My routine is to study alone for about three hours a day and to have lesson with M.N. Upadhyay for about two hours a day.
I have a vocabulary which seems large to me and I feel like I can make simple statements about most topic which come to conversation. I can certain tell people definite things, like what I want, where I am going, what I am doing, and ask about the same.
My spelling has advanced to the point where I can write comprehensibly without consulting a reference source.
My speech is slow and halted but improves with each day. I regularly please myself with my ability to say things which I have never said or written before, although my style of speech is still based on a few formulaic patterns.
I have very little ability to understand spoken Hindi and I read slowly as well. For me to understand a person, then that person has to allow space between every word which they say.
I have started thinking about wrapping things up here. I have two months left and four major plans to accomplish-
1. I have to renew my visa in Nepal. My visa runs out on June 7 and I must get a new one to be legal.
2. I want to go to Bodhgaya and visit the place where the Buddha gained enlightenment. Bodhgaya is in Bihar, and Nandan says it is dangerous there.
Nandan says something bad about Bihari people almost everyday. He says they are all bloodthirsty and crazy. The other day we were somewhere and it was about 110 degrees out. This man comes up to me and starts talking like I can understand him – I could not – and Nandan tells me that he is saying that in Bihar two days before it was cold and he needed a blanket during the day. This is impossible as Bihar is of the same latitude as Uttar Pradesh.
3. I want to go to the biotech park in Lucknow and hello the scientists there.
On the side, I think that bookstores in Lucknow are better stocked than any which I have found in Benares and I want books.
4. I need to finalize some long-term project with Nandan.
We went to the Taj Hotel yesterday because we both wanted to see it. Taj Hotels is a chain in India which has a reputation for being the best that India has to offer. Both of us were a bit taken back by the worn look of the hotel and rooms. Additionally, we encounted a guard, the receptionist, a bellhop, and two people who organize conferences, catering, parties, and other social events. Of those, none of them spoke fluent English and the bellhop and guard spoke none. None of them, I think, were even comfortable speaking English.
For a hotel which charges Rs 3000 per night on line, double for walk-ins, and at least triple through travel agencies, I think that they could afford to shell out at least Rs 15000 a month per worker to get employees who can speak English. This is another example of old boys controlling all sorts of things in efficient ways in India. I see this everywhere.
By the way, practically all office workers and I am sure all people in that hotel get on salary. They must work ten hours daily six days a week. I think that this is the reason why service is universally terrible at all places of business.
The point that I am getting to is that Nandan could be a relief from a lot of baloney which travelers have to face. He used to envision Westerners as being something otherworldly but the more I talk to him the more he understands who he is. His English is perfect and he is smarter than the people around him. He can anticipate Western taste and would make an awesome tour guide with no further training.
He is looking at jobs for Rs 10,000 a month, like I said, but I want to see him working for himself, having more fun, and making a lot more money. With his language skills and personality alone I see no reason why he could not escort any English-speaking tourist about and save them money and time. With any tour group, I am quite should that he would save them so much money that he would earn his contract’s pay daily.
I want Nandan to be successful because I think that if I wanted something done in India he could figure out how to do it. I have some small projects with him and will watch to see how he works with me on them.