This post is about arguably the most interesting conversation I have had in Madison. Sriram (one of my roomies) and I went to get some Italian dinner last week. Sri heard his name being called out, pronounced as perfectly as it could be, and got a 'Dhanyavaad' (hindi for 'thank you') as he picked up his food from the counter. He came back, understandable amused. We thought Slumdog Millionare was having its effect and the guy must have caught it from some Indian friend. We soon became engrossed in the meal and it gobbled it up within minutes. As we lined up to deposite the plates, the same guy was cleaning up and offered to take our empty dishes. The same 'dhanyavaad' followed with a smile. But I was not quite prepared for what followed. Here is the ensuing conversation (with English translations in parantheses).
The guy: Pichle saal Banaras mein pad rahaa thaa. (Was studying in Banaras last year)
Me (amused and bewildered!): Achchaa! Kya pad rahe they? (Oh yeah! What were you studying?)
The guy (after a one second pause): Zindagi (Life) (can you imagine anyone saying that, that too in a hip Italian restaurant on the busiest street of Madison in another language!)
Me: Wah wah! (Nice!)
The guy (smiles): Rajniti ke baare mein pad rahaa tha. Das maheene rahaa Banaras mein. (Was studying politics. Stayed in Banaras for ten months.)
Me: Achchaa laga? (Liked it?)
The guy: Haan haan, bahut achchaa lagaa. Aur ab idhar University mein Hindi ki padhai jaari hai. Mere adhyaapak kaa naam hai .... Thoda thoda likhna, padhna aur bolna aata hai. (Yeah yeah, I loved it. And I am continuing Hindi studies in the University here. My teacher's name is .... I know to write, read and speak a little bit)
Me: Great man.. Aapse milke bahut khushi hui. (It was great to meet you.)
The guy: Mujhe bhi. Aapka naam? (Me too. What's your name?)
Mujhe bhi. Aapka naam
Me: Rangarajan (He got it on the second count, which is pretty good. Most of my friends from up North India had a tough first few times with my name) Aur aapka? (And yours?)
The guy: Chris, hindi mein Kishan! (in hindi, its Kishan)
(End of conversation)
What a guy! And all this was spoken in chaste hindi, without any over stressing of the 'R's or stumbling with syllables or hastening of sentences. Come to think of it, I could count the number of times I have heard someone use the word 'adhyaapak' outside the classroom in India.
The guy: Pichle saal Banaras mein pad rahaa thaa. (Was studying in Banaras last year)
Me (amused and bewildered!): Achchaa! Kya pad rahe they? (Oh yeah! What were you studying?)
The guy (after a one second pause): Zindagi (Life) (can you imagine anyone saying that, that too in a hip Italian restaurant on the busiest street of Madison in another language!)
Me: Wah wah! (Nice!)
The guy (smiles): Rajniti ke baare mein pad rahaa tha. Das maheene rahaa Banaras mein. (Was studying politics. Stayed in Banaras for ten months.)
Me: Achchaa laga? (Liked it?)
The guy: Haan haan, bahut achchaa lagaa. Aur ab idhar University mein Hindi ki padhai jaari hai. Mere adhyaapak kaa naam hai .... Thoda thoda likhna, padhna aur bolna aata hai. (Yeah yeah, I loved it. And I am continuing Hindi studies in the University here. My teacher's name is .... I know to write, read and speak a little bit)
Me: Great man.. Aapse milke bahut khushi hui. (It was great to meet you.)
The guy: Mujhe bhi. Aapka naam? (Me too. What's your name?)
Mujhe bhi. Aapka naam
Me: Rangarajan (He got it on the second count, which is pretty good. Most of my friends from up North India had a tough first few times with my name) Aur aapka? (And yours?)
The guy: Chris, hindi mein Kishan! (in hindi, its Kishan)
(End of conversation)
What a guy! And all this was spoken in chaste hindi, without any over stressing of the 'R's or stumbling with syllables or hastening of sentences. Come to think of it, I could count the number of times I have heard someone use the word 'adhyaapak' outside the classroom in India.
4 comments:
Awesome. Usually when foreigners say namaste, I flinch a little, because most of the time it sort of hits the stereotype nerve in my head!
@ Bud
True, but this fellow was a bit too much for all stereotypes. Mandarin is getting big with students here, but Hindi also seems to have its own students.
Good for me. If I don't get funding, I could make a living by teaching Hindi :P
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