In India, as in many Muslim countries, it is very important to remember only to use your right hand when eating, handling money, and for giving and receiving things. Your left hand is only used for more personal purposes such as wiping your bottom, and for handling items that have been in contact with the ground, so for example when you are taking off your shoes (important to remember when entering temples, some homes and shops).

In India, as in many Muslim countries, it is very important to remember only to use your right hand when eating, handling money, and for giving and receiving things. Your left hand is only used for more personal purposes such as wiping your bottom, and for handling items that have been in contact with the ground, so for example when you are taking off your shoes (important to remember when entering temples, some homes and shops).

Although it is a simple and obvious rule, it seems to be very easy to forget. Fast-food chain McDonald’s launched a new advertising campaign in Asia a few years ago, in which a person was shown holding a Big Mac with both hands. It was not until a Muslim employee pointed out the problem that the company understood why their sales had fallen so dramatically.

The most likely origin for the right hand/left hand rule lies in the Arab nomadic world: in the desert, soap and water were not readily available and sand was the only cleaning material. It was a logical decision to reserve one hand for the most hygienic activities such as food preparation, and one for less clean purposes.

In the Christian world, too, the distinction between the right and left hand has been around for centuries: the Devil has long been associated with the left hand in various ways and is normally portrayed as being left-handed. In the 17th century it was thought that the Devil baptised his followers with his left hand (the 'sinister' side, in Italian) and in France it was believed that witches greeted Satan avec le bras gauche, with the left arm. It is also thought that we can only see ghosts if we look over our left shoulder and that the Devil watches us over the left shoulder, which is why people sometimes throw salt over it. Historically, thieves would get their right hand cut off, which forced them to eat with their unclean hand.

Most of these customs have come into disuse now, and people no longer distinguish between the right and left hand in the same way, but one still shakes hands with the right hand and in churches it is still the right hand which gives the blessing and make the sign of the cross.

Eating with only your right hand may take a bit of practice, but it is worth the trouble; Indians say it increases the taste of your food!