Rajinikanth vs. Volgans
Recently, when I was travelling in Europe, a Frenchman (who spoke English) asked me if I was an Indian. I said yes and he instantly beamed with joy.
“I am travelling to India end of this year”, he said.
“Wonderful! It would be unforgettable”, I said and proceeded to ask him where all he was going.
After a conversation of about 5 minutes, he said
“Namaste”
I smiled at this and tried to slime out by complementing him on his pronunciation which was indeed good.
Emboldened, he continued with the Hindi he had been learning (it was quite a bit). And that’s when I began to feel really uncomfortable. I had to interrupt him and tell the confused European that I don’t speak Hindi that well and I am learning it much like he has been. While that talks poorly about my ability to pick up and learn key languages in places I live in, it surprised him to find out that not everyone in India speaks Hindi.