Many have wondered how I get around without speaking Hindi... well, fortunately many of the people we interact with on a transactional basis do speak some English. Such people include business owners/shopkeepers, some rickshaw drivers, and service attendants. In fact, most people here speak Hinglish (Hindi+ English= Hinglish). Below is a list of words I have learned through conversations with people and from lectures offered by Poonam, Mahima, and Varsha. Please note that I have written down their phonetic spelling (meaning, this is what it sounds like to me when I hear the word) so I apologize for not providing the accurate spelling: - mother- mami
- father- paapa
- brother- peya
- sister- didi
- food- khana
- shoes- utah
- slippers- chappal
- head- sar
- shoulders- kandha
- knees- ghutana
- toes- anghuta
- hands- unghuli
- nose- nak
- ears- kan
- mouth- hot
- small- chooti
- big- budi
- monkey- bandhal
- teeth- dhat
- cheeks- ghal
- beautiful- sundar
- good- accha
- finishes- katab
- thank you- dhanevad
- please- muje carne do cam
- sorry- muje maf cardo
- eyes- ahk
- tongue- geebe
- book- kitav
- water- pani
- dog- ghutta
- cat- bili
- car- ghadi
- "no fighting!"- Lahrai mat caro (I say this constantly to Mahima and Poonam lol)
- "see you tomorrow"- cal milengue
- ready- tayar he
- "what's your name?"- apka nam kya ha?
- "see you Monday!"- som var co milengue
- flower- fuhl
- home- ghar
- tree- per
- kilo- kiji
- spinach- palak
- "how much?"- kitna?
- yes- hanji or ji
- no- nehi
- grandfather- dadaji
- grandmother- dadiji
- aunt- auntie
- pudina- mint
- straight- sida
- twelve- bhara (this comes in handy when directing the rickshaw driver to "Sector bhara"; where we live)
- holiday- chuti (anytime one is not working is considered a holiday/holiday time)
Ps. We are traveling to Rishikesh this weekend and will be blogging about it shorty after our return. :) Pss. The two children in the first picture are (L-R) Prachi and Varsha; they are sisters. Even though Prachi is not old enough to join the tutorial group (aged 4), she attends daily and perpetually asks homework. Homework for Prachi involves writing the alphabet and numbers, up to 20 to be exact. While it may seem disorderly, her constant interruptions bring a smile to my face. "Ma'am! Ma'am!" Says Prachi as she points to her work and quizzically nods for approval. "Accha! Accha, Prachi!" We celebrate in reply. Then she contently returns to her writing exercise, only to request our attention moments later. It's endearing.
Pss. The second picture is of (L-R) Manglam and Nishu; they are also siblings and belong to the "second batch" (the second group which attends from 4pm to 5pm, aged 8-12). They are very advanced in their English speaking ability and generally serve as translators for Meli and I. :)
