‘Can Bengaluru people be kind?’: Reddit post sparks a debate on language row in tech capital

Though learning the local language in Bengaluru makes life easier, new people in the city have been encountering problems because they cannot speak Kannada.

The language row in Bengaluru became a common affair as the city has been home to multi-cultural people across the globe. Though learning the local language in Bengaluru makes life easier, new people in the city have been encountering problems because they cannot speak Kannada. A Reddit user shared his moment while buying pineapples in the city.

‘Can Bengaluru people be kind?’: Reddit post sparks a debate on language row in tech capital (PTI)

In a detailed post, the user wrote, “So today as I was buying pineapple in ISRO layout, the seller was a north Indian and we conversed in Hindi by the time I was about to leave a lady started asking him for the price of pineapple and he said "40 ka ek" and "100 ka 3" she was like I cannot hear then he said it repeatedly 4-5 times with hand movements this time to which the lady responded I cannot understand this time.”

The user claimed that the woman later harshly criticised the vendor for not knowing Kannada. “I stepped in and told her in Kannada, after which she started scolding the vendor, telling him to learn Kannada. He became a little scared and responded that he was new here and it's been only a week and that he would learn it soon,” the user added.

People in the comments said that they even happened to face such situations in Bengaluru. A user said in comments, “Everyone in Bangalore is becoming insensitive nowadays. What a poor vendor will do. They don't have the means to learn a new language. At least the privileged North Indians can do. It looks like a typical high-class high-handed behavior.”