computers or five new identical cameras. Your check-in and carry-on baggage is X-rayed when you come off the plane. They then put a big chalk “X” on the bags that contain electronic equipment. When you come to the door to leave the airport they check to see if there are any chalk “X” marks on your bags. The reason why they are so strict about electronic goods is because they charge a high duty on imported goods.

In you enter India from Nepal you are not allowed to bring in anything duty free.

Emergency Numbers
Police 100
Fire 101
Ambulance 102
These are the numbers in Delhi, but they are usually the same in other places too.

Business Hours
Shops are usually open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Saturday. Post offices are usually open 10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, and Saturday till noon. The Delhi post office is open from 8 am to 6 pm. Banks are usually open from 10 am till 2 pm and until noon on Saturday. Offices and shops are usually closed on Sunday, but can be closed on a different day depending on the town.

Electricity
The electrical current is 230-240 volts AC 50 cycles. This is different from America and England, so to use your tape recorder, etc., you need a converter and an adapter for your plug, which you can get at certain Indian appliance stores in your own country. Socket sizes in India vary, so it is a good idea to get a universal adapter which is available at airports and at special travel stores. Sockets have three round pins, which is similar to the ones used in Europe. European plugs will go into the sockets, but the Indian pins are a little thicker and the plug will be a little loose, so the connection may not be so good.

NOTICE There are many power failures in India. So it is a good idea to have a good flashlight (torch).

Disabled Travelers
Travel in India with a wheelchair can be fairly difficult. If you do not have someone to help you—unless you plan to stay in one place—it will be difficult or at the very least, tiring. You can hire someone in India to help you for a small amount. The sidewalks (footpaths) usually are full of holes and they do not have ramps. Many buildings do not have facilities for wheelchairs and bathrooms were not built for them. On the other hand, there is no shortage of disabled people in India, and they manage with little trouble. If you can afford to stay in middle-class hotels and take taxis you should be able to travel in India. You can be certain that the local people will help you in whatever way they can.

Clothes
Most of the time in India, you should wear loose fitting cotton cloth. In India, you can get good comfortable cotton clothes, which are specially made for the weather. Artificial materials can be extremely uncomfortable, as they tend to stick to your skin. Lightweight cotton pants are best for most places in India, and jeans are usually too heavy.

If you go to India between mid-November and mid-February, it can be very cold in northern India, especially in the Himalayas. You definitely need a warm sweater or two. If you are staying for a few months it is a good idea to bring extra socks, because if you have a laundry man wash them, they wear out very quickly. A warm hat in the early morning may be necessary. It is hard to get good winter clothes and socks in India.

Sandals are good to wear because they go on and off easily. At Bata shoe store for about Rs 100 you can get good cheap sandals, which are comfortable and sturdy. If you leave an expensive pair of shoes outside a temple unguarded, they may be stolen.

Acceptable Dress
In you are well dressed, you will usually be treated better in India, especially when you are doing official business. When going to temples you should dress very conservatively.

Transparent and low-cut dresses, bare shoulders, short skirts, and shorts are not acceptable for women, except in big cities like Mumbai. Women can wear trousers. Indian women on the beach bathe with their clothes on and never swim in bathing suits. Men should usually always wear a shirt in public. Men wearing lungis or gumshas, away from beaches or rivers, are not regarded very highly.
Many temples will not let you take leather items like bags and belts into the temple, and some will not allow socks.

Valuables
When you travel, there are three things that are very valuable to you—your money, passport, and plane ticket. It is best to keep these things with you at all times. Carry your valuables in a money belt, a pouch under your shirt, or a pocket sewn into your clothing, not in your pockets or exposed bags. You can also get a money belt that attaches to the calf of your leg, or you can get a special pocket sewn inside of your clothes. You should try to never let anyone see your money belt in public, as thieves will try to cut it.

You should not even think of putting any valuables in your check-in baggage on plane flights.

