Some Indian people, usually men, can be seen with little finger nail grown much longer than the others. It’s one of those things we see all the time but never think as to how it started. What’s the deal with that extra-long pinkie fingernail obsessed by Indian men? Here, we have explored some theories as to what exactly motivates Indian men to have their little finger’s nail extra-long.

One of the most bizarre theories says that the nail serves as an organic tool to scoop up a hit of cocaine and snort it quickly without bringing too much attention to themselves. But this is probably nonsense in most cases. It’s highly unlikely that men in a developing nation with scant resources groom themselves in order to support a fairly expensive addiction. Another possible explanation states that it is mainly for picking the ear.

It’s the kind of tradition where, even if it has a clear reason for existence in the past, it has morphed and been re-appropriated along the lines and means different things to different people.

One theory that makes a lot more sense is:

Historically, it is considered a sign of wealth and elegance for a man to have at least one long nail. The reason for it signifying wealth is because it shows that they do “upper class” work – like administration or office work, trading or an academic profession – as opposed to manual labour, particularly if they keep it in good condition by keeping it clean and un-chipped.

In fact, going back a bit further, long fingernails have long since been a symbol of status – women of the imperial Chinese court during the Qing dynasty kept long nails to mark them above any kind of possible manual labour and wore elaborate fingernail guards made of expensive jewels or with ornate patterns on.

Now, got your answer?