Language problem? No problem...

Bangalore, being the IT capital of the country, has people pouring in from outside but how easy is living here for them? Kannada still remains the preferred language for auto drivers, bus conductors, government officials. This surely makes some simple tasks difficult for outsiders. Metrolife asks some non-Kannadigas living in Bangalore what their experience has been like and how important they feel knowing the
language is?

Bangalore is known for its cosmopolitan environment so most people say they get by without much trouble. “Not knowing Kannada in Bangalore is not killing me really. Most people here in Bangalore, especially those involved in businesses, know a bit of Hindi. And these are the people with whom I interact daily,” says Gaurav Chandra, a software engineer.

As it turns out, even if one does not know Kannada, knowing a South Indian language helps quite a bit. “Personally, I don’t face much of a problem since almost everyone here knows Telugu. The case is different for North Indians though,” says Chaitanya P, an intern with an advertising firm.

But there are downsides when you need to get some work done. “My flat owner does not understand English or Hindi even a little bit. And same was the case with most people I interacted with while searching for a house,” says Sangita, an HR professional.
Others agree. “When I had applied for a BSNL landline connection, no one except one JTO was able to help me. They all were asking me to speak in either Kannada or Tamil. At last, I had to use my friend as a translator. Other than situations like these, sometimes I have faced issues with auto drivers also,” says Pankaj Srivastav, an IT professional.  

Most people point out that not knowing Kannada sometimes severely disrupts your bargaining process. “The language barrier is the biggest problem when you are looking for a leverage in the conversation like trying to get things done in a government office, bargaining with the shopkeeper etc. Looking for information when the language is a problem simply leaves you stranded,” says Samir Paul, a professional. In spite of all these problems, most people don’t want to learn the language. “The problems I face are generally related to auto drivers or cops. Other than that, knowing the language is not really necessary for me,” says Chaitanya. “I live near my office so the number of people I interact with is low. So the trouble is within a tolerable limit for me,” says Gaurav.