Photos by Meanest Indian, an exceptionally talented photographer.
Are you in India? Make the Effort to Learn Hindi!
Could you get around India without knowing Hindi? Sure, you could – especially in the cities.
English is one of the official languages and many people speak it as a second or third language. There are certain communities, such as the Anglo-Indians, whose people communicate primarily in English.
The post-colonial world has done many things for the countries that were colonized, and the widespread use of English is just one of them.
In India you will encounter many locals who are familiar with English: from roadside hawkers who sell their wares in functional English to the extremely fluent college kids who have been educated primarily in the language all of their lives.
Sure, you could do just fine in India without even a perfunctory familiarity with Hindi.
Should you bother with learning Hindi?
I say a hearty YES. Here’s why:
Hindi is the official language of India for a reason.
Nearly half the population speaks Hindi or its various dialects. It is the first language for many Indians, especially in the north of India.
From the official use of what is known as Standard Hindi to the various nuances of pop culture represented in mainstream films, Hindi lends itself to Indian sensibilities in the way perhaps no other Indian language does.
Hindi opens doors to other Indian languages.
Your knowledge of Hindi will help you understand other Indian languages from Bhojpuri to Marwadi.
Other Indian languages that do not form a part of the Hindi belt also share common roots with Hindi, so Bengali and Gujarati will also be within reach of the involved student of the Hindi language.
Hindi has a varied history.
At different times, Hindi has been different things. In the late Mughal period, for instance, Urdu and Hindi were synonymous with each other.
In the Middle East, the ancient language of Sanskrit was referred to as Hindi.
In its long years of existence, Hindi has encompassed aspects of Indian history and development in the way it has incorporated everything from Urdu to English words to its vocabulary.
Perhaps its most dramatic shift in importance had its beginnings in the later colonial stages, where it began to emerge as a national language: a Pan-Indian tongue in a very diverse part of the world.
Then there’s the poetry and prose.
Knowing Hindi will let you read in the original the wonderful literature, or sahitya created by writers in Hindi.
Not only will it give you access to the formal and printed literature in the Devnagri script, it will also give you an entry into the nuances of indigenous India. These nuances would otherwise be lost in translation if you had just been making your way around the country using English.
Take the plunge!
It’s easy to travel India and neglect your Hindi completely, but it’s challenging and rewarding to delve into the India beyond the backpacker trail, beyond too much ganja and too many stereotype-fueled misconceptions.
Destinations
Hindi will lead you beyond tourist traps into a real place with real people, whose lives and histories are diverse, complicated, and riveting.
Your attempts to explore Hindi are bound to lead to interesting interactions with locals, many of whom will be delighted and happy to help you along.
Hindi study will also lead to the discovery of other non-local travelers who are trying to learn the language.
Most importantly, learning Hindi will give you a much more coherent and perceptive experience of India – hopefully, the real deal.
Communty Connection
Shreya Sanghani and I shared a rooftop lunch in Kolkata thanks to Matador. Get connected to the vanguard of independent travelers through Matador Travel Community, and stay tuned for Shreya’s upcoming article on the best places to study Hindi in India.
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10 Comments... join the discussion!
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Absolutely! I think any effort you make to learn a local language goes a long way in forming bonds with the local community, and it also immediately translates in better service, prices, and experiences.
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Due to our colonial heritage, people in Britain are left with the distinct impression that everyone in India speaks English. It is not true. If you are on an organised tour then you will encounter hotel staff, drivers and guides who speak basic English. However, if you want to travel independently and away from the main tourist sites, you will have trouble getting by only in English. Charades are a good start (and cause much hilarity) but get a phrase book so you can look things up when you get stuck. The most useful things to learn are:
Namaste – Hello.
Shukriya – Thank you.
Mera nam X hai – My name is X.
Haan – yes
Nahin – no
Kaise hain aap? – How are you?
Main thik hun – I am fine.
Main X se hun – I am from X (insert name of country)
Mujhe tori hindi aati hai – I know a little Hindi
Mujhe hindi nahin aati – I don’t know Hindi.
X kahan hai? – Where is X?
Kitna hai? – How much is it?
Itna mahenga hai! – That’s too expensive
Nahin chahie – I don’t need/want it.
Mai apne pati se chal rahi hun – I am travelling with my husband. This is useful to ward off unwanted attention whether or not it is true.
Mere do bacche hain – I have two children (See above)
Chor do – Go away. You will say this at least a hundred times a day to beggars.
Mujhe gosht/paneer/unko/appko na pasand hai – I don’t like goat/cheese curry/him/you
Benny has mentioned ‘goras’ – it means white person (masculine plural). It’s a racial term but more of an adjective than something derogatory. However, ‘gori rundi’ is a fairly popular insult to western women. If you get called it, a slap may be in order as it roughly means ‘white whore’.
One interesting insult you will hear banded around in many conversations is ’sala’. Literally it means ‘brother in law’, and so gets used by friends as a term of endearment, but if conversation gets a little more heated, the meaning is taken to its logical conclusion and becomes ‘I fuck your sister’. Use it with care!↵ -
Note that the author speaks perfect English and lives where Bengali is the predominant language– if she says learn Hindi, best do it!
I was surprised at how the glorious British colonial legacy failed to even leave a common language– many, many people in India have extremely little English. That’s still more than my Hindi, though, so a final tip: even if you haven’t picked up hardly any Hindi (or Bengali or another of the first languages of India), travel where English is less common anyway! (Smarter travel companions help.)
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I am not sure if I agree completely, but for Americans coming to India vs going anywhere else is much better because they don’t have to learn another language. Like I literally saw my proff considering China and India, he really wanted to go to China, but then he thought he wouldn’t have to learn another language to come to India so he went to India instead.
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if you wish to learn Hindi on line, please contact me. I am settled in Chennai. I spent 30 years in Bihar. I served a NGO for 29 years in India and abroad. My mother tongue is Tamil.
suresh
91 9840643690
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i can’t believe someone said “glorious, English colonial legacy.” It’s only glorious if you like thievery, pillage, murder, and typical cultural terrorism. The reason hindi is not more popular is thanks to the brits. By mentally poisoning the indian people, they created an india where english is a more highly revered language, especially the higher-up on the social ladder you are. They single-handedly created a north-south/colour divide by promoting stereotypes about martial/non-martial races and promoting the gora aryan peoples as the foundation of hindu and much of the cherished indian heritage. if it weren’t for their pre-independence support of tamil nadu, maybe tamil wouldn’t have been so opposed to hindi as the national language, preferring english instead. they deliberately supported the muslim vs non-muslim rift driving further and further apart hindi into two camps: shuddh hindi and urdu.
so glorious. you should not be suprised when colonialism leaves deep, unsolvable rifts.
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Hey Anton,
I am pretty sure Benjamin was being sarcastic when he said that!
There’s totally a political hierarchy when it comes to English in India. There are so many official languages, but knowing English gets you more places and more jobs and generally more respect in mainstream society (especially urban) than anything else. It is totally unfair.
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I studied abroad in India and I never got such a good response to request as when I made it in Bengali. I was in Calcutta and working at a home for trafficked girls so I picked up quite a bit of Bengali. And though you must endure much laughter at your mistakes and even when you get it right, people are never so friendly as when you are speaking their language.
Great article!
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