If you’ve ever witnessed an Indian wobbling his head,
You’ve probably wondered “was that a yes or was that a no“? OR
Perhaps you thought there’s something wrong with that neck
while he viscously nodded to your speech?
I’ve been wobbling my head since almost three decades now without realizing that
it wasn’t a norm elsewhere. So, when in the Netherlands someone asked me, if that nod meant a yes or a no, I was stumped. (by his naivety).
That he did not know what it meant came in as a sheer surprise.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from wobbling my head
I decided to publish these guidelines instead! 😎
How to Interpret the Indian head wobble?
1. Was that a YES?
[farewell story]
Someone : Would you like a beer?
Me: (nods up and down)
Someone: Brings beer. Not for me.
(Didn’t register a Yes.) 😒
A simple nod (up and down) means an obvious yes. It’s a pity, some don’t reckon this simple gesture yet. That made me reconsider a voice-over with this wobble.
[Destroys the whole purpose of wobbling my head] 😠
2. Was that a NO?
[say cheese!]
I hate blue cheese.
You’re lucky that I tried it even once. (I grew up on processed cheese.)
It smelled so foul that I had to gulp down the whole piece. 🤢
That was tough. But then you asked “if I want more ?”
I nodded my head (in sheer disgust).
I thought that was clear – an obvious NO
But there you were, pouring some more!
If it weren’t you, I wouldn’t have given up french cheese!
You : Shall we order a cheese plate?
Me : (nods left and right)
3. What’s with that constant nod?
I’ve got to speak even as you speak. (be it with my wobbling head)
That’s mere telepathy to convey if I agree or disagree.
( of course, that assumes my opinion is important) 😎
Boss: This year hasn’t been good for the company. We can’t offer promotions.
Me : (Nodding head left and right)
Boss : In fact we’re thinking of cutting down salaries. We’re looking for volunteers.
Me : (still nodding)
Boss: You! Thank you for volunteering
Me : WTF!
[I just disagreed]
The next time I sit in those board room meetings, I’ll bring some sign boards along with me.
4. Did you just greet?
They’ve got a population of more than a billion in India.
You’ve got no time to greet everybody, That’s why they invented a wobble to greet.
[at Coffee machine]
Indian colleague : [smiles and nods]
Me: [smiles and nods}
Another Indian comes : [nods at both of us]
Me : [nods]
End of conversation!
Are there more expressions?
Head wobbling is a language on its own. They’re a dozen other expressions to convey your message. I suggest you scroll through YouTube once.
Although the ones I describe here, cover eighty percent of the wobbling business.
Why do they wobble?
Good question. I’ve got a theory for this. (since there is no exact answer)
A lot of communication in India is non verbal.
Facial expressions, hand gestures, tone of your voice and the head wobble.
They’re all used to emphasize your view, to be influential (amidst crowd and chaos).
The head wobble comes in very handy when talking to strangers,
who don’t speak your language or while talking to acquaintances,
who would not listen. Wobbling as you speak means double emphasis.
You certainly get the attention.
Afternote: Seventy percent of human communication is actually non verbal.
So, I wonder if there’s something wrong with the head wobble!
Perhaps, if it you don’t wobble, you might as well be doing something else! 🙄
#Indianheadwobbleexplained
© Copyright 2020. Megha Gupta. All rights reserved.
Comments
22 responses to “The Indian head wobble”
Since your post is so relatable, made me remember a similar experience with wobbling, during my initial days in US and I had to write about it. Sorry it’s bit too long for a comment.
Once during a project discussion, my manager was running down on the things that should be taken care, when it came to me, he listed few things, and it went like this:
Manager: you and your team can take care of that right? (And he looked at me.)
(Since we had that eye contact I just acknowledged by wobbling my head. Breaking eye contact, I started making a note of things told.)
Manager: (with a pause) Was that a Yes or No?
Me: I already said Yes. (Surprised!)
Manager: Did you just wobble your head to say Yes?
Me: Yes, didn’t you knew?
Manager: Ohh really? No.
Me: It’s an Indian thing.😝
And explained on different style of head wobbling and what it meant! With a little laughter and enlightenment, meeting continued…
Post this incident, I made a conscious decision to speak along with my wobbling but not stop my wobbling 😝
Very well written. 😊
That is so relatable!! Thanks for sharing the experience. For me the nod has always been unconscious, I didn’t realize it had the potential to be confused until someone actually asked! 😛
I didn’t know wobbling is an Indian thing.
Well we don’t realise that in India because everyone does that. But when you are in other countries we are the only ones who do that, if not all then most of us. On a lighter note.. may be we should even apply for a patent.😊
So true. 👍It is indeed an unconscious gesture! 😬
Haha! A patent would be great of only they’d allow. 😄
Strangely, it is. I discovered myself when I moved out of India 😝
That’s interesting. I’d love to test this someday in a foreign land.
no idea
am a yank
so on this idea
i m on the tank
😁
Ahaa the greet one is so relatable! 😂
Thank you for this post! Made me smile 😁
😆😆 glad to find a another soul who can understand this! 😁
I love reading these posts of yours, very interesting and fun and educational!
Hey Efrona. Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you find it fun and informative 🙂
Hellow megha
We are organizing a longest writing fest in india
For 50 days
There is two categories
One is hindi
And one is English
English
There is three task
One poetry
One travel writing
One flash fiction story
You can write fiction or non fiction both
If you want to participate than please send a hi on my mail Mylovekanhajee@gmail.com 👍
This blog reminded me of the book Shantaram. Great article.
Thanks!
This is amazing and so true😊😊
I think all of us can relate to it
Glad! You think so too 😁
😊
Absolutely hilarious post megha…not to mention I found myself wobbling along as I read through each scenario 😂😂
Haha, 😁I’m glad you can relate to it! 😋Thanks for your comment!