Smiling

 I recently read an article (in The Economist) I think about how perceptions of smiling differed across countries and cultures. In some cultures, smiling fosters trust, in others it does no such thing, and in yet others, such as India, it can even spark distrust. I remembered a conversation from 10 years ago with a Sri Lankan friend of friend who was visiting India. She was talking about how Indians never smiled at each other on the street. I remarked that since there were so many of us, smiling to everyone would make our jaws ache. She wasn't amused.
I agree that it is not common for strangers to smile at each other in India. A smile is often seen as an obsequious gesture--you plaster an oily smile on your face when you want to ingratiate yourself with someone. Indians prefer to stare, and that is also true of Indians abroad when they run into other Indians/South Asians. And, if  you are a man, you definitely don't smile at women. Most  young women assiduously avoid eye contact with men to keep pests away. Young Indian women smiling at each other is more common.