India’s “Overwhelmed” Visitor, a History
From the Mughals to travel influencers, the perception of the subcontinent as chaotic, barbaric, and excessive has never gone away.
In a viral video titled “India Sucks! Don’t Ever Come Here,” an American traveler presents his brutally honest views as he lands in Varanasi after a 15-hour bus ride. “They’re like flies,” he says about auto rickshaw drivers attempting to win his business.
“We finally made it out of the hellhole, post-apocalyptic, polluted landscape that is Delhi,” he declares. “This is the version of reality a lot of people don’t show…but it’s quite jarring and, dare I say, disgusting.”
For visitors, Indian cities can feel overwhelming, even draining. But how did people start congregating around descriptions such as “chaotic,” “disgusting,” or “barbaric” to describe such a diverse subcontinent?