Valuables should not be left in your hotel room, if possible, especially in lower-class places where you use the hotel’s lock. It is best to always carry valuables on you. Most hotel rooms have extra keys for all the rooms. Your $1,000 could be worth two years of work for someone. You can leave valuables at the front desk at respectable hotels.

If you are carrying a lot of money, you may want to carry two money belts. I always carry two. When I go into a crowded situation like a railway station, I put the money belt that I have most of my money and passport in under my pants.

It is a good idea not to carry all your money in one place. If you do get robbed, what will you do if you are on a train to Mumbai with no money. It is best to carry at least $50 or $100 somewhere else all the time.

Travel bags should be made of a strong material, so they cannot be cut open. You should also be able to put a lock on them, if possible. The external pockets of a bag should not be used to carry valuables. Women should not keep their valuables in their purse, as they would in America. They are easily slit with a razor or pickpocketed. I have heard of many cases of this happening. You should not carry valuables in your back pockets or side kurta pockets. Carry them in your front pants pockets, upper shirt pockets, or in a money belt. It is best to keep your valuables in the front part of your body.

Lost Passport or Ticket
If you lose your passport or plane ticket, you can expect a big hassle. If they are stolen, you must report the theft to the police immediately. You must show this police report to the airlines to get another ticket and to your local embassy to get a new passport. A USA passport is valuable in India.

If your ticket is lost, the travel agency where you purchased the ticket may have to request a new one. So it is a good idea to have the phone number and address of the travel agency that you got your ticket from. Depending on the type of ticket you had, you may have to pay again for the ticket and then wait for a refund, which can take a while. A photocopy of your passport and ticket will come in very handy if they are stolen.

Watch Repair
If you have an expensive watch and want a really reliable place to repair it you should go to Johnson Watch Company (011 332-1592), L Block – 21, Connaught Place, in New Delhi. They can repair most watches including Seiko, Cartier, Omega, Rolex, and many more. It costs Rs 395 for a basic repair job, but it may be extra is they have to pull in replacement parts. I went to them to repair my Seiko watch, after trying several other places, and they repaired it with no problem. It is also a good place to purchase a watch. 

Watch Repair Warning
You should be careful in Indian when bringing an expensive watch in for repair as shops may take out the expensive original insides of the watch and replace it with the insides of a cheaper watch. This is not uncommon and I know this, because it happened to me. The next time I brought my watch in for repair, I was told that the inside of the watch was no longer a Seiko inside, but was another brand. 

Women Travelers
It is best for women not to travel alone, especially if they have never been to India before. Many men in India think western women to be easy. Women are often subjected to being stared at, handled, peaked at through a hole in a hotel room door, and may receive obscene comments. These situations are not usually a serious threat.

It is important that women dress modestly. Women in India do not normally show their shoulders or knees, or wear tight fitting clothes, or shorts. It is best not to wear clinging, or low cut clothes. The bra-less look should be avoided.

Women usually do not shake hands with men, and certainly any physical contact beyond this is asking for trouble. Having a casual conversation with a man is considered a reason for a man to proceed further. Indian women and men who don’t know each other, unless they are highly educated, just don’t talk with each other in India. If you feel that a man is coming into your space, more than likely he is. Usually you can just request them to stay away from you. If someone touches you apparently innocently, it usually isn’t. Men do not touch women they do not know in India.

If you have a problem on a train or bus, approach the ticket collector and ask them politely to help you. If the ticket collector won’t help you, ask to see the conductor of the train. The conductor is usually a well-educated man, who you should speak to respectfully, and who will usually be helpful.

Groping is a normal thing. It is standard for women to be groped (handled) on the local trains in Mumbai. That is why there are separate compartments for women. Even just walking in the station, women can be handled. If a woman goes into a very crowded situation with many men, such as a bus, especially if she is by herself, it is not unusual for her to be groped. This happens with Indian ladies too.

