India may be the land of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (Guest is God), but some foreigners would beg to differ. One Canadian man, asked to pick between India and Pakistan for better hospitality, chose Pakistan without so much as a second thought. His short interview with an Instagrammer is now going viral on both sides of the border and beyond.
India vs Pakistan
Instagram user @officialnamour, known for his vox pop videos, recently stopped Canadian traveller Nolan Saumure to ask him about his opinion on desi hospitality.
“India or Pakistan, which country has better hospitality?” Saumure was asked.
“Pakistan, obviously,” the Canadian man replied.
(Also read: Pakistani man travels to India on IndiGo flight, surprises Mumbai airport officials)
Asked to explain why he picked Pakistan, Saumure said that Indians tend to treat foreigners like lucrative customers with an endless amount of money, rather than guests visiting their country. Pakistanis, on the other hand, display warm hospitality, asking tourists to share their food and even their homes.
“You go to India and people just look at you as a walking ATM,” said Saumure. “You go to Pakistan and people are just like, ‘Oh come here, sit. Take this free food. Oh come sleep at my place.’”
{{/usCountry}}“You go to India and people just look at you as a walking ATM,” said Saumure. “You go to Pakistan and people are just like, ‘Oh come here, sit. Take this free food. Oh come sleep at my place.’”
{{/usCountry}}How viewers reacted
The video has garnered over 4.4 million views and hundreds of comments, with many people agreeing with Saumure’s take.
“As an African living in Dubai (UAE) I agree with him, Pakistanis are more friendly than Indian people. Pakistan sees you as a friend, Indians see you as a total strangers,” an Instagram user said in the comments section.
Another kept it short and sweet, simply writing: “I agree (I’m Indian).”
“There is a reason for it. India gets lot of tourists so we are used to it and in fact develop the economy around them. Pakistan hardly get few hundred tourist in a year and hence it's a big event for them after seeing a foreigner,” an Instagram user explained.
Some criticised the Canadian for his opinion. “Why do whites expect princess treatment from Indians after stealing $45 trillion from Indian?” a user asked, to which Saumure replied: “Preferring not to be harassed is not princess treatment.”
Nolan Saumure is a Canadian travel vlogger who has visited dozens of countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Indonesia, USA, Vietnam and many more.