A Southie’s Views

Disclaimer: Okay I am just trying to record my experiences. If this hurts you, I am really sorry. Just blogging my views and thoughts that I have been collecting these past couple months. If you get offended over racist opinions, you can stop reading. Don’t come and complain that I didn’t warn.

 

Being a non-hindi speaking South Indian in a predominantly North Indian hostel is fun. Ofcourse not many people would be comfortable with the cuisine. But anything that is edible and tasty is good enough for me. So I stuck to this place. But the looks I get here are just pure amusement for me. The ones who do not understand English (the cook, hostel incharge) are actually okay with the fact that I don’t know their language much. They even try and communicate with me in how much ever English they know. Its the other girls who are way too shocked about the fact.

The moment I say I don’t know Hindi their eye brows go up at an alarming rate. It is not like I am not trying. I still catch a word here and there and understand what you are trying to say. As long as you don’t talk like the Nilgiri Express. Well a couple of girls were nice to me. Asking me where I am from and all… But there are these real annoying folks. Who have a fast conversation during which I zone out because anyways I don’t get any of it, and finally they will be like “Did you understand anything?” Now this will be done repeatedly for every 15 minutes until you get real pissed off and leave the place before you lose it.
So that is amusement part one for me. I mean it is not a big crime now is it? Not knowing the language… I am fluent in English.

Our dinner usually consists of roti, a dhal, a vegetable curry and rice. While the girls around me eat with a spoon, I never bother to lift a spoon. I eat directly with my hands. Oh the look of horror you get when you mix rice and dhal is more than one can take. It makes me wonder what reaction I will get if I eat like Raj Kiran or Napolean (watch from 2:02)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1NqQGbuPGA

Atleast I eat like how Vineeth does.

The next amusement is when these girls find me eating with a spoon. Occasionally when I really don’t like the rice they have given and I don’t take up any roti, I eat using a spoon. My room mate was like “Wow… You are eating with spoon!”
Yen? Spoon enna North Indians use panna than kandu pudichadha enna? :-/

Seri idhellam okay. The expression I get when these people catch me listening to Hindi songs or watching Hindi movies. Yen di… Language therila na yetha yerakama paakreenga. Neengalum solli thara maateenga. Naana edho padam paathu kathukalam nu paatha adhukum ivalo shock ah? Enna than panna solreenga de?

Final fun part is when I put the slight hindi knowledge I have to use. Where I respond to something spoken in Hindi with an answer in English… It is a mix of amazement and partial horror. Amazement that a South Indian understands their language. Horror because they realize I have been understanding most of the stuff they spoke around me all these days.

Just because I am from a different region does not mean I am confined to the stuff that pertains to that region. I do try and learn about most cultures and languages. I try. Also just because you guys think there is no world beyond Hindi and North India, well… I am sorry girls. You are missing out on a lot!