“We celebrate Holi or Diwali. We are looking for a community here, to live with like we did in our childhood.”

This longing, expressed by one of 50 Indian participants in our multi-country study spanning Brazil, the Philippines, Türkiye, the United States, China, Morocco, and Zimbabwe, captures something essential about belonging in India. Here it is actively made through ritual, celebration, and shared rhythms of everyday life.

For Indian participants, social life forms in concentric circles. Family sits at the center—“there for every situation”—providing emotional, practical, and informational support. Extended kin form a second vital layer. Friends occupy a unique territory, often described in familial terms: “They are also like a family.”

Neighbors provide everyday solidarity, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas. “If you need anything urgent, just tell me,” one woman recalled her neighbor saying. These micro-encounters reflect how community ties thrive where interdependence remains natural.

Participants also described relationships that reflect India’s cultural depth: guru–disciple bonds, faith communities, even animals. “The relationship between the disciple and the Guru is very different,” one explained. Together, these ties echo the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the belief that the world is one family.

When participants described good relationships, they emphasized moral and emotional reliability over similarity or frequency of contact. Trust, care, empathy, and honesty surfaced repeatedly. “With love and trust,” one participant said, “you can maintain a relationship. Without that, you cannot.”

Yet connection was not just about feeling—it was about action. “One should be useful to each other,” another explained. “We should be able to help.” Many described connection as “being together in each other’s joys and sorrows,” highlighting presence during both celebration and hardship.

In India, this kind of connection shows up as practice. People don’t merely attend weddings; they cook, organize, and stay through long days.

© Psychology Today