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6 Types Of Typical Indian Relatives & Neighbors

There are numerous reasons to celebrate and be proud of being born an Indian. But family not might be one of them, at times. While we do love our family members and relatives to death, at certain points in our life, we often what to distance ourselves from their actions and behavior. And this is not just us, every one of our Indian classmates and colleagues agrees with us. With long hours of complaining and discussing how much we are annoyed about a certain relative from either maternal or paternal side, we often reach a conclusion, there are several mutual traits that an ordinary typical Indian relative shares. From the nosy aunt of the family to the matrimonial-crazed uncle who is always trying to set us up, typical relatives like these, barring similar traits and characteristics exist in every Indian family. So, why not discuss more about these typical Indian rishte-daars and help you know how you can identify each of them; 

Nosy Aunt

The aunt is always interested to know what is happening in your life, your siblings’ life, and your parents’ life. From the moment you meet her, no matter where you are, she will bombard you with questions regarding every aspect of your life, from your school to your parents’ daily-being, to your love life. You bit back the snarky response resting on your tongue, and give vague and polite answers back to your nosy aunt, all the while you are wondering ‘does not she hear herself? On how nosy she’s being?’. At the end of the conversation, you reach the conclusion that she likes self-consciousness about her intrusion in other people’s lives and you pray to God that you never see her again in any near time.  

Always Trying To Set Us Up-Uncle

You do not have to worry about life partners because as soon as you hit the age of 20-23, there is always an uncle in your family who will be dead set upon searching for you all the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes from good families that you can marry. Even if you do not want to settle down and marry, your uncle will never agree with your decision. He will just blame it all ‘young-useless thinking’ all the while presenting eligible marriage prospects to your parents. “When are you getting married?” will appear to be the questions that are scaring the daylights out of your uncle and he will constantly be trying to make your life ‘better’, despite your clear reluctance and embarrassment. 

Quiz Master Relatives

The ones that always bother you with questions about what you are studying, what you wish to be, do you know the quantum-dynamics and manage to ruin our moods in any family functions, are, believe it or not, faced by us all. Since you were a kid, the questions began as mathematics riddles and now they seem to have gained numerous levels with time. These relatives will constantly ponder your thoughts and life decisions with questions like ‘what subjects are you studying? Oh, my son became a successful engineer recently, why are not following his path?’. They do not seem to recognize individual aspirations and are ready to poke their nose into your academic life and aspirations. 

The Pompous, Ivy-League Cousins

Oh yeah, those cousins who went to IITs and IIMs and they will tell you about it. In fact, you will hear about how much they learned and enjoyed their time in this ivy-league, difficulty to get into universities. Their voices will rise in level when they utter the name of the prestigious university they went to, and they will indirectly or to your face always ask you how your time went or is going at your less-expensive, general college. While you may want to punch them in the face whenever they start speaking or spill a beverage on their expensive suit, you resist your urges to do these actions in order to avoid making a scene or disappoint your parents. These haughty cousins are the pride of their parents, and despite having a less than happy life, they will never resist the chance to show off their wealth or degree. 

The Religious, God-loving Aunt and Uncle

When you meet your god-loving religiously-devoted aunt and/or uncle, they will constantly marvel about how the answer to all difficulties and obstacles in life can be solved if you just follow the path that leads to god. These kinds of relatives will make you sit through aartis, pujas, and chant religious scriptures along with them, despite your unwillingness. Painting your forehead with a tikka, they will constantly chant the scriptures of Mahabharata, Ramayan, and Geeta and pondering on about how ‘the current generation is doomed because they do not favor the teachings of God in their brain and behavior.’

The Memory-Testing Aunty

To set the scene, the general scene that plays out here is that you will be minding your own business at a family gathering or public place, and suddenly your personal bubble will get violated by a middle-aged woman who will keep asking you a couple of time “Do you remember me? You grew up so much.” Biting back a sarcastic reply about how humans age, you ponder through your memory searching for the answer to the new life- existential questions, do you remember this woman? The most general answer that your brain answers will be a ‘no’. After all, you meet her when you were so little and how can you remember every unremarkable meeting you ever had. In situations like these, simply nod your head no while looking shy and drift your mind to a different place while the aunt continues chatting up your parent. 

There are several other kinds of common and typical Indian relatives that you face or might face at some point in your life such as aunts that survive on gossiping, the always interested in your life, and job-description relative, and more. The best thing to do when you come face to face with these kinds of relatives is to keeping your mouth shut, nodding along, and giving agreeable polite vague answers to their questions, and voila, you have managed to pass one of the most nauseating moments of life. 

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