One has to live in a western country - especially US to really understand where the Mom in this article is coming from. In the US, human contact is much rarer than in India - where you bump into someone or the other every foot of the way! People who have been born in India, but spent most of their adult lives in countries like US, tend to stick to their age-old impressions of India (some of which have not changed much) depending on the areas and walks of life they have originated from. Their kids are brought up in a very protected, constantly supervized and "sanitized" environment which is in stark contrast to the melting pot that is India. However, they fail to realize that kids are much more resilient and adaptive than parents and if they are mentally prepared to face minor challenges, they will do very well. What is striking for every western visitor to India is the "liveliness" that you find in the Indian environment, in general. People are ready and have time to talk if required (even if they may not greet each other - imagine what would happen if you started saying "hi - how are you?" to every one you meet on the road in India). Just the fact that you can stand on the road-side and chat with an acquaintance or the corner pan-wallah or have a cup of tea in a tea-stall. These are "luxuries" for people in the cold countries. Colourful clothes is itself a rare sight. So no wonder the westerners feel the "exhileration" of the human warmth which they are not used to. All th
