Traveling in a local bus the other day I could not stop overhearing a conversation between two pretty young things sitting behind my seat. They were exchanging notes on guys who had been interested in them. Suddenly one of them said, “Don’t tell, you interested in that Hindi medium types!” This is something which caught my attention. Hindi medium types! Sorry.. come again… what did you say?
Being myself a Hindi medium type, from DAV Lakkar Bazaar, I wonder what is wrong with us, the Hindi medium types (HMTs). We had the best of education, a whaling time on playgrounds, can read and speak fluent Hindi unless like our more unfortunate ‘country’ cousins from the public schools. When it comes to speaking English, we become the ‘country’ cousins though. But hey.. girley… you only wanna see how good the guy is speaking English in front of your friends. That’s it!
Learning to speak fluent English for us, HMTs, is a Herculean task. I remember in school we had our science studies in Hindi. I was well versed with all the siddhant (principles) in physics and expert in solving mathematical equations in Hindi. It was a different matter all together that I could not make a difference between principle and principal till very late in life. So do we HMTs miss out on not being on the ‘principle’ list of the ‘hip’ girls. Na.. I guess I would have loved to hate someone who would be correcting my grammar everyday, whereas we should’ve been doing more interesting things like checking geography and a little bit of history.
My better half found this ‘useless’ HMT. Geetali Tare may cry hoarse about missing theatre in Shimla but I met my soulmate in the back stage of Kalibari hall and Gaiety theatre. She used to perform for her school and I would be there to cheer up mine but eventualy ended up cheering the wrong one. Did we graduated to checking history and geography is better saved for another day but no where in our courtship (mind you, it was for 14 years.. phew!!) the matter of HMTs or PSTs (public school types) ever came up. Love happened gradually.
Love involves respect and one has to earn it from your partner. My better half shifted to the apple farm after marriage and stayed there for three years tending to the farm, the cattle and yes she can any day beat any one changing stepany of a bullet motorbike. It was a collective decision. She married me when I had left my well paying job in Ahmedabad and was settling back in the hills. This after having a sheltered life in Shimla and some great schooling. Better than mine at least!
There is too much to be experienced in courtship. Never ever court anyone judging his/her back ground or the wallet. Let it happen! This is from someone.. being there, done that.. experience speaking
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July 31, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Pingback from Hindi medium types! at Blogbharti
July 31, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Cuckoo
Good read. Have linked you on Blogbharti.
July 31, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Goli
You forgot to mention dairy and diary, this is one eternal confusions that I always had till few years back. I could entirely relate to your post.
All the teachers in my school used to teach in Hindi, and I remember having written on one of my random notes during school that, “Today we have new English teacher, and she teaches in English”.
August 1, 2008 at 3:39 am
उन्मुक्त
मैं भी हिन्दी मीडियम टाईप हूं और मेरी पत्नी भारत के जाने माने अंग्रेजी स्कूल से - पब्लिक स्कूल टाईप। पर हमारा रिशते में कोई कमी नहीं। शायद जिनको अपने पर विश्वास नहीं होता वे ही इन सब की चिन्ता करते हैं।
August 1, 2008 at 7:12 am
Adnan
Good one. That’s typical Indian middle-class hypocrisy. Ghulamana zehniyat ka suboot. But that’s true, English speaking guys and gals always have it easy in career and everywhere else. Even if they have poor IQ and the HMT has better understanding of his subject.
August 1, 2008 at 8:17 am
NITYIN
@Cuckoo
Thanks! I read your comments on the other message.. Thanks again!!
@Goli
Even now, there and their, apni samajh se bahar hai
@Unmukt
Yes, this is what I wanted to say. Sorry if it has sounded like PSTs bashing but when two adults have a complete understanding, HMT & PST does not matter.
@Adnan
I remember, we HMTs type here in Himachal had an option to learn one additional language in standard ix and x and it used to be either Urdu or Punjabi. So technically we HMTs are more proficient (read literate) and able to read and write one additional language where as our PSTs counterpart can’t even write English with proper grammer nor can they speak correct English without rendering words of Hindi.
August 1, 2008 at 2:03 pm
basskeyz
Bahut acha likha hai..dost.
You know this thinking permeates even beyond school..bhaia IIT/IIM mein pade ho to tej hoge..nahi to pata nahi. So much so that people who don’t make it to these institutes after they tried for it actually feel bad.
Hey I personally know people who are intelligent no matter where they got their education…your school helps in your education but is not the only place for your education (in fact if it is..you are in trouble)
August 5, 2008 at 11:51 am
d sinner
nice one!
Kids in Shimla have (I feel) become concerned only about fashion and maybe such typically stupid things!
About english and hindi, it is a shock that these kids don’t know hindi actually, neither are they asked to learn it (except by their hindi teacher of course)
the trend I would say started when I was in school (say about 4-5 years back) and I’ve noticed how it has grown. What they don’t understand is that Hindi is a language too and there is nothing wrong in becoming fluent with it.
P.S- ask any student currently in tenth to spell a few words of hindi or write…and i bet he/she would do a lotta mistakes!
September 12, 2008 at 10:59 am
Raman Sharma
very interesting article… I’m also one of HMTs
September 21, 2008 at 12:14 am
Varun
I am from a so called convent school, where took pride in speaking in Hindi in the school campus. It was carpe diem ! against the school authorities for passing an order to speak only in English language … so guess HMT is something which I would love to subscribe to.
Somehow being educated in English gets me in odd situations too. Work in Shimla involves speaking to people in rural areas and it becomes difficult to put my opinion in public meetings. Something which makes me fee quite odd.
Then while we were kids, you had cousins coming from defence background who would speak only in english with their parents and here I was finding myself speechless in most of such conversations.
September 29, 2008 at 4:29 am
Himanshu Khagta
Nice One
I’m forwarding the link to all my PST friends. Hope they’ll learn something.
September 29, 2008 at 1:39 pm
NITYIN
@Baskkeyz
Absolutely agree with your observation
@Raman
Thanks and welcome mate to the HMT group
@Varun
Knowing you I know, it could only be carpe diem !. At one point of time a cousin who studied at Bishop Cotton, I would simply listen to his accent and then copy this at home. I would read the entire newspaper in his accent
I think I grew up the fixation of speaking in english very early.
@Himanshu
This blog is for your generation