"Please Do the Needful"

"According to Census of India of 2001, 30 languages are spoken by more than a million native speakers, 122 by more than 10,000."

Of all the language spoken in India, English is often the language chosen in which to communicate.  Many Indians actually grow up speaking English, and sometimes, only English. Yet, just as American English sounds different than British English, or New Zealand English, or Australian English, and they each have their own unique phrases, Indian English is uniquely its own. 

There are 'Indianisms' in English that make perfect sense in India, but leave a 'non-native Indian English-speaker' completely confused. For as many times as I've asked a local, 'Could you please repeat that?' when trying to decipher their meaning through their accents, I've had locals tell me, 'Sorry, madam, I cannot understand your English.'  (dramatic eye roll here)

To give you an idea, here's an amusing little article recently published of 10 Classic Indianisms. And 10 More Classic Indianism. Just to give you an idea of how confusing it can be.

Enjoy!

Mumbai Faces

A few of the faces one might encounter on any given day in Mumbai.

 

Did You Put On Weight?

That's what the tall, thin stylist said to me when I walked into the salon this afternoon, with smiling eyes. 

'Oh, does this outfit make me look fat?' I replied, suddenly feeling lousy. 

'No, you look great. Usually black makes you look skinnier, but it looks good on you.' 

Now I'm confused. 'So I look good or I look fat?' I ask. 

'Both!' She says, totally thrilled. 'You look healthy. I'd love for someone to tell me I put on weight!'

I've been coming to this salon all year, I love it, and always have a good time with the stylists. They're friendly and make me look beautiful and we joke around. So I knew she meant well. But, I was still confused. 

'Oh no! But it jiggles everywhere!' I say.

'That's good,' she says, pauses and smiles, 'there's only one thing that needs to be hard for a woman.' 

We all throw our heads back and laugh. I love a great salon!

Monsoon is Here!

It was sunny, hot and humid last week. Then, from one day to the next, it's pouring down rain. Beautiful, soothing, even paced rain.

It cools everything down. The heat, the humidity, the dust, and even, I think, the people. We are all refreshed.

And as I lay in my hammock watching the rain out my window, I can see the neighbor kids on the roof of their building dancing in the rain.