'Dancing for goras': Indian-origin man calls out desi workplace gimmicks for foreigners

An Indian-origin professional criticized the 'subservient culture' in Indian corporate offices, where employees perform for foreign visitors.

An Indian-origin professional called out what he described as “subservient culture” in corporate offices across India, wherein employees resort to performing and dancing for foreign colleagues when they visit their workplaces. In a Reddit post that quickly gained traction, the man who shared that he has been living in the US and working through the corporate ranks abroad revealed that he felt embarrassed every time he saw a viral video where Indian employees danced for a white visitor at their office.

The man said he felt embarrassed every time he saw a viral video where Indian employees danced for a white visitor at their office. (Representational)

"I recently saw a video where Indian employees were dancing/performing for a gora visiting their office. I found it extremely embarrassing. Why do we feel the need to put on a performance every time a white colleague visits an office in India? Please have some self-respect and stop doing these things. Have you ever seen colleagues in other countries do this?" he said.

While he praised Indian professionals for their excellent work ethic, the Indian-origin man added that such orchestrated performances at workplaces were “stupid" and "gimmicky.”

Many users in the comments echoed his sentiments, even hinting at colonial mindsets. "It's the slave mentality ingrained in our blood. Forget Americans, people behave ridiculously even around Russians who are not even that rich, due to their light skin! It's a result of hundreds of years of slavery that we have become hard-wired to just perceive them as superior, without considering facts," remarked one user.

Another user shared their own story of being told to participate in similar performances. "I hate it! We used to be told to wear ethnic to welcome our guests (gora leaders). I deliberately never followed the advice. None of our other Asian colleagues indulge in such tomfoolery. It’s a uniquely Indian habit of acting like clowns to suck up to white people," they added.