same here....i never let the luggage out of my sight....

I'm actually more paranoid than you. If I have a single suitcase, I pull it myself. If I have multiple pieces, I push my own cart. I never let the driver touch my luggage in the chance that I can't keep up with him and he runs away with my stuff. The driver may get a kind of pissed that I didn't trust him, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Same, unless I know the guy.... (usually the same guys helping me to the taxi at BOM)

The politeness dynamic works a little differently if you are female (as I am). It's just a little more weird for all parties for me to insist on pulling my own suitcase while an unencumbered man walks next to me. I'm not saying this is correct, only that the feeling exists. It doesn't stop me from insisting on bringing my own bag up to my hotel room, though--although that's mainly because it annoys me to have to come up with tip money for bellmen :D

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I end up handling my own carryon which is the only piece of luggage I travel with.

I thought I was alone in being annoyed with having to dole out tip money multiple times. A piece of luggage, however small, typically gets handled by 5 individuals from the time one exits customs & Immigration to the time one is safely ensconed in ones hotel room: (1) The airport greeter who takes the suitcase to the car, (2) the driver who then puts the suitcase in the car, (3) the doorman at the hotel who then opens the car door and then takes the suitcase out of the car and summons a bellboy, (4) a bellboy who then takes the suitcase from the door to the hotel lobby or storage area while one checks in, and finally, (5) another bellboy who brings it up to the room.

I basically ignore all of them except for the driver. And if I'm just arriving in India, even he only gets a tip if I have small bills already on me, which is about 50% of the time.

It's hard to make that claim without any reservation.
Frequency and variety of scams depends among many things on difference between local cost of living and OECD cost of living, and law enforcement.
Then there is a class of scams perpetrated on Indian tourists. Turkey; Budapest; Prague; Chisianev, Moldova; Malaysia; Thailand all have their own scams.


I have left my wallet, camera bag, sunglasses, and retreived them afterwards, but have also had a bag stolen from a shop.
Indian morality is very strange.
Vendors, (not all, but many) will try every trick in the world to separate you the as large an amount of money from you, as possible, but ones the transaction is over, they are quite helpful. Switching bills, "no change", inflated prices, "that hotel/shop/restaurant burnt down", or any other trick is considered a fair game.
I left my bag in shop one late night. The bag contained two mobile phone, Indian and U.S. currency totalling a few thousand dollars, some portable pocket-size medical devices, and my wallet with credit cards, plus Rs10-20k spending money. When I went back to the shop to look for it, it was handed back to me promptly, with nothing missing. A few days later, I left it in a dhaba, where I had gone with a French couple, the only dhaba in town that was open for tea at that time of the night. When we got back to the hotel, I realised, I had left my backpack, in which I had placed my bag for safekeeping. :D Once again, I got everything back.
That said, "white" tourists, despite all the scams, are going to be able to get lot of scam-free help from the locals, with no expectation or reward.

you need to start taking better care of that bag my friend....:p

Good information OP, thanks for the tips.

Meter switched off / not working seems to be the new one in Kolkata:

- Last month an enterprising taxi driver actually tried to scam me by not switching on the meter, which I didn't notice till half way to our destination (within Kolkata), after a clear loud sign of displeasure on my end in the local lingo the taxi driver agreed to charge whatever I would be willing to pay :cool:

- After spending nearly an hour trying to find a taxi in from of the Tollygunge Metro station a taxi pulls up and the driver and his helper insist the meter was inop. Well, we settle on a fixed fare in advance to a certain locality. I knew we were going to the far end of the area, so the fixed fare would work in my favor, they of course were not amused when we finally reached and wanted more. Though luck... I suppose I heard some comments relating to my mother and (non existent) sister as they drove off, but life is like that :)

I thought only your wife was allowed to handle the valuables? :)