Popular YouTuber Mithilesh Backpacker recently shared a bad experience that involved his Russian wife during their visit to a city in Rajasthan with their two-year-old son. While travelling around a City in India, Mithilesh was shooting some moments with his wife on camera who faced some derogatory remarks from a man nearby.
Mithilesh was recording his wife, Lisa,and the video shows an off-camera voice saying “6,000 INR.” Some phrases like these are largely famous due to sexually-coloured jokes made popular by some comedians. This phrase was particularly disgraceful in the context of the Russian lady.
Mithilesh immediately stopped recording to confront the person who made the remark.
He threatened to call the police, even as the harasser denied that his comment was directed at the Russian woman. “6,000 INR kisko bolta, merko samajhta nahi kya? (Don’t I understand whom you are saying 6,000 to?)” Mithilesh asked. “Kikso bola? Meri wife Russian hai toh tu ulta seedha comment dega? (My wife is Russian so you will say these nonsensical things?)” he added.
In his YouTube video, Mithilesh explained that the incident occurred while he and his family were visiting the City Palace in Udaipur. He mentioned that the men had been following them and making off-color remarks even before the ‘6000’ comment that triggered his reaction. He also claimed that when he called the palace security to the scene, they urged him not to involve the police.
Mithilesh expressed his frustration and disappointment with India’s security situation for women and the prevailing attitudes. “I was so angry. I was with my wife. How can people behave in this manner? It was very shocking and very shameful for me. My wife came to India… I wanted to promote Indian tourism, that India is so beautiful, so safe. And when something like this happens, what do I do?” he asked.
According to reports, unfortunately there have been many forms of harassment meted out to foreign tourists in India earlier. In December 2018, a Belgian tourist had to leave India within 24 hours because she was harassed by several individuals in New Delhi. Misguided by men pretending to be police officers, she was led to believe that her hotel booking was canceled and advised her to go to a very expensive, unsafe hotel.
Another incident had happened in Jaipur where a video came out of an auto driver inappropriately touching a female foreign tourist which put the city into a huge uproar.