Arrogance of a Hindian professor in an American University

by Kayalvizhi Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:12 pm

Hindi at the Faculty Lounge

P. Menon

I am an assistant professor in an American university. At the time of this incidence, I had just joined the faculty a few weeks before. I was having a cup of coffee with a few faculty members in the faculty lounge. There in walked a professor of Indian origin - much older than me - may be in his fifties. He walked to our table and asked me in Hindi, something like, "I have not seen you here before. Which department are you with?" I do know some Hindi. I replied in Malayalam, "I joined the ---- department last month. How are you?" He was seemingly startled that I answered in a language he did not understand. He said, "Huh!" I repeated what I said again in Malayalam. He responded, "What language is that? I don't understand you."

I replied in English, "I thought you understand my mother tongue Malayalam, in the same way you assumed I understand your mother tongue Hindi." He turned away, murmuring in English, "Hindi is our official language." I said, "Along with English. Our neighbor state doesn't even teach Hindi in their schools."

After he left the faculty members I was chatting with asked me what it was all about. I explained to them briefly the language situation in India. Just a minute or two. I did not want to bore them.

My replying to an arrogant Hindi speaker's Hindi question in Malayalam is not original. I was merely following our illustrious chief minister Nayanar. Ramachandra Guha recalls an incidence in the January 18, 2004 issue of The Hindu newspaper. Kerala Chief Minister Nayanar received a Hindi letter from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, a serious proponent of using Hindi at the Indian central government. Chief Minister Nayanar responded in kind by sending his reply in Kerala's principal language Malayalam.

There are more similar experiences from others at

http://www.tamiltribune.com/11/0501.html

by Guest Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:46 pm

Back in the day when my kids were going to Kumon, I was sitting in the waiting area. Another Gujarati mother came and sat beside me and we started conversing in english. The white guy sitting next to us was observing us. After sometime, he couldn't resist and asked us, "You both are Indian. Why do you converse in english and not in your language." We told him that India has several languages, that both our mother tongues are different, that each of us don't know the other language and hence have to converse in english. He seemed both surprised and shocked. "So English is the only language you ppl can converse with each other and not any Indian language? Is it the same with all Indians speaking different languages? Is it the same in India too?" he asked. And he asked many such questions. That was pretty embarrassing. He probably felt pretty superior and looked down upon the poor subservient indians.

I don't remember very well, but I think we talked about Hindi being another link language and since we are living in US, we are much used to speaking in english.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:06 pm

>> That was pretty embarrassing.

When you create an artificial country under the poer of the guns that is what happens.

Liberate the occupied countries (Andhra. Tamilnadu, Assam, Magaland. Kerala, ) . Then people of our countries can speak our contry's language.

Until then,

by Kayalvizhi Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:10 pm

whre is kumon

by Guest Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:23 pm

Liberate the occupied countries (Andhra. Tamilnadu, Assam, Magaland. Kerala, ) . Then people of our countries can speak our contry's language.

Why only those countries? Create other countries too: Gujarat, Maharastra, Orissa, Punjab, West Bengal, Kashmir, Bodoland, Karnata

ka, Manipur, Mizoram, Chattisghar, etc. We'll also have to create new countries for Konkani, Urdu, Santali, Sindhi, Maithili, etc. Then each country will have its own language and ppl will speak their own language. They don't have to learn english or any other erstwhile indian language. Good solution.

by Guest Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:24 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:whre is kumon

Kumon is a math tutoring class. Their centers are all over in america.

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