It is not as if all north Indians behave like the man K.S. Pattabiraman encountered in Hardwar (Letters, Oct. 2). Most of them are forthcoming when it comes to helping strangers.
In fact, when I once asked a person in Chennai for directions to a guest house, he simply said: Hindi ille. Let us not find fault with one another. Let us try to bridge the language barrier instead.
Rekha Dabas,Delhi
A well dressed man need not know English. Only five per cent of Indians speak English. So please learn Hindi. I have been to almost all places in India.
I speak about eight Indian languages. I will try to learn Tamil too. Let not language barriers create conflicts among us.
Sonu M. Patel,Delhi
Many non-Tamilians, including me, have had experiences similar to Mr. Pattabiraman’s in Chennai. But I don’t blame the entire south India for the behaviour of a few. The issue is not about learning Hindi or English. It is about mutual respect. It is our narrow mindedness, yours and mine, because of which we fail to respect each other.
Shashank Vyas,Hyderabad
