‘Hindi helped us bond better’: Telugu woman with Tamil husband hails Hindi as best, but…

In a refreshing take on the Hindi language from South Indians, a Telugu woman claimed that Hindi helped her bond with her Tamil husband. She also hailed the language as “the best” and encouraged everyone to learn it apart from their mother tongue.

However, she said it’s wrong for “IT Immigrants” to expect Bengaluru locals to speak in Hindi, as learning a language should not be imposed on anyone.

In a post on X, Saiswaroopa Iyer said that both she and her husband understand each other’s language but “cannot form a conversation”, causing a communication barrier which was overcome by Hindi, a language common to them both.

“I am Telugu. Husband is Tamizh. Each of us can understand the other’s language but cannot form a conversation. Our common language – Hindi. Hindi helped us bond better. I am glad both of us know Hindi,” Iyer said.

Iyer shared that they could’ve opted for English for communication, but “English would have been super weird within family”.

Therefore, she said, “I encourage everyone to learn an Indian language apart from mother tongue and Hindi is the best bet.”

Her views on Hindi differed for India’s biggest IT hub – Bengaluru. Iyer said she finds it annoying when tech workers from the north expect Kanadigas to speak in Hindi.

“At the same time entitled IT immigrants expecting locals in Bengaluru to converse in Hindi with them is annoying,” she said in her post.

In Bengaluru, tensions over language use, particularly concerning the prominence of Kannada versus other languages like Hindi, have been on the rise.

Here’s how netizens reacted:

When asked why they did not know each other’s mother tongues, Iyer explained that her husband’s family was based in Mumbai, and he grew up speaking Hindi and feels more comfortable with it.

“It started with English. But husband’s comfort level with Hindi was better and he preferred it that way and I saw it over time. More laid back, relaxed and warm,” she added.

“Wife and I also converse in Hindi, mainly to stop Jr Govindarajan from getting to know what we’re talking about,” a user added.

“If you both are living in Karnataka, why didn’t you learn Kannada? If you both live in Karnataka, away from family why did you say it is super weird to speak English within family?” a user questioned Iyer on her “English would have been super weird within family.”