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Simple Gifts for a Dinner Host’s Family Posted by on Jun 30, 2018

Let’s say you are currently on a business trip in India and an Indian colleague invites you over for dinner  भोजन का आमंत्रण (bhojan ka aamantraN) with his family. No matter where you are in the world, it is not only polite to take a giftउपहार (uphaar) for your host, but it is also a great way to…

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Catching the Local Lingo Posted by on Jun 24, 2018

While grammar, sentence construction, and vocabulary have their place in learning a new language, they often fall short during actual experiences in the country. Local slang, dialect, and idiomatic phrases play a good part in shaping understanding of fleeting encounters or local conversations. In previous blogs (Idiomatic Phrases and  More Idiomatic Phrases) we took a look at…

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Cooling off in an Indian Summer Posted by on Jun 13, 2018

The summer months गर्मी के महीने (garmi ke maheene) in India are both good and not-so-good. They are good because they bring with them the season of the luscious mango आम (aam). However, once the mango आम season मौसम (mausam) or आम का मौसम (aam ka mausam) ebbs, the sun gets hotter and the hot summer wind लू (loo) gets unbearable. People resort to a variety of means for…

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Welcoming a Baby Posted by on May 31, 2018

There is a hardly a happy occasion in India that doesn’t call for the distribution of sweets मिठाइयाँ (mithaaiyaan) — the birth of a baby बच्चे का जन्म (bacche ka janm) is no exception. In many places, and also where I grew up in cosmopolitan Mumbai, if you are offered पेढ़ा (pedha) by the joyous family, then you can safely infer that a…

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Golden Turmeric Posted by on May 23, 2018

Turmeric हल्दी (haldi) is the new natural healing rage in the West; from health food stores to cafes, you’ll find an abundance of items that  claim enhanced nutrition value or health benefits due to हल्दी as an ingredient. However, हल्दी has been a part of an Indian household’s pantry for centuries. It is not only know to promote good health आरोग्य (aarogya), it is also used…

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Shapes: Aakaar Posted by on May 10, 2018

Shapes आकार (aakaar) are all around us. We use them to describe everyday objects Children are taught to recognize shapes at a very young age. As they enter middle grades and get introduced to geometry in school, the shapes get more complicated. 2D shapes set the base for 3D shapes, however we won’t delve that deep today. Note:  कोण (koN)…

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Lagna vs Lagaana Posted by on Apr 30, 2018

A reader of a previous blog requested some clarification on lagana/lagaana. Here are some sentences that use the two words and describe different contexts/situations. लगना (lagna) बारिश के इस मौसम में बहुत ठण्ड लगती है।  Baarish ke is mausam mein bahut thand lagti hai. In this rainy weather, one feels very cold. ठण्ड लगना (inf. thand lagna) = to…

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