If you ever need a reminder of the diversity of India, just take a look at any currency note. On the back, you will find the value of note in fifteen languages, along with English and Hindi.

India’s languages are perhaps the most telling way that this is a country of countries. It is possible that you could have a room of four or five Indians and none of them would be able to understand the other.

Why should I care about the languages of India? Don’t they speak English well enough?

It’s true that most Indians that you will do business with speak English at a high level. In fact, most of them speak at least three. Understanding the linguistic talents of Indians will give you a lot more respect for their abilities and make you less likely to correct any inconsequential errors you notice.

A person’s ‘mother-tongue’ is a very special and intimate part of their being. It is quite rare for an outsider to be able to recognize someone’s heart language. If you can show that you care enough to know even just the name of someone’s first language, you will build a lot of relational capital.

Finally, it is important to recognize that when you work with a group of Indians, you should insist on people using a language that is universally known and most comfortable. For example, if you are working in Chandigarh, and everyone speaks Hindi except for you (and they are not comfortable in English), then the onus is on you to up your language skills. However, if you are in Chennai with a group of Tamilians and a few northerners mixed in, you should insist on the team using English and not Tamil for the sake of those who will feel uncomfortable and left out.

Wait, I thought everyone spoke Indian?

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I was visiting an American friend who told me about an Indian colleague of his. I asked him what the colleague’s name was.

“I don’t remember exactly. Something like Vinny Submarine.”

Oh, you mean Vinay Subramanian?

“Yeah, that’s right.”

From Tamil Nadu? Highly educated? Vegetarian?

“Uh…yes, actually. How did you know that?”

This is one of the most amazing skills you can pick up when you are working with Indians. A person’s name unlocks a trove of potential connections and ways to build rapport with them. [Read more…]

Continuing with the Indias By… series, we turn our attention to genders.

Men

EyalNow via Flickr

Let’s face it – it’s good to be a man in India.

Young boys (especially if they are only-sons) are often pampered and given as much freedom as possible. They have a lot of expectations on them during school, but a few rounds of cricket every weekend are highly encouraged. Around the house, the main responsibility is to eat well, study, and stay out of too much trouble.

College is the peak of the male experience in India. Very low responsibilities, very low commitments, very low financial burdens, and surrounded by other fun-loving guys. They will roam the streets in (mostly) harmless gangs, laughing and leaning on each other. Most Indian men have very tight bonds with their college classmates well through their adult lives. [Read more…]