Indians like to talk, converse, gossip, engage in animated discussions, indulge in conspiracies and watch soap opera dramas. Part of this may be related to their tradition of having an oral culture. Long before many things were written down stories and information were passed along orally from generation to generation. It can also be argued that Indians simply love the act of talking. Traditionally, the sound of a word has had more significance than the meaning and some sounds were regarded as having spiritual and magical qualities. A good conservation is not necessarily defined as a deep or revealing one about oneself. Indians can have engaging animated conversations about any topic: even ones that are considered superficial and small talk in the West: the weather, films, food.