"Indian Head-Shake"

[swanwhite]

Hi there all! I have a question from my brother today. He works at a Subway which is a frequent stop for the east indian community in the neighborhood, and during his time there has noticed what he calls "the indian headshake". It usually seen as a response to a question, and instead of a yes or no, the customer does this interesting bobbing,

Comments

[shel99]

My sister spent 5 months in India (southeast coast) and she said that people just do it all the time. It doesn't mean anything specific, just an everyday sort of gesture. She also said that it isn't common in other parts of India.

She picked up the habit while she was over there, and when she came back she scared everyone who hadn't been reading her blog, because they saw her head wobbling all the time and thought she was developing Parkinson's...

[rockthecj]

It's an affirmative nod.

I'm not sure why they do this, but I guessed a while ago it might be to do with politeness. Like my grandparents and dad (they are Japanese) do with their hands beckoning inward, upside down, when telling us to come over. Doing it the western way is arrogant and rude in Japan (and maybe other Asian countries). The Indian headshake might be something like that?

For a negative headshake, they shake their head sideways while they do this hand wave, as if warding off. Like "I don't agree" or "No thank you". Sometimes they have their eyes closed or gaze lowered to enforce it.

I always think "When in doubt, look at their hands and eyes". :P