Rachna says

I was not really aware of this term “Outsider” till I came to Bangalore. Brought up in Mumbai and having lived in many cities in India since childhood, each new place seemed a great adventure. I have inculcated a part of each place in my own living – be it my food habit, rituals, way of dressing up and so on and so forth. The only difference was that in all these places it was easy to get by using Hindi and English. The term I am trying to use here is hostility – that was missing. Six years back, we had the opportunity of coming to Bangalore. Another truly cosmopolitan city with a great climate and friendly people, we looked forward to living here. This was my first foray into the South of India. I heard a new and very different language, people who looked and lived differently, different foods but yet were welcoming. I heard all languages around me including the other South Indian languages. It was a pretty exciting experience to begin with.

I am different from other people because I believe that to completely understand and respect another person’s culture, one has to make an effort to assimilate and try and pick up the local language. I have made my efforts to learn Kannada – one hindrance is that surrounded by English and Hindi speaking people, I have had very little opportunity to hear Kannada except from my maid. I have picked up some language this far and continuously make efforts to learn more.

One more point is that in order for people to want others to learn their language, they have to be nice and welcoming. Do you think I would want to learn your language if you are rude to me and force me to learn it? I would not and I would certainly not respect either you or your culture. Of late, I have seen that in any conflict situation, this local angle comes up very easily. If you break a traffic rule and get into an altercation, should you be let off just because you speak Kannada and are a “local”? Who is a local? I am a local too. I live here and love this city and contribute to it’s economic wellbeing. This is a part of India and I belong as much here as to any other city. Why this hostility and animosity? Why are certain organizations allowed to spread this divisive agenda? If this was not allowed then why have a country called India, let people have 25 different countries?

What irks me no end is to hear that this person is a local and I am not ! I had always heard that languages build bridges, enhance communication, but these days languages are used in India to divide people and promote ill will among them – case in point – Mumbai. It irritates and disappoints me no end to see even educated people succumb to this mentality. Sorry to say but coming across friendlier and level-minded people is more of a rarity these days.