Glimpse of India- Atithi Devo Bhava

Atithi Devo Bhava

Atithi Devo Bhava

Glimpse of India- Atithi Devo Bhava

Guests play an important part in our lives.

Guests. Invited guests. Uninvited guests. Short-stay guests. Long-stay guests. Indians welcome all kinds of guests with open arms. We reschedule our work when a guest is scheduled. Guests are served better food than what we eat every day. There’s excitement over the arrival of the guest. A separate room and toiletries are made available to the esteemed person(s). Children are instructed to behave obediently in front of the visitors. We insist our guests extend their stay and make us feel elated.

This is India.

We believe in the ancient Sanskrit verse – ATITHI DEVO BHAVA.

‘Athithi‘ is the person who visits without a fixed calendar date.

(A-tithi where ‘A means without’ and ‘tithi means date’.)

‘Devo‘ is God.

‘Bhava‘ is Be/Is.

Hence the meaning of the complete phrase ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ is “The Guest is (akin to) God”. It aptly defines the culture and moral values we Indians possess.

Though the picture is fading with time, our history depicts some wonderful stories to demonstrate the Indian values. Our blooming tourism industry has adopted the verse ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ as their tagline. The aim is to educate local people regarding good manners and etiquettes while dealing with foreign tourists. It inculcates the sense of responsibility in the Indian people to preserve India’s rich cultural heritage and hospitality.

To win the confidence of foreign tourists and make India a preferable tourist destination, the govt of India is leaving no stone unturned. With brand Ambassadors like Amir Khan to Amitabh Bachchan to PM Narendra Modi himself, ‘Incredible India’ is one of India’s most cherished tourism campaigns.

This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z and Global AtoZ blogging challenge. I’m writing 26 posts in the month of April on the theme Glimpse of India. Follow my work on social media platforms with hashtags ,

#BlogchatterA2Z

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By Aditi Kapur

A freelance writer, blogger and influencer. My blog is a reflection of my thoughts. Join me in my journey to explore a diverse range of concepts.

30 comments

  4. Been listening to Atithi Devo Bhava since childhood and it is truly one of the things that makes us Indian. We’ve always welcomed anyone with open arms.

  6. That’s something very interesting coming up. Waiting to read more from you, Aditi.

  7. Atithi is the god, yes have heard this since my childhood, nice one. India with you will be a fun ride.

  9. Yes, Singh is king or customer is king, don’t know. But for us and the culture we are in, Atithi. Surely one!

  10. Yes! I haven’t seen such culture in any other countries (In the countries where I have been). Proud to be India 🙂 Looking forward to your posts.

  12. The short video is a part of a campaign by Indian Tourism to remind Indians of their glorious culture where guests are treated as God.
    The lady (foreigner) in the video accuses shopkeeper of charging her more money. Next, she forgets her bag and the shopkeeper rushes to return.

    1. I understand all of that. I just noticed that she still has her bag when she walks away from the stall, then poof, it’s gone and he brings it to her. Like a directing mistake.

  13. Well, I ‘ve had way too many atithi’s who took the word pretty seriously!:)) But this is a wonderful concept and initiative by the government.

  16. Pingback: Glimpse of India- Diversity Enriching Lives – PANORAMIC RIPPLES

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