Funny Little Things...

Am currently working in the US and today during lunch, an American friend asked me a very 'sensitive cultural' question, that she wasn't sure whom to ask. I was all apprehensive about what it would be..

The question was "Why do some Indian men wear more than 1 ring, and some wear rings even in their pinkies (little finger)"
The reason for her question was that in US, men usually don't wear any rings except probably a simple wedding ring and wearing multiple rings or wearing one in the little finger is considered feminine

While i don't wear any ring (really clumsy to wear), this came as a surprise to me as I never thought about it as such. some of my friends wear it and its usually religious or plain show off of wealth/status.

This perspective was very funny.. and I started to wonder if there are other such very simple taken for granted stuffs among Indians, which appear very odd or funny to an outsider - please do share anything you came across

No not really ... just the men holding hands in public and the fact that man/woman couples do not.

I guess it depends on where in the US your friend lives. I grew up with men who wore rings (grandfather, uncles) and noticed them on other men, but here it's not seen as often.

This is also a place where some women wear 5 or 10 small rings (yes, all at the same time) and I don't recall seeing that in other areas.

BS: In the US, many in the men/boys wear their high school ring, the college class ring. There there are them teams which probably win World Series once in a generation; Their players definitely wear it Rappers not only wear rings, they wear multiple gold chains too.

Who could possible be more macho than Medallion Man?

I noticed it too...I figured it was an astrology thing...

I like all the jewellry that Indian men (and women!) wear, especially in Rajasthan. Part of exotic India!

Oh heck,,,,,,
.

But Toe rings should not be so common in outside India are they? Some women in India wear toe rings to mark that they are married. In olden days i think even married men used to wear them.

Is she married?

It's complicated, in India. Red in the hair parting? Tali around the neck? Western-style wedding ring? Rings on the toes ... All possible. Yes, there are quite of a lor of married-woman toe-ring wearers, but I have not noticed any men wearing them.

You notice such things too !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, no one would today. I should have been clear on defining 'olden days'... say 200+ yrs ago..
In some specific traditions, they wear it on the wedding ceremony (only)...

Not sure if i should have created a new forum for this, but since this one says Funny little things without any boundary. here is an interesting read from BBC News. We do know there are many words which migrated to English from India but its quite interesting to know their actual birth and what they originally meant...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18796493

If you consider depictions of deities in art there is a lot of jewelry wearing by both sexes. I snapped a photo of the mural behind the desk at New Woodlands hotel as I checked out to fly home. It shows Krishna wearing as much jewelery as Rodha, including a nathuri through the septum and multiple finger rings.

Perhaps it's a case of life imitating art?

W22

because a jyotish (astrologer) has told them to wear a certain stone on a certain finger for the effect the stone will have for them.

without getting into a long, detailed explanation of which finger relates to which nadi (energy channel) and what the properties are for certain gemstones according to one's astrological chart....

....but that can be one of the reasons. a certain stone on a certain finger can bring good luck, prosperity, good health, whatever.

and it's not just men this works for. I wear a citrine (a stone I have always been drawn to) that I bought in India after visiting a jyotish recommended by a friend, and had put into a setting when I got back home.

What I find really strange in India, and some other places in Asia, is they are more used to very hot temperatures than I am, yet they make the air conditioning so cold in many places, that I often need to go outside to get warm again.