Tourists Fined for Kissing in India

AP via FOX ^ | September 21, 2005 | FOX

[Allan]

NEW DELHI — India may be the land of the Kamasutra (search), the famed ancient treatise on sex, but in the country's hinterlands, public displays of affection remain strictly taboo.

An Israeli couple discovered just how staid the small towns of India can be when they were fined 500 Indian rupees (U.S. $11) each for embracing and kissing after getting married in the Hindu holy town of Pushkar (search) in northwestern India, the Asian Age newspaper reported Wednesday.

[Allan]

Hurrah!

[andyk]

The Asian Age said priests at Pushkar's Brahma temple were so incensed when the couple, married in a traditional Hindu ceremony, smooched

I'm sure the priests gave the westerners plenty of warning prior to the ceremony.

[billorites]

[Allan]

"The Asian Age said priests at Pushkar's Brahma temple were so incensed when the couple,
married in a traditional Hindu ceremony,
smooched as hymns were still being chanted
that they filed a complaint with the police."

It is not clear whether the marriage was 'performed' inside the Brahma temple,
one of the most sacred in India.

Who the heck did these nutbags get to perform the ceremony?

In many Hindu temples westerners are not even allowed inside.

[inquest]

they were fined 500 Indian rupees (U.S. $11) each

If anything, the sting of that punishment would have been making the couple feel so cheap.

[ClearCase_guy]

"We would be very happy to host your wedding in our little town here in India."
"Wonderful. My fiancee and I would be thrilled. How much do you charge for the ceremony?"
"We charge $8 US for a marriage ceremony. But we suggest that you bring at least $30?"
"That's not a problem, but I'm curious. Why do you say $30."
"Oh, it's part of our local custom. You'll see."

[VRWCmember]

they were fined 500 Indian rupees (U.S. $11) each

The groom reportedly asked "$11.00? Really? How much for a bl** j**?"

[Americanexpat]

When you travel overseas it is always nice to know the local customs and culture, can save you a lot of grief.

[ARridgerunner]

How immoral...the creator must be p*ssed. But more likely about the fraud and not the kissing.

[voletti]

In many Hindu temples westerners are not even allowed inside. Not true. Only select temples have such restrictions - Nepal's Pashupatinath temple, Southern India's Guruvayur and maybe the Tirupati temple (the most visited pilgrimage point in the wolrd). but in the average Hindu Temple, feel free to walk in after having removed your shoes at the door. (:-)

[Cobra64]

When you travel overseas it is always nice to know the local customs and culture, can save you a lot of grief.

Very true. Not only grief, but embarassment as well. The 'OK' hand sign in Brasil (yes it is spelled with an "S") is the same as flipping the bird in the USA. I spent several months in Brasil: Sao Paolo, Rio, and Brasilia.

[Allan]

Add to your list:

Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
Jagganath Mandir, Puri
Linganash Mandir, Bhubanehwar

Also
there are many temples
which only are partly open
to non-Hindus
for example
Sri Ekambaranathar Temple
in Kanchipuram
where non-Hindus cannot enter the sanctum.

[henderson field]

One more foreign culture that borders on Police State.
They all do.
Let's not be like them.

[henderson field]

Better yet, don't go to countries with primitive cultures.

[rollinginmybuggy]

Stupid animals.

And I don't mean the kissing couple.

[rollinginmybuggy]

yep!

[Allan]

There are some cultures
which regard people
who slobber on one another
in public
as primitive.

It's all a matter of perspective.

[rollinginmybuggy]

A kiss after getting married is not slobbering on one another.

[CheyennePress]

Okay, so why did this couple choose to get married in a traditional Hindu ceremony, anyway?

And if they did get married in a traditonal Hindu ceremony, why didn't they know they couldn't kiss?

I'm sorry, but I'm smelling granola here...

[ARridgerunner]

Then there's the opposite: There are some cultures that really don't give a rat's ass what other people think.

Hey man, if it's good God won't complain. If he doesn't care, who do you imagine you are to be offended?