First Language - English, Second Language - Hindi, Third Language - Telugu

Before I start, since this is the first post, I'll add a word on the title: Sugar Coated Nothings. It's supposed to indicate that most of this is junk (like empty calories), but sometimes you might come across something more! If you like reading my junk, well, yay :P

First Language – English, Second Language – Hindi, Third Language – Telugu.

Well, the second and third - not necessarily in that order. They're pretty much interchangeable.

Being brought up in an English medium school definitely has its perks. Only when you reach college, do you begin to wish you paid more attention in "H/T" (Hindi/Telugu) !

For me, atleast, it was a huge shock.

I, for all purposes, LIVE in English. My favourite authors? J. K. Rowling, Jonathan Stroud, Rick Riordan, Philip Pullman, Gerald Durrell, Eva Ibbotson, Jeffrey Archer, James Herriot, Michael Crichton, C. S. Lewis, Jