YourStory founder Shradha Sharma ‘humiliated’ by Delhi’s 5-star hotel over her sitting posture: ‘Sat in Padmasana’

In a social media post that quickly went viral, Sharma said she felt “humiliated” after a restaurant manager asked her to change the way she was sitting because another guest had complained.

“A common man who works hard, earns his own money, and comes to the hotel with his dignity intact, he still faces humiliation and insult in this country,” she said in her video. “And what is my fault? Just that I sat down in a regular Padmasana style?”

Sharma explained that she had gone out for a Diwali dinner with her sister. “We work very hard to earn money, and thought we’d do something special,” she said, visibly upset. “The manager came to me and said one of the guests had a problem with the way I was sitting, see, I was just sitting like this,” she added, demonstrating her cross-legged posture.

She went on to question why her sitting position had become an issue at all. “I understand this is a fine-dining restaurant, so of course very rich people come here, and they expect you to sit in a certain way and wear closed shoes,” she said. “But I don’t even understand what that means! I wear Kolhapuri slippers, the ones I bought with my own hard-earned money, and came here dressed decently. Being told to ‘put your feet down’ felt wrong.”

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A post shared by Shradha Sharma (@shradhasharmayss)

In her post, Sharma reflected on how such moments expose lingering class divides. “If someone has a problem with how I sit, that shows we are still trapped in these divisions of riches, culture, and class,” she said. “Why? I work hard, I’m paying for this meal myself — so what’s the issue?”

By the end of her video, her disappointment was palpable. “I’m wearing a comfortable salwar-kurta, sitting properly, behaving decently. So why make it such a big objection? And from the Taj, a place I’ve always respected, this was truly disappointing. Mr Ratan Tata himself invested in my company, and yet today I feel so disheartened that the Taj would question me like this.”

Her post quickly struck a chord online, with many sympathizing with her feelings of alienation in so-called “elite” spaces. But others disagreed, saying fine-dining comes with certain standards of decorum.

One user wrote, “You have the money to go to Taj but don’t have the basic etiquettes of how to conduct yourself in a restaurant. It’s not your couch where u can sit like this.”

Another commented, “I think this girl really needs to learn basic manners and etiquette… there’s a big difference between class and comfort.”

Still, several voices came out in her support. “It’s her choice how to sit comfortably and eat. What is the problem in that?” one person wrote. “So many actors like Shilpa Shetty sit like this and eat with their hands, and no one says a word. The real issue is that the hotel couldn’t digest that a middle-class woman can afford to dine here. Well, women are earning and spending on their dreams, and that’s perfectly fine.”