"IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S THE WEATHER”: THE BLAMESHIFTING CULTURE OF INDIAN DISEASE DENIAL
- Madhukar Dama
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
How modern Indians dodge responsibility for their own self-inflicted illnesses through a buffet of cultural, astrological, climatic, and mystical excuses
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INTRODUCTION:
In a country as ancient and layered as India, sickness is no longer just a biological event — it is a narrative.
One that conveniently sidesteps personal accountability.
From diabetes to migraines, acidity to infertility, Indians have mastered the art of blaming:
The wrong wind
The wrong planet
The wrong priest
The wrong chair
The wrong dream
The wrong spice brand
The wrong in-law
The wrong month
Everything... except their own habits.
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PART 1: THE MASTERLIST OF BLAME-SHIFTING BELIEFS
(All used instead of facing diet, lifestyle, addiction, or emotional stress)
A. CLIMATE-BASED BLAME
1. “This is rainy season fever.”
2. “The heatwave gave me rashes.”
3. “The winter caused this joint pain.”
4. “Weather keeps changing — that’s why I’m always sick.”
5. “The sun is harsher than before, that’s why I have migraines.”
6. “These new rains carry strange germs.”
7. “Humidity causes constipation.”
8. “There’s something in the air this year.”
9. “Too much AC, but what to do — climate’s getting worse.”
B. ASTROLOGICAL BLAME
10. “My Rahu period started.”
11. “Guru is not in favor, hence my thyroid imbalance.”
12. “It’s Shani’s effect — nothing can be done.”
13. “I missed a puja last year — hence this suffering.”
14. “My child was born in Ashlesha nakshatra. That’s why he doesn’t eat properly.”
15. “Saturn and Mars are clashing — hence blood pressure.”
C. OMENS AND SYMBOLIC BLAME
16. “That black cat crossed the road the day before my stroke.”
17. “I sneezed while leaving the house, and look — acidity attack.”
18. “The lizard made noise. That’s a bad sign.”
19. “Someone did nazar — look at my skin.”
20. “That dream of falling teeth… was a sign.”
D. SUPERNATURAL & RITUAL BLAME
21. “Someone did black magic.”
22. “The ghost near the tamarind tree is back.”
23. “My son married without checking horoscope. That’s why his wife has PCOD.”
24. “We didn’t visit the ancestral temple this year.”
25. “This is due to previous life karma. I just have to endure.”
26. “Wife didn’t fast properly — that’s why husband got kidney stones.”
E. FAMILY BLAME
27. “This is genetic. Runs in our blood. Can’t do anything.”
28. “His mother’s side has weak nerves.”
29. “My uncle had migraines too — it’s just family curse.”
30. “I got diabetes from my grandfather — not from sweets.”
F. FURNITURE & OBJECT BLAME
31. “This chair caused my back pain.”
32. “The mattress is too soft.”
33. “These glasses are not suiting me — hence the headaches.”
34. “The wall paint is giving me depression.”
35. “The LED bulb causes eye strain. Not the phone.”
G. SOCIAL EVENT BLAME
36. “That wedding food caused all this.”
37. “The baby's naming ceremony caused the cold.”
38. “Visiting in-laws stressed me out — hence UTI.”
39. “Some guest brought bad energy.”
H. LIFESTYLE TRUTH DENIAL BLAME
40. “It’s just aging — nothing to do with diet.”
41. “It’s because I’m working too hard — not because I’m sitting all day.”
42. “Everyone has BP these days — it’s normal.”
43. “There’s something in city air — that’s why I’m bloated.”
44. “Office stress is to blame, not my dinner at 11 PM.”
45. “Water is different here — that’s why my skin breaks out.”
46. “Too much travel — that’s why I’m tired.”
47. “Phones are essential now — I have to use them.”
48. “It’s my hormones. Nothing I eat affects it.”
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PART 2: WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING?
While the blame game expands like a ritual bonfire, here’s what actually causes most of these so-called "mystery" diseases:
Fiberless diet full of ultra-processed food
Sleep deprivation from screens and late-night stress
Gut inflammation from dairy, wheat, and fried oils
Nervous exhaustion from overwork and no rest
Microbiome destruction due to antibiotics and sanitizers
Emotional suppression and unresolved trauma
Sedentary lifestyle and zero exposure to sun, soil, or air
Addictions to sugar, coffee, drama, and mobile phones
In other words:
They stink — and suffer — from choices they won’t admit.
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PART 3: WHY DO INDIANS LOVE TO BLAME EVERYTHING ELSE?
Because tradition has conditioned obedience, not introspection.
Because social face-saving is more important than truth.
Because it's easier to chant mantras than skip sugar.
Because blaming fate is painless — but fasting is not.
Because admitting fault means they have to change.
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CONCLUSION:
If you’re constantly sick, tired, anxious, or bloated —
look inside, not outside.
The weather didn’t eat your 3 samosas.
Shani didn’t keep you up scrolling till 2 AM.
Your stars didn’t pour Pepsi into your body.
You did.
And that’s good news — because you can stop it.
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HEALING DIALOGUE
"THE WEATHER GAVE ME DIABETES"
A Socratic, Sarcastic, and Hilarious Dialogue Between a Typical Indian Family and Madhukar the Hermit
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Characters:
Madhukar – the unbothered, barefoot hermit
Kailash (58) – overweight, diabetic, calls himself “retired but active”
Seema (55) – his wife, has thyroid, acidity, and opinions
Amit (34) – their stressed IT son with back pain and anger
Ruchi (32) – his wife, infertile, blames fate and maid
Tanu (14) – addicted to mobile, has acne, calls Madhukar “forest uncle”
Dadi (84) – blind in one eye but sharp as a knife
Setting: Madhukar’s mud courtyard. A cow chews cud nearby. Neem breeze in the air. Family seated on mats, in obvious discomfort.
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Madhukar (smiling):
Welcome. What brings all of you here?
Kailash (sweating profusely):
This heat! I think it gave me diabetes.
Madhukar (grinning):
Of course. The sun was jealous of your sweet tooth and took revenge.
Seema:
Also, I’ve had acidity for 20 years. It began when we moved to Delhi.
The water there is cursed.
Madhukar:
Yes, yes. Water climbed into your stomach, whispered, “burn this house,” and fled.
Amit (groaning):
I have chronic back pain. It’s this damn office chair.
Madhukar:
Strange. I sit on stone and my spine smiles.
Ruchi:
We’ve been trying for a baby. Nothing works.
Our pandit says it’s Ruchi’s horoscope.
Madhukar:
Ah yes. Mercury retrograde went into her ovaries and tied a knot.
Tanu (scrolling):
I have acne because I saw a bad dream during full moon.
Madhukar:
Yes child. It wasn’t the three packets of chips. It was moonlight betrayal.
Dadi (laughing):
This man talks like a mirror. I like him.
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ROUND 1: DENIAL DETECTION
Madhukar:
Tell me. Who among you fasts?
Kailash:
Fast? I get headaches.
Madhukar:
Because you’ve trained your body to panic at the absence of Pepsi.
Seema:
We don’t skip meals. It’s unhealthy.
Madhukar:
You skip sleep, silence, bowel movement, and movement.
But food — never. Holy offering.
Amit:
We eat oats.
Madhukar:
Cardboard flakes with marketing.
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ROUND 2: HERMIT EXPLAINS THE ROOT
Madhukar (pointing to each):
You, sir — ate sweets daily, sat like furniture, now blame sugar rain.
You, madam — layered your gut with antacids and blames the borewell.
You, IT boy — hunched like shrimp, scrolling rage, blaming chairs.
You, lady — fried womb in stress, dairy, and chemical soap, and seek solution in Jupiter.
You, teen — eat fried lies, sleep in blue light, now blaming dreams.
You, elder — you’re the only honest one. Respect.
Dadi (cackles):
Because I’ve buried my excuses.
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ROUND 3: SARCASM SUTRA
Madhukar:
Why take blame when you can blame:
The fan direction
The neighbour’s WiFi
The maid’s negative vibes
The cement in the temple
The traffic noise
The rice variety
The sneeze of a stranger
Or the shadow of your cousin’s ex-wife?
Kailash (grinning nervously):
It’s true. We blame everything.
Madhukar (mocking voice):
And yet, you never blame the three laddus before bed,
The 4-hour screen time before sleep,
The sitting, the stuffing, the silencing of your body’s screams.
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ROUND 4: THE CURE
Madhukar (calm):
Want to stop stinking from inside?
Eat real food
Sleep early
Walk in silence
Fast once a week
Do nothing for ten minutes daily
Rub castor oil instead of regrets
Let sun hit your skin
Touch soil, not only your phone
Poop in peace
Own your actions
Seema:
But that’s… discipline.
Madhukar:
Ah. So now you blame discipline for being hard?
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ROUND 5: THE ACCEPTANCE
Amit:
Okay, okay. It’s us. We made ourselves sick.
Ruchi:
No more horoscope excuses.
Tanu (half-smiling):
I’ll try… less chips.
Kailash:
One fast. Weekly.
Seema:
And less antacids. More walking.
Dadi (winking):
Give me neem and jaggery. I’m done with drama.
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Madhukar (softly):
Remember:
Blaming fate is free.
But healing takes effort.
Your body never lies.
Only your mind does.
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