Remove your shoes . . . . ! ! !
I suppose it is a peculiar cultural thing - but in most Indian / Hindu homes, (except perhaps in the north which has cold winters), we do not wear shoes or any other footwear inside the house. Shoes are removed and placed in the shoe-rack at the door - it is a semi-religious taboo, in a way I'd think. It is now so habitual for us, we do not even notice it as an oddity - till we encounter otherwise.
However, I suppose there are an increasing number of Indians who do not observe this custom anymore. We encounter such guests from time to time. And it becomes a bit awkward for us when such guests visit - a conflict between our duty of hospitality and our desire to maintain the 'sanctity' of our abode. Such episodes sometimes lead to remonstrances from the ladies in the household - "He walked in with his shoes on almost all the way upto the dining table! Why did you not tell him!" But it is a bit of a conundrum; the said guests never venture beyond the living room / hall - is it such a big deal as to insist that our guests remove their shoes; especially if some of these guests are such formal acquaintances that they are unlikely to ever visit us again!
Kids though are so free from any such inhibitions. Last evening one such guest, a lady seeking some career advice from dad visited, and she walked to seat herself after being invited in. HRH, took umbrage at that and walked up to the lady and bluntly told her - "One should NOT walk into the house without removing shoes! They are muddy and they bring mud into the house! Look, this is where we keep our shoes" said HRH, pointing out the shoe rack.
Faced with such a direct command, what could our poot guest do but comply!