If you are a woman traveling alone, it could be a good idea to travel by air-conditioned or first-class. There are much less passengers on these carriages, and they usually have had more contact with foreigners, so they are easier to deal with.

Women can request a ladies compartment in a 2nd class carriage of a train. Many trains have such a compartment. Also, most of the time there is a special ladies’ queue (line) for purchasing train tickets. This means that ladies can go to the front of a queue to purchase tickets for trains and no one will say anything. Most railway stations have ladies’ waiting rooms.

Social Behavior
In India, people use their right hand to eat, as well as to offer and take things from people. The left hand is considered unclean, as that hand is used for the toilet. It is considered impolite to give or accept something from someone with your left hand. It is considered dirty to serve food with the left hand or to put your left hand in your mouth.

Women do not generally shake hands with men. Men and women should not touch each other in public, especially in holy places and temples. In temples and often in people’s homes, men and women sit separately.

To greet someone, it is good manners to put your palms together and say “Namaste” or “Hare Krishna.” You can also shake hands, but this is not usually done in India, unless you are doing a business deal or someone wants something from you. Orthodox Hindus consider themselves polluted if they touch a person from a lesser caste, which Westerners are considered. Usually the more enthusiastically someone greets you, the more likely they are to rip you off.

When you enter someone’s home you should take off your shoes. It is all right to wear shoes inside a house as long as they are never taken outside the house. Most Indians take a bath and brush their teeth every day, if not several times a day. It is a religious duty to take a daily bath.

You should not enter the kitchen in a person’s home, unless you are invited to do so.

Serving spoons should never touch the plate of the person being served. After someone has begun eating, they should wash their hands before serving themselves or others’ food. If someone drinks from a bottle, they should not touch the mouth of the bottle and give it to someone else. This is considered unclean and unhealthy. Also, you do not take a bite out of something and then hand it to someone else to eat, or eat off the same plate as someone. After eating, Indians always wash their hands and mouth.
Attitude to be Treated Properly

People from Great Britain, as a class, usually have an easier time in India than people from other countries. I figure it is because Indians respond to the mode of the British Raj. I highly suggest to women, especially young pretty ones, that they should act haughty, which in truth, I believe, only the British can do properly. It is usually a good ideal (especially if they are alone and are a women) to walk around with your nose in the air, in a mode demanding respect. This is often difficult for foreigners, who feel that it is demeaning to the people around them. I have found that in actually, the local people, from the common man on the street to the most educated (in the highest positions) respond favorably to a person that approaches them in a mode that they should be given respect. If you try to be friendly, often you will not accomplish your task, and you may be highly disrespected in the process. Simultaneously you also have to always show respect and be very polite. The more conservative you dress, usually the better response you will receive from people. For the most part India is a very formal and conservative country.

If you are a young women and someone approaches you in a disrespectful way, maybe even touching you, I believed it is best to respond immediately, by showing great disgust. Don’t give them an inch.

Indian Toilets
You may be bewildered when you first go into an Indian toilet, because there may not be any toilet paper or a seat to sit on. Indians usually clean themselves with water instead of using toilet paper. They usually then take a full bath with soap and water. Also, Indians do not sit down, they squat when they go to the toilet. It is actually a much more healthy and effective system. Only the left hand is used for the toilet.

Begging
There are beggars, and then there are sadhus or saintly persons who accept donations. I do not think it is a good idea to give anything to the average beggar, unless you give them food. Giving to a saintly person is actually to the benefit of the giver. The difficulty with giving to a saintly person is to know who is actually saintly.

One problem about giving to beggars by temples or holy places, especially if they are children, is that if you give to one, you may have a hundred persons surround you and ask you for money. Also, it is a bad policy to give any money to small children, because they usually give all the money to their parents or some other adult. In this way the parents do not have to work, nor is it profitable for the parents to give their children an education. One eight-year-old boy approached me for some money. A shopkeeper told me that the boy’s parent owned two shops, and that they didn’t know their child was on the street begging.

General Information
Geckoes, the little lizards in your room, are not only harmless, but also helpful, because they eat mosquitoes and other insects. Their skin is poisonous, so they should not be touched.

If you have a problem understanding what is being said, you can ask the person to spell out the word, especially if it is a name.

Before you hire a guide, make sure you can understand his English and he can understand yours. Many times they will say a few words that they know, so that you think they speak good English, then later you find you cannot communicate with them at all.

If I cannot communicate with someone, I immediately go on to the next person and do not waste my time.

Many times the word “hotel” is used for a restaurant.
Shaking of the head to the side, as you would do if you were saying “no” in America, can mean “yes” in India. Sometimes nodding the head can mean “no.”

Measurements and Numbers
India uses the xe "metric system" metric system. In this book, distances are usually given in kilometres. A kilometre is 0.62 of a mile. Eight kilometres equal five miles. There are 1,000 metres in a kilometre and 100 centimetres in a metre. A metre is just over 3.3 feet and a centimetre is .4 inches. A litre is equal to 1.06 quarts.

Temperature in India is measured by the Centigrade system. To convert from xe "Centigrade to Fahrenheit" Centigrade to Fahrenheit you multiply the Centigrade temperature by 9/5 and add 32. A kilo is 2.2 pounds.

A hundred thousand is called a lakh (1,00,000), and ten million is called a crore (1,00,00,000). A million would be referred to as 10 lakhs, and not as a million.

Indian English & xe "Communication"Communication
Unless a person is highly educated, it is best to not speak in complete sentences. If you want a post office or the bus stand, it is usually best to just ask “Post Office?” or “bus stand?” and not “Where is the bus stand?” You could also say “Where Post Office?” It is best to mainly speak in one-to-three word sentences. Even if you speak to a highly educated person, it is best to speak with an Indian accent, if you can, and speak very slowly. What Indians are taught in school has little to do with the language that is spoken in America.

If you want to get directions to the train station, and you say “Where is the train station?” There is a good chance all you will get is blank stares. You have to ask “railway station?” Many people do not know what a train station is. Sometimes a bus station is called the “bus stand” in a particular town. If you ask for the bus station, no one will know what you are talking about.

If people cannot understand you when you speak, try to say the same thing in another way. Sometimes you will have to rephrase your question five or six times before it will be understood. You may also have to accent your words differently.

Mandir is another name for temple. In Hindi sometimes the letter ‘s’ is pronounced as ‘sh’ and sometimes simply as ‘s.’ The letter ‘b’ and ‘v’ are often used interchangeably. It can be either Braja or Vraja, or it can be Vrindavan or Brindavan.

Indian Culture
1. Don’t overload your plate, you are expected to finish everything.
2. Never put objects on a temple or someone’s personal altar in their home or on sacred items, such as a religious book.
3. Never point the soles of your feet towards an altar in a temple, other people, or holy sites.
4. Remove your shoes when entering someone’s home, even if they tell you it is all right to wear your shoes. It is almost never all right.

Problems & Indian Bureaucracy
Do not be annoyed if you have a problem getting something done, just be patient. If the person that you are dealing with can’t do what you need or is just plain unhelpful, ask to see the next higher official or the manager. Make sure you tell the person how important and competent he is, and that the organization he is working for is also such. Many things can happen just by waiting and letting the system fall into place.

If all else fails, ask to see the complaint book, which no one can refuse to give you. If someone is treating me in a way that I consider totally unfair, I demand that the person writes down his name, so I can complain to his superior. This usually breaks the person out of their dream world and makes them do things efficiently and quickly. I do 0actually complain if I am unfairly treated and have usually received what I consider justice. Also, offering small personal gifts, such as, a western pen or lighter, or a devotional item such as a picture of Krishna or a spiritual book can really help.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides