An Australian woman living in India has sparked a debate online after sharing her thoughts on the “least talked about cultural differences between India and the West” - household culture in the country. Taking to Instagram, Bree Steele, a podcast producer, shared how different daily life looks in India as compared to the West, especially when it comes to household chores. She said in the West, most people manage cooking and household chores alongside full-time jobs; however, in India, she observed that most families have domestic workers for such tasks.
Steele said that she found the idea of domestic help surprising. But having said that, she noted that many Indian households depend on domestic help because Indians don't have a work-life balance.
“I don't cook or clean in India. Chores? I don't know them,” she said in her Instagram video. “Most middle-class to wealthy households in India have house help. Most people have someone who does their cleaning, maybe their washing and cooking,” she said.
Steele then goes on to compare life in the West, where people manage full-time jobs along with household chores. “I was like, that's what we do in the west. We do everything ourselves with full-time jobs,” she said. But she also acknowledged that Indian professionals work longer hours than their counterparts in the West.
“Over time, I've observed that my friends get work calls at like 9.30 in the night, and there's no work-life balance here. The expectation on corporate workers is just so high that if you're single, of course you don't have time to do your own cooking and cleaning,” she said. “And for better or for worse, labour is cheap in India, so it makes sense that everyone has their own house help,” she added.
Ending her video, the Australian woman admitted that she is “ashamed” at how much she enjoys not having to cook or clean daily.
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The video has sparked a discussion online on the cultural differences between India and the West. While some users agreed with Steele, others offered different opinions.
“What a keen observation and So well expressed my girl!! It's really not talked about enough, but you've nailed both sides!!!” wrote one user.
“Don't forget y'all have machines. Dish washer, vacuum cleaners, etc. also it's very dusty here so we have to clean our floors every day,” commented another.
“sometimes i feel we have so easy in india and yet i don't know why we keep chasing the western standards. But also maybe because we've always seen the glamourised end of it never the hard striking reality. Thanks for putting it out here. I hope you're having fun in India,” said a third user.
“As some who grew up in India with the so called privileges and then moved to the west, and does all the chores, I'll pick the west every single time. Despite the chores, I still have a LOT of spare time that I spend on my hobbies and health. Despite all the help in India, I lived an unhealthy and tired life,” commented another.
“This can only happen in a country with massive income inequality, high levels of poverty, high population and poor regulation,” said one user.
