Does anyone else find the casual Hindi expectation in Hyderabad frustrating?
Guys, no offence meant to speakers of any language. I’m not trying to start a language war here. This is more of a vent/rant and I genuinely want to know if others have felt the same way.
I have lived in Hyderabad almost my entire life, except for a few years of onsite trips here and there. Over the years, I’ve noticed a pattern that honestly feels quite frustrating.
From office spaces where worked in Hitec City Wipro, Infosys, Oracle, etc. to random marketing calls from banks, I’ve repeatedly seen people directly assume that everyone should understand Hindi. And sometimes it is not just the assumption, but the tone that bothers me.
A few examples:
At a juice stall near Tech Mahindra, I once saw a fresher girl from Andhra asking for something. The person at the stall was speaking to her in Hindi in a very condescending way, almost as if she was illiterate just because she could not respond fluently.
In the Infosys canteen, I saw a senior leader from outside the Telugu states shouting at a catering guy because the mango pickle, avakaya, was spicy. I mean, what else do you expect from avakaya?
On the Inorbit–Durgam Cheruvu road, there was a minor accident involving an Uber I was in. A Hindi-speaking person was speaking very aggressively and intimidatingly to the Uber driver for no fault of the uber driver. The driver was Telugu and was struggling to respond in broken Hindi.
Even with marketing calls, many callers directly start speaking in Hindi without checking whether the other person is comfortable with it. Personally, I find that quite disrespectful.
My issue is not with Hindi as a language or with Hindi speakers in general. My issue is with the expectation that everyone should automatically know Hindi, and with the condescending attitude some people show when others do not speak it fluently.
A lot of people also seem unaware that Hindi is an official language of the country, but it is not “the national language” of India.
I honestly do not feel the need to become fluent in Hindi unless I have a practical reason to do so. For example, I learned English because it directly helps with work, career, and livelihood. That is a clear incentive. But I do not think people should be shamed or looked down upon for not being fluent in Hindi, especially in a city like Hyderabad.
I understand patriotism, national feeling, and the idea of connecting with people across states. But expecting others to know your language without any sensitivity, and then speaking to them in a superior or mocking tone when they do not, is really frustrating. By the way i consider myself fluent in hindi, and i can have a fluent conversation in hindi.
Does anyone else feel this way, or is it just me?