Because the world outside assumed: if you look Indian, you speak Hindi. If your name is Riya Sharma, you should be able to argue with a vegetable vendor about the price of bhindi . If you can’t, you are either pretending or defective.
Hindidk wasn’t a real language, of course. It was a dialect of anxiety.
The bearded man leaned forward. “ Achha. To bataaiye — aapko kya lagta hai ki Bharat ki bhashaai vividhta media mein kitna pratibimbit hoti hai? ” (So tell me — how much do you think India’s linguistic diversity is reflected in the media?) hindidk
“ Aapne sahi kaha, ” Meera said. “ Mushkil hai. Lekin aap koshish kar rahi hain. Woh bhi matter karta hai. ” (You’re right. It’s difficult. But you’re trying. That also matters.)
“ Hindi mein, ” she said, because she was an idiot and a romantic and she wanted to prove something. Because the world outside assumed: if you look
“Bhai same. Mera Hindi itna bekar hai ki mujhe English mein likhna padta hai ki mera Hindi bekar hai.”
“ …bahut kuch hai. ” (There is a lot.) Hindidk wasn’t a real language, of course
“ Thodi-thodi ,” Riya whispered, which was Hindi for “I am about to be eaten alive.”
