I Speak On 'Miscommunication'

           ARRRGHHHHHHHH!!!! The frustrations of not understanding Tamil!!!! Yes that is my daily battle living in Chennai. Not gonna say I don’t understand a word, but I cannot carry out full conversations, which further leads to utter confusion, misunderstandings, and more arguments. Yep, that’s basically what I’m gonna rant about today.

Again (DISCLAIMER): all opinions and expressions are my own. Not meant to hurt or offend any sentiments. Just need to let it out.

            I’m not sure exactly what it is about this particular state, but they seem to have this natural talent to harass young people/foreigners/anyone who doesn’t look like they’re from here. It’s like they look for outsiders to give a hard time to. It’s happened numerous times at bus stands, with auto ‘walas,’ shopkeepers, ladies compartment on trains, and most other locals. So I got on the bus today, slamming it on the sides to make it stop, as I was about to get on for about the fifth or sixth time now (alone). Feeling pretty confident this time, I looked around for the conductor and asked for my usual route to Perungulathur. Not knowing that this bus went straight to Koyambedu (my final destination), I got off at Perungulathur. I stood confused, as the bus kept waiting. I asked the driver and he gave me a vague nod saying yes it does go to Koyambedu.

            Relieved yet slightly bewildered at the strange behaviors, I climbed back up on the bus and took a seat. The conductor came over and started bothering me about getting another ticket, muttering away in Tamil. As usual, I tried to converse back in my broken Tamil as best as possible, when all of a sudden he started getting hyped up yelling at me to get off the bus. On top of that, customers started pouncing on me when I started arguing back. Long story short, I got really pissed off and told them to lay off, completely frazzled and disturbed by this scenario.

            I am not at all a fighter. If I feel something is wrong, I will speak up, but otherwise I avoid confrontations. But, coming to Chennai, fighting, trying to speak up, yelling, all for your own justice is like a daily routine!! I can’t stand it. And the worst part is, people here begin raising their volumes when they realize you can’t understand the language, which makes you want to fire back at them.

             I hear it all the time. ‘These immigrants are taking over our Tamil culture.’ ‘Look at the way they dress.’ ‘No respect for elders.’ Blah blah blah. Like, HELLO, I don’t need to learn from you. I have my parents to guide me. The accusations that I heard about me today, on that bus, are still ringing through my ears. I came home disturbed and wanting to get out of this place more than ever. I have been to other parts of India, and though I may not have lived there, I can get a much better vibe from the people, and the respect they have in the way they talk and treat you.

            The sooner the locals begin to treat college students, foreigners, or any outsider with respect, the sooner they will be treated back with respect. It’s a simple formula. I make every effort to learn and appreciate this language and culture that I’m immersed in. But it makes it so much harder when people behave this way!