I t's India’s 70th Independence Day and we have so much to be proud of our country! But what makes us uniquely Indian? We list a few things that will make you go...oh...it happens only in India!

1. Forwarding messages on Whatsapp groups

Who says WhatsApp is to connect with relatives and friends from all over the world? In India, it’s used for making groups and forwarding useless messages, pictures, videos and gifs. Any normal person here will be a part of at least 5 groups of family alone. There’s a separate group for the mother’s side of the family, mother’s side of cousins, father’s side of family, father’s side cousins and the list goes on! No matter what you do to try and exit the group, they will always add you back!

2. Steel ke bartan

Some of these steel utensils are being used since the time of your great grandparents. All the glassware and fancy silverware are diligently placed in a showcase like trophies. The only time they come out is when some guests are coming over. Let’s not even get started about what hell breaks loose when you break one of the plates.

3. Offering the green branch

In any other country if a person’s car breaks down, they would use the reflective triangles to warn other people. But not in India! We're champions of the green movement (unknowingly) we do not put time and effort on plastic triangles. Anywhere you go in India, you will see people decorate their vehicle with branch with green leaves as a national signal for a vehicle break down.

4. Covering it up

Whenever your family buys a new car, you want to jump in and fill your lungs with the new car smell as soon as the pooja is over! But don’t you even dare and think about removing the plastic seat covers or else all hell will break loose! You just have to get used to the uncomfortable noise they make and how in winters you’ll find a thin layer of dew formed on it; in summers, they will stick to your arms and leg (they will still stay on until you and the plastic melt to become one).

5. Making remotes work

Our poor TV remotes are subject to the most abuse at home. If they could talk, they’d sue us. We Indians will suck the last breath out of a battery by hitting the remote to make it work. The world would be much better place if we could just buy a new pack of batteries and replace the old ones with it.

6. Reserved parking

Most of us have grown up in a typical middle class homes situated in a society, where the parking situation was completely savage. Whenever our fathers took the car out (the one with plastic covers) and didn’t want to lose out on their parking space, they’d reserve their parking with an old scooter or a potted plant.

7. Storing malai (fresh cream)

All Indian mothers boil milk every day and separate the thick layer of malai floating on top of milk. This malai is stored in container and left to refrigerate till the fridge doesn’t start overflowing (every Tupperware or bowl will be full of it)! Finally our mothers will decide to convert it into ghee! And God save us from the pungent smell of ghee making!

8. Freebies

Indians are desperate for freebies and can do anything for them! Whenever Indians go out for a meal in any restaurant, it is impossible to not grab more than one packet of saunf (fennel). If it’s not served in packets, we’ll simply wrap a ton of it in a tissue and smuggle it sneakily out of the restaurant.

9. Buying uniforms

Who needs to buy uniform every year when you can buy it once? Parents will buy a uniform that is two sizes bigger than their child in hopes that someday they will grow into it. By the time the child is actually old enough to fit into it like a glove; the colors are worn off and has a few thousand stains.

10. Skill of bargaining

Wherever we go, we yearn for a good discount! No force of nature can take our birthright to bargain for the lowest price we can get. People go for skydiving and bungee jumping for the adrenaline rush, but we indulge in bargaining. Be it the auto valla, vegetable vendor, street seller, kabardi valla, we spear no one!

We might be a country of diversity with different languages, cultures, religion etc. but the skill and will to bargain unites us all! This is why mydala helps cater to the skilled bargainer that is present in all of us! Avail the best deals this Independence Day and enjoy the long weekend doing what you love and that too without spending a fortune!

With inputs from Ankita Bhardwaj