Have you ever been on a trip to any place in India, where you didn’t know the language spoken locally? How did you feel? How did you manage to communicate?
Answers
During my tour to Tamil Nadu, I happened to visit a small village. It is near the temple town of Kanchipuram. Actually, I went there to buy some sarees for my mother and my elder sister. I went to a handloom shop. The shopkeeper welcomed me with folded hands and wished ‘namaskaram’. I did the same. I said ‘sarees ’. He responded by saying “ilia’ or ‘Yella or something like that. He said something to the helpers. I could not understand even a word. Many new sarees of different colours were laid before me. I picked up one and asked the price. He raised three fingers—I couldn’t make out whether he was asking for three hundred or three thousand. A man who knew some Hindi saved me from the embarrassment. I paid six thousand and bought two sarees. Only then I realised that I was a stranger in my own country and I determined to learn at least one language that is spoken in South India.
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Answer:
have served in the interior parts of Arunachal Pradesh where each small village having a population of just in hundreds.The strange thing is that each village has a unique tribal group with a unique language which cannot be understood even by people of another village which may be five kilometers away from this village.
When the neighborhood villagers cannot speak the language prevailing in another village,l could neither understand nor speak.People from other parts of India who had lived there for a long period,used to tell me that the local people who never liked to mingle with outsiders used their language that had no script only for speaking purposes.Also they never use body language.Due to the chill weather with freezing temperatures,they used to cover the entire body inserting their hands in the thick jackets and wind cheaters they wore.
As l have a tremendous aptitude to learn any language,l have observed keenly when they used to talk for no be honest,l used to hear only syllables like 'ching'’chang'‘chung‘’chong' ‘cheeng ‘cheeng’,choong’,etc.
One fine day,when a crowd had gathered in the village near the defence area where we were staying,we came to know that death of a man had taken place.We all went there out of courtesy and tried to meet the wife of that man who had died.She was sitting on a boulder and turning around gave some instruction using the same ching,chang,……language which was promptly followed.Next bamboo tumblerslocally prepared liquor was being served to us.l didn't touch it since l don't take alcohol.With no emotions,she continued her ching, chang ,etc.leaving pause now and then.One staff among us who had been there for almost fifteen years understood to some extent and translated her message to us.
At this juncture only l came to know that all the brothers in one family in that Arunachal Tribal group marry single woman That lady said that one of the seven brothers went to swim in the nearby river and had she still has rest of the brothers as her husbands.Another surprising thing l noticed was that no one,neither wife and brothers nor their children cried .Not even a bit of grief was expressed.They were neither happy nor sad.How casually they face death!
I think even if l had spent my entire life,then also l couldn't have mastered their language.They don't accept us as one among there is no chance for learning their language.
While living in India, did you pick up the local language? If so, what were you experiences with it?
What is it like to speak a majority of the most common languages of India? Do you enjoy communicating with most of the cultural groups of India, and do you digest and compare their literary histories?
I am visiting India for a vacation. I cannot speak the local language. What should I do?
How do people communicate in India without using spoken and written language?
What are the languages not spoken in India? How did it stop? Why did they stop using them?
MUmbai and Kerala in 2015. Used English throughout with the slightest problem. Go. Enjoy. Report back.
The future of flexible thinking.
While living in India, did you pick up the local language? If so, what were you experiences with it?
What is it like to speak a majority of the most common languages of India? Do you enjoy communicating with most of the cultural groups of India, and do you digest and compare their literary histories?
I am visiting India for a vacation. I cannot speak the local language. What should I do?
How do people communicate in India without using spoken and written language?
What are the languages not spoken in India? How did it stop? Why did they stop using them?
If I want to take a trip all around India, what single language can I learn with which I can communicate with the largest number of people?
What language do Indians use to communicate 'immediately' when they visit a different state where an unintelligible language is spoken?
What is the best language to know for traveling in various parts of India?
How is your language spoken at home help you communicate with other people?
How did humans communicate before language?
How many languages are spoken in India, and what are they called?
What is life like for a foreigner living in India who can speak the local language?
Which is the sweetest language you have heard people speak in India?
How are your interactions with people who are hailing from the other regions of India with a different language and living in your city? And vice versa? What have you learnt so far about them?