A typical looking vegetable stall in India. www.flickr.com user nancycallahan
One of the frustrating things about shopping in India is that in most places, you can’t walk in and browse the shelves like in the West. Here, the shop keeper stands behind the counter and you have to ask for what you want.
I guess it had to happen some time then. My first frustrating encounter with the language barrier in Mumbai.
I went to the small vegetable-wallah below the apartment building to get some supplies for cooking dinner. One of the items I wanted was pumpkin. Not seeing any at his stall, I thought I’d be brave and try to ask for some.
Big mistake!
To the best of my knowledge pumpkin was called kaddu in Hindi. Do you think anyone could understand what I was saying though? Of course not!
Worst still, it was early evening — prime shopping time in India. All the aunties were out getting their vegetables. This meant that there was the maximum amount of people around to stare at me.
Everyone’s attention was on me and the dukandar (shopkeeper) as I kept asking for kaddu, and he kept trying to offer me aloo (potatoes).
When that failed, he thought kaaju might be what I was after, and started leading me to another shop a couple of doors down. It was a grocery store selling nuts and grains. It dawned on me that he thought I wanted cashews.
At the same time, I also realised I was not going to be getting any pumpkin that evening. Without wanting to create a further scene, I went home defeated.
Epilogue: I later found out that pumpkin is also called bhopla.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s also called sitaphal – सीताफल
wel it isnt..may be for the jerks like alok it is called that…
Accha?! Has Alok misbehaved? I don’t know the meaning of the word and my husband’s not here at the moment to ask…
I though sitaphal was that custardy fruit. Maybe different regions call different fruits/veggies “sitaphal”.
You’re right Cant Beat Em, it is exactly that!
hm, Can’t beat em – the custardy fruit (I hope this is what you meant) – is also called a शरीफ़ा – Sharifa.
Most of the time I do call a कद्दू(kaddu) a कद्दू – not sitaphal. But there are places where a कद्दू is called सीताफल (sitaphal). viksdes prefers to call it jerkland but that’s ok. To each his own
Sharell, it would help to know Marathi names of fruits and vegetables. They would be more common in Mumbai and unambigous compared to the various options that Hindi provides for the same fruit/vegetable.
Yes alok, that’s the sitaphal I’m talking about. Where I come from we call that Sitaphal.
“Where I come from we call that Sitaphal” — Can’t Beat Em, are you Indian? I thought Mrs Manners was the Indian one?
** Confused**
jerkland it is!..sharifa we dont calll it so in Mumbai…too urdu sounding..!! Alok stop concluding things if u arn’t sure. It could result in poor sharell going to a dukanwala and asking sitaphal for all she knows..imagine if ur taught a wrong word in a foriegn language in a foreign country? so keep thoughts to urself if ur not sure what we say to things here!
All I said was it’s also known as “some other name” and that information is not misleading.
It would have been misleading if I had said it’s the only name.
viksdes please stop acting like it’s “your Mumbai”, there are all kinds of people and localities in Mumbai and there would definitely be people who use certain phrases that are less common. It does not hurt to know of alternatives.
jajaja om i loved ur story! is so funny
i also had an issue like that over here in Hyderabad where we live, we were new to this place like 6 months ago and i went to a small shop near my flat because i wanted milk…..so i went and i said to the guy..”Do you have milk?”…..and he was like just staring not knowing what i was talking about….”Milk”….”m-i-l-k”….”miilkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!” i was getting so frustrated i was pointing to some cows resting in the street, still he didnt get me….and then i started pretending i was “milking” a cow with my hands(just moving my hands like acting” and he just laughed lil bit but still he didnt get me so…..i said “Dhanyawaad” and i went to look 4 another store jeje…now i know is “dudeeeee” jeje
Oh wow, you even had to pretend you were milking a cow!!
aahahahhahahah so funny everything.