Life lessons

Learning life lessons from a Common man.

Born and brought up in Tamilnadu and Tamil being my mother tongue, my brother insisted me to learn  Hindi as it was a must to survive once I go out of Tamilnadu.

Started learning part-time from 8th std and after 3 years of hard work, passed up to the 5th level offered by Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha.

Know to write and read but speaking fluently was the missing element.

I joined my first training assignment for a job in Pune and picked up the spoken format very well.

Later got posted in Delhi. Complete dejavu experience. Started loving the language the most spoken in India.

During that time, my brother got transferred to Chandigarh. Jan 1983, peak winter, I traveled by bus to Chandigarh. Landed in the bus stand and took a cycle rickshaw.
Just asked the rickshaw man, Kaise hain app? (How r u ?) Kya halchal hai? ( How is life going on ?)

He started telling his story and was talking over 20 mts and finally came to my brother's house.
I gave him the fare and told sorry brother I don't know Haryanvi language and could not follow you hence could not respond to you.

He immediately said, sir, I was talking in Hindi only. Then I got a real shock of my life.

Continued 


In fact, he must have spoken in Hindi only but in the Haryanvi accent. ( Local language )

Suddenly it struck to me that my Hindi may have the Tamilian accent and people might not understand and might have ignored.



After coming back to Delhi,j faithfully started practicing the proper pronunciation of this great language.


Consciously started delivering and practiced for more than  a year.


Used to watch DD news, listened to the radio, and read Navabharat times daily loud in front of my friends.


Of course, watched more Hindi movies also.


While leaving Delhi after 9 years, got a compliment that now you never look like madrasi or a tamilian  but seemed to be born and brought up in the Hindi belt.


Thanks to the rickshaw man who gave me a life lesson and gave me  the gift of speaking the language in the natural way.

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