History Main / MysticalIndia

See StereotypicalSouthAsianEnglish, {{Countrystan}}, which is FictionalCountry north and west of India, with a similar Muslim influence with a touch of {{Ruritania}}, and HolidayInCambodia, which is Southeast Asia whose region was heavily influenced by pre-Islamic India.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more modern and accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself has released multiple films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion in an already confusing mix. Anime and manga also get a sprinkle of this trope due to the influence of Buddhism - a religion that originated in India - on centuries of Japanese culture. Victorian-style Anglophilia also carried elements of Mughal and British Raj-era stereotypes of India.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Subverted in a comic strip story drawn by Creator/SergioAragones about his trip to India. He took a flight and found that a large group of Hare Krishnas, an ostensibly Indian religion, were on the same trip, thankfully in a different section of the plane. As he saw the group disembark and chanting noisily as they marched, Sergio noticed that the native Indians were gawking and laughing their heads off at this ridiculous bunch of Westerners that had arrived.
[[/folder]]

Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality and InterchangeableAsianCultures, as India for some reason takes on [[ArabianNightsDays Arab and Persian characteristics]]. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]For the record, the original tale of Aladdin was from Syria, but is written into ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by a Frenchman. Out-of-universe, Genies are Arabic in origin. Aladdin and the story's in-universe setting is Chinese (but with all the Islamic trappings, so it is possible the original Muslim storyteller merely called it "Chinese" to make it sound exotic), the evil sorcerer is northwest African, and the one thing that ''is'' Indian is magic carpets.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to a large extent:

* The languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan in origin, making them distantly related to Persian and -- even more distantly -- to English (That's where the category of "Indo-European" languages comes from, of which Indo-Aryan is a subset, just like Germanic). Classical Persian was the lingua franca of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and Bangaldesh from medieval times into the 19th century. Persianate culture was dominant among the elite and educated.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more modern and accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself has released multiple films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion in an already confusing mix. Anime and manga also gets a sprinkle of this trope due to the influence of Buddhism - a religion that originated in India - on centuries of Japanese culture. Victorian-style Anglophilia also carried elements of Mughal and British Raj era stereotypes of India.

* The [[Film/Aladdin2019 2019 live action remake]] of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' has incorporated Bollywood elements in an otherwise vaguely Arab-set Agrabah.

** ''Literature/{{Kim}}'' can't be left out; it may be the best example of this being a cross section of India during UsefulNotes/TheRaj.

* ''Series/{{Outsourced}}'' - Right outside the office you see the street has some sort of Middle Eastern looking drapes hanging in the middle of the road.

* ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'', where the British-Asian cast subverted this trope with a recurring gag about a naive group of Indian and Pakistani students opting to spend their gap year seeking enlightenment in faraway backward Third World Britain. They encounter all the typical British tropes, for instance a cockney Pearly King, and deal with them in the same language and manner that British people used to describe quaint things and people they met in India.

* The skin and song "Whoop-de-doo" in ''VideoGame/{{Lumines}}'' has this as a motif. The song is comprised entirely of traditional Indian instruments and vocal samples, the blocks take the appearance of stones encrusted with pink and green gems, the background is an elaborate doorway leading out into a partially cloudy sunset, and the cursor is a multifoil curtained arch. When played against the AI with this skin, the AI character is an androgynous person whose appearance is inspired by Indian folklorical tapestries.
* The Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Medicham plays up aspects of this trope, particularly the pink legs resembling bedlah pants. When it Mega Evolves, it's played up further, as it appears to wear a turban with a big jewel on the front, golden armlets, and teardrop-shaed crystals dangling from the top of said "pants."

-->'''Irwin:''' ''[Dropping accent]'' It's a turban! It's what I wear. I'm from the mystical East! I'm in character, [[VerbalTic yo]], so just [[SuddenlyShouting GET OFF ME!!]]
* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'': Hadji grew up in a version of this India. He could control snakes by playing his flute, had fakir style powers such as levitation, and incredible skill at hypnotizing others.

See StereotypicalSouthAsianEnglish, {{Countrystan}}, which is FictionalCountry north and west of India, with a similar Muslim influence with a touch of {{Ruritania}}, and HolidayInCambodia and the EastIndies, which is Southeast Asia whose region was heavily influenced by pre-Islamic India.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself has released multiple films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion in an already confusing mix. Anime and manga also gets a sprinkle of this trope due to the influence of Buddhism - a religion that originated in India - on centuries of Japanese culture. Victorian-style Anglophilia also carried elements of Mughal and British Raj era stereotypes of India.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} is a mystical place of turbans, rajahs, holy men ([[UsefulNotes/{{Yoga}} yogis]] and fakirs), {{snake charmer}}s (and other slightly demented {{street performer}}s), the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples, overgrown with humid jungle, and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on. At least, that's what fiction tells us.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Heavily lampshaded in the episode "Wishbones", where Billy goes on a ''[[WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest Johnny Quest]]''-style adventure, and Irwin is cast as Hadji.
-->'''Billy:''' Why you talking funny?

-->'''Billy:''' And what's that thing on your head?

* ''VideoGame/AgeofEmpiresII'': While there's no actual mysticism involved (being a historical game and all), the Forgotten expansion's original depiction of India left a lot to be desired. Before ''Dynasties of India'' split the Indians into four civilizations (adding three new ones and overhauling the previous Indians with the Hindustanis, retaining some bonuses and gaining new ones), the entire subcontinent, with all of its unique and diverse cultures, was consolidated into one civilization. It originally had the Middle Eastern architecture set used by explicitly Muslim cultures (excluding the Byzantines), incorporating a bit of ArabianNightsDays into the civilization. This was rectified with the ''Rise of the Rajas'' expansion, giving them a unique architecture set based on native Hindus. However, this still clashed with the clearly Islamic-inspired specialty of camels and gunpowder (this was made even worse by a unique tech, Sultans, keeping its name after the architecture switch). Nowadays, the Indians are called the Hindustanis, representing Northern India and its Muslim invaders, so this trope is [[AvertedTrope averted]] for the most part. Although the Hindu architecture is still present, this can be (and is frequently) justified by saying only the Muslim invaders used their native architecture (this is reinforced by the brand new Wonder and unique building called the Caravanserai).

* The languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan in origin, making them distantly related to Persian and -- even more distantly -- to English (That's where the term "Indo-European" languages comes from, of which Indo-Aryan is a subset, just like Germanic). Classical Persian was the lingua franca of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and Bangaldesh from medieval times into the 19th century. Persianate culture was dominant among the elite and educated.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself would release several films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion in an already confusing mix. Anime and manga also gets a sprinkle of this trope due to the influence of Buddhism - a religion that originated in India - on centuries of Japanese culture, and also Victorian style Anglophilia, which also carried elements of Mughal and British Raj era stereotypes of India.

* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'': Hadji grew up in a version of this India. He could control snakes by playing his flute, had fakir style powers such as levitation, and incredible skill at hypnotizing others.
* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' also gave Hadji some quite sleazy hacker skills; though this was meant to subvert this stereotype, [[HilariousInHindsight little did they know]] that hacker skills would make him ''[[BollywoodNerd even more of a stereotypical Indian]]'', now that India is a big software development superpower in reality.
* The Jonny Quest example was parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "Wishbones". Billy goes on a Jonny-Quest-style adventure, and Irwin is cast as Hadji.

* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight'', complete with mongoose and cobra action. The plot of the short is that Bruce goes to India to get lessons from a fakir on managing pain.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself would release several films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion in an already confusing mix. Anime and manga also gets a sprinkle of this trope due to the influence of Buddhism - a religion that originated in India - on centuries of Japanese culture.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} is a mystical place of turbans, rajahs, holy men ([[UsefulNotes/{{Yoga}} yogis]] and fakirs) {{snake charmer}}s (and other slightly demented {{street performer}}s), the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples, overgrown with humid jungle, and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on. At least, that's what fiction tells us.

* Following the Partition of 1947, parts what was formally British India were separated into what became the modern nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations, so India's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} is a mystical place with [[UsefulNotes/{{Yoga}} yogis]], fakirs, rajahs, turbans, {{snake charmer}}s (and other slightly demented {{street performer}}s), the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples overgrown with humid jungle and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on.

At least, that's what fiction tells us. Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality and InterchangeableAsianCultures, as India for some reason suddenly takes on [[ArabianNightsDays Arab and Persian characteristics]] in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]For the record, the original tale of Aladdin was from Syria, but is written into ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by a Frenchman. Out-of-universe, Genies are Arabic in origin. Aladdin and the story's in-universe setting is Chinese (but with all the Islamic trappings, so it is possible the original Muslim storyteller merely called it "Chinese" to make it sound exotic), the evil sorcerer is northwest African, and the one thing that ''is'' Indian is magic carpets.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, such as the Mughal Empire, and parts of what used to be considered part of India went on to form the nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations, so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian and -- even more distantly -- to English (That's where the term "Indo-European" languages comes from of which Indo-Aryan is a subset just like Germanic). Classical Persian was the lingua franca of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and Bangaldesh from medieval times into the 19th century. Persianate culture was dominant among the elite and educated.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself would release several films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion to an already confusing mix. Anime and manga also gets a sprinkle of this trope due to the influence of Buddhism in Japan.

At least, that's what fiction tells us. Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality and InterchangeableAsianCultures, as India for some reason suddenly takes on [[ArabianNightsDays Arab and Persian characteristics]] in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]For the record, the original tale of Aladdin was from Syria, but is written into ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by a Frenchman. Out-of-universe, Genies are Arabic in origin. Aladdin and the story's in-universe setting is Chinese (but with all the Islamic trappings, so it is possible the original Muslim storyteller merely called it "Chinese" to make it sound exotic), the evil sorcerer is northwest African, and the one thing that ''is'' Indian is magic carpets.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, such as the Mughal Empire, and parts of what used to be considered part of India went on to form the nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations, so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian and -- even more distantly -- to English (That's where the term "Indo-European" languages comes from of which Indo-Aryan is a subset just like Germanic). Classical Persian was the lingua franca of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and Bangaldesh from medieval times into the 19th century. Persianate culture was dominant among the elite and educated.

* ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'', where the British-Asian cast subverted this trope with a recurring gag about a naive group of Indian and Pakistani students opting to spend their gap year seeking enlightenment in faraway backward Third World Britain. They encounter all the typical British tropes turned UpToEleven, for instance a cockney Pearly King, and deal with them in the same language and manner that British people used to describe quaint things and people they met in India.

* Actually averted in ''Manga/LegendOfHeavenlySphereShurato''. While the Tenkuukai is modelled after the Hindu beliefs and myths, the series avoids using stereotypes linked to Indian people.

* Averted in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' with the plane of Kaladesh, where the designers deliberately set out to avoid cliche portrayals of "Indian Fantasy". Whilst the Indian aspects of the setting (beyond the apparent ethnicity of the human population) are comparatively subtle, Kaladesh being defined primarily as the "Optimistic, Spiritual {{Dungeonpunk}} Plane", they avoid the cliches like turbans, snake charmers and fakirs. Instead, the most prominent pseudo-Indian elements are the plane's high level of technological advancement and its equally strong spirituality, which means it strives to balance nature and technology for the greater good of humanoids and the wild -- this calls to mind India's rich environment, its deep faith, and its status as one of the world's technological powerhouses.

* Somewhat averted in a ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego'' episode, in which Carmen is plotting to make her own dinosaur. Zack and Ivy land in a boat of Indian spices, discover Carmen stealing the Taj Hall, and have to deal with a merchant to get a Carmen clue. (The Taj Hall is the Indian version of Carnegie Hall, by the way. It's often confused with the Taj Mahal, but they have little in common.)

* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' has Great Tiger, a "[[FlexibleTourneyRules boxer]]" who fights with attacks like teleporting and illusions. Partially justified, as Great Tiger is also [[StageMagician performs magic for show]], and he presumably plays up some of the stereotypes as part of his image.

Becoming a bit of a DiscreditedTrope these days, at least in Europe and North America, where there have been significant pushes for more accurate portrayals of foreign cultures, and a notable percentage of the population can and will call works set in India out on any inaccuracies. Of course, even UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} itself would release several films set in the Mughal Empire, leading to further confusion to an already confusing mix.

* In ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' the World Cup arc has this in, of course, Team India. They all wear turbans, one of the players is a snake charmer, and their coach has a very thick beard.

* The Indian state of Gaipajama (with town names like Sethru and Jamjah) in the {{Tintin}} book ''Recap/TintinCigarsOfThePharaoh''.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has Dalaam, a vaguely Indian place existing on a FloatingContinent. The mystical training that Prince Poo receives there has strong overtones of UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} is a mystical place with fakirs, rajahs, turbans, {{snake charmer}}s (and other slightly demented {{street performer}}s), the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples overgrown with humid jungle and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on.

At least, that's what fiction tells us. Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality and InterchangeableAsianCultures, as India for some reason suddenly takes on [[ArabianNightsDays Arab and Persian characteristics]] in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]For the record, the original tale of Aladdin was from Syria, but is written into ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by a Frenchman. Out-of-universe, Genies are Arabic in origin. Aladdin and the story's in-universe setting is Chinese (but with all the Islamic trappings, so it is possible the original Muslim storyteller merely called it "Chinese" to make it sound exotic), the evil sorcerer is northwest African, and the one thing that ''is'' Indian is magic carpets.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, such as the Mughal Empire, and parts of what used to be considered part of India went on to form the nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations, so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian and -- even more distantly -- to English (That's where the term "Indo-European" languages comes from of which Indo-Aryan is a subset just like Germanic).

See StereotypicalSouthAsianEnglish, and {{Countrystan}}, which is FictionalCountry north and west of India, with a similar Muslim influence with a touch of {{Ruritania}}.

At least, that's what fiction tells us. Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality and InterchangeableAsianCultures, as India for some reason suddenly takes on [[ArabianNightsDays Arab and Persian characteristics]] in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]For the record, the original tale of Aladdin was from Syria, but is written into ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by a Frenchman. Out-of-universe, Genies are Arabic in origin. Aladdin and the story's in-universe setting is Chinese (but with all the Islamic trappings, so it is possible the original Muslim storyteller merely called it "Chinese" to make it sound exotic), the evil sorcerer is northwest African, and the one thing that ''is'' Indian is magic carpets.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, such as the Mughal Empire[[note]]And parts of what used to be considered part of India went on to form the nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations[[/note]] so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian and -- even more distantly -- to English (That's where the term "Indo-European" languages comes from of which Indo-Aryan is a subset just like Germanic).