Location: Somewhere in dreamland
Posted on: 15-03-08 20:22:56
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
Not on a racial note , but is true that non Tamils are discriminated against in TN - I find it hard to believe but curious based on hearsay .
Sorry for going off topic but if so what precautions should non Tamil take while in Chennai / elsewhere in TN . Is Hindi a big no no ?
I can tell you for sure it NOT correct. I was a non-tamil and lived in Chennai for several years and I can tell you with reasonable confidence most people in Chennai do speak or atleast understand Hindi. I didn't see any one hate you because you speak Hindi or you are from North.
By the way there are several North Indian families who have lived in Chennai for several generations.
I can't speak for all parts of TN but my cousins who lived other cities in TN feel the same
Thanks - you just strengthened my belief which is same as your experience.
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Fido.
Location: God's own country
Posted on: 15-03-08 22:27:33
Fido,
Though Hindi is not spoken much anywhere in Tamil nadu (with the expection of North Madras where North Indian Marwari's have established a solid business base), No one discriminates if you speak in Hindi. OTOH, Tamil's are some of the most mild mannered people that I have ever come across. And of course, if you are a female, then they respect you even more.
Hindi is not used in Tamil nadu more as a result of political circumstances than anything else. Dravidian parties (Incl. M. Karunanidhi's party) used Hindi as a pawn to further their political gains. In the late 50's when my parents studied in High school, they had Hindi as a subject (they were not required to pass it). So when the Dravidian parties, said that they would ban hindi when they came to power, my parents supported them, because if they won, then atleast they would have one subject less to study and thereby increasing their free time to read story books. So it was something that the people took advantage off to lessen their burden and not b'cos they hated the language Hindi as it inferior to tamil or anything like that.
While I was in Ahmedabad for 6 months in 1992, to communicate with the people there, I had to know either Gujarathi or Hindi. Likewise to communicate in Tamil nadu, you must know either English or Tamil. That is all.
TK A
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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.
Thanks TK for the elaborate explanation .
I am sure about what you have told me - I am glad that my understanding of the matter based on hearsay was incorrect .
Back to discussion on pubs... apologies to the OP for this hijack 
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Fido.
Location: Somewhere in dreamland
Posted on: 16-03-08 10:08:14
Just to add to what TK says, the general public and people educated in Tamil meduim may not understand Hindi, but many other educated tamils (especially the ones who studied in schools with CBSE syllabus, children of central govt. employees posted in the North etc.) and several uneducated non-tamil people who work in the city will understand Hindi. But you should be able to manage with English
As usual , just like any other place in the world, a word of general caution - the auto/taxi drivers would try to 'take you for a ride' if you don't speak Tamil or look like like non-Tamilian
Thanks for all the input guys. I will check out the places suggested by Freddie.
As for the age old Hindi vs Tamil, here is what I saw , In chennai airport everything is writed in 3 languages, Tamizh, Hindi & English and in that order. I had to go to the LIC office today for some work and I saw everything was written in the same 3 languages. I aslo went to Spencer plaza for shopping and found that 50-60% of the shops there are owened by hindi speaking people. So I geuess, it is not bad for the non-Tamils afterall, as it is made out to be.
Anyways, my experience so far in India Chennai & Mumbai is pleasant. I am enjoyin myself. It is not that hot. In Chnnai it is hoverng around 25-30d and in mumbai abt the same.
People are loaded with cash and dont know what to do. My friend just bought a cell phone for Rs.25k whic is abt C$600. I would not buy a phone that expensive. I find that electronics is more expensive in India than in NA.
Will write more of my experience as days go y.
chow
rsk
Location: God's own country
Posted on: 19-03-08 12:50:02
RSK,
Glad that you are in Chennai and enjoying Chennai. Chennai is the smallest of the 4 metro's found in India.
On a side note, you may want to look into a CD thread which is gaining pages these days ( http://www.canadiandesi.ca/read.php?TID=20277 ) where some CD's in Canada still think that India is still not very much developed and faces so many problems. You may be the correct one to give an exact idea on the development that is taking place there.
TK A
Footnote : It may be interesting for you to note that many business people in North Madras are North Indians and if you have ever visted Flower Bazzar / Whole sale market , you would be literally in a location in North India where almost all the shop owners are North Indians and only the coolies are Tamils (just like you take a TTC bus in Jane Street and you will wonder if you are in Africa or Canada). Spencer Plaza is almost on the fringe of North madras and it is only logical that the owners are all North Indians.
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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.
