[Lilly22921]

I went into a bank recently and several East Indians were in line, and the placed smelled of strong body odor. The sweat and the spice smell made me ill, and I decided to hell with getting money out and left. I do not feel that all of them take a bath, brush their teeth or wash their clothes properly. What do others think?

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Name : Lilly22921, Gender : F, Age : 40, City : Calgary, Alberta, State : NA, Country : Canada, 

[Brad23152]

I’m with you there. I once had to share a flight from London to Chicago with six of the stinkiest Indians in the Northern hemisphere. Their hot, sulfuric BO permeated the cabin and made it difficult to eat. Even more ironically, they were wheeling large bottles of water through the airport with them when they got off. The stewardess said it’s not uncommon; the transporting of the water or the stench. Thoroughly disgusting.

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Name : Brad23152, Gender : M, City : Boise, State : ID, Country : United States, 

[Ajay]

You are not alone. Many people of other races accuse us of being smelly. I guess the problem is India is hot and tropical, and Indians smell a lot because they give out more sweat to survive in the tropical climate. Besides, we have a habit of putting on a lot of hair oil (which apparently is great for the hair), which could lead to odor. But the biggest culprit is deodorant. Use of deodorant is uncommon in India, because until recently very few people in India knew about it and hardly used it. After all, the modern deodorant is a Western/European invention. So if you have a smelly South Asian freind, you know what to give on his or her birthday.

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Name : Ajay, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : East Indian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 31, City : Anand, State : NA, Country : India, Occupation : Govt. Service, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Robert29548]

I have noticed the same thing, especially a strong ‘curry’ smell. I don’t want to be rude to them, but I would sometimes like to suggest a bath. Is it a cultural thing?

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Name : Robert29548, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 33, City : Vancouver, British Columbia, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan-C27312]

I used to have a doctor who was from India that told me Americans take too many baths! She said she only took a bath 2 or 3 times a week. D.C.

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Name : Dan-C27312, City : Omaha, State : NE, Country : United States, 

[An Indian]

Hi Brad ! I am not with you on your point. The whole world revolves around diversity, if you are not aware. What might be disgusting to you might be a day to day affair for someone. Please try to understand that. Also, please try to understand that the whole world doesn’t revolve around western point of view. For example, eating meat is something forbidden for most of the east indians but it is a *MUST* diet for many westeners. Have you heard of any indian complaining about westerners eating meat? They just accept that, as its your way of life. Try to understand this diversity of the world rather than blaming others for not toeing your way of living.

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Name : An Indian, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : East Indian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 27, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Mike-G]

Maybe you’re just not used to the smell. I’ve heard that people in other cultures think Americans smell like beef. Of course, you’re Canadian, so who knows what you smell like.

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Name : Mike-G, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 17, City : Yonkers, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Vijay]

Some people may be like that, but not all of us are that stinky. Actually, it has more to do with what you eat than not having a bath. If you cook and eat a certain thing, you are likely to smell of it. Especially since the pungent spices used are partly present in the sweat that the body gives out. I have often noticed some of my Chinese friends smelling of fish, or some of my European friends smelling of beef/ketchup, and you may not notice that as you are used to that smell. But I do agree that people from the rural villages here do not take care about putting on any deodorant. But I can assure you it has nothing to do with not taking a bath; many of us bathe two times a day.

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Name : Vijay, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 29, City : Surat, State : NA, Country : India, Occupation : Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Libby]

It’s not really a case of bathing or not. When you eat a lot of cumin and garlic and onion, it comes out when you sweat. Then the cumin and garlic odor it will start to permeate your clothes. Americans are obsessed with cleanliness so we wash our clothes daily, but other cultures (and older and poorer Americans) wash clothes less often. As a side note, when I was younger I could not stand talking to white kids after lunch because they smelled like spoiled milk. I never drank milk because I wasn’t raised that way, so I found the odor revolting.

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Name : Libby, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Secular Humanist, Age : 34, City : Charleston, State : WV, Country : United States, Occupation : Domestic Violence Advocate, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Michele-H]

Great answer Ajay, Anand.

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Name : Michele-H, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 36, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[dean]

Why do black people stink so much? So blind people can hate them as well.

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Name : dean, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : diaper fetish, Disability : Paralyzed, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 41, City : sydney, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : chicken sexer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[phil30406]

Lilly.. I think that people are unable to smell themselves … I had a german guy working for me who smelled very badly.. as good as he was at his job.. i eventually gave him the lowdown and a stick of deordorant .. his wife told us that he used to think it did not bother anyone other than her and she was grateful.. and he was approachable.. bottomline people do not know they smell your own breath may bother somone but few would tell you.. just like a personality trait of yours may bother others .. few would tell you and if they did you may not listen or change the trait simple as that

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Name : phil30406, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 60, City : newburgh, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Edwin Chan]

I had a friend who dated an Indian women and boy did she smell. Double dates would become a double date from hell I would actually hope I would get allergies before hand so my nose would be stuffed. I don’t know how to confront my friend on his ‘smelly’ girlfriend. I hope that this ‘smell’ isn’t directly proporionate to how they smell ‘down there.’ Any response to this?

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Name : Edwin Chan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Asian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 19, City : south brunswick, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer programmer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Diya]

Been there!, Accused of a strong curry odour! Being an Indian woman myself, I can state that,the reason for the curry odour is also the cooking. Indian cuisine, as you know is primarily freshly prepared. We have none,or very minimal recipes of cold food. The cooking smells gets absorbed in the clothing. Its even worse in the Northeast,because cold winters prevent windows from being kept open to rid the house and coat closets of smells. The air quality in the winter also does not help. The only way around it, is to have specific clothes designated for during cooking. Also, try to dry clean coats as often as possible. I know its bloody expensive! About the people carrying bottles of water. They were probably on their return from a trip to Saudi Arabia, the site of Meccah.It could also be water from the Ganges river. Both are cosidered holy waters. A small defense is the travelers are very weary after a hardship filled pilgrimage.

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Name : Diya, Gender : F, Race : Indian Subcontinent, Religion : Muslim, Age : 28, City : Albany, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[East-Indian]

Well I am East Indian and I have noticed that some of ‘us’ do smell strongly. Not all of us do. Please don’t stereotype all of us based on a few unhygienic people you may have met. I dislike the odour as much as you do.

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Name : East-Indian, City : n/a, State : NA, Country : Canada, 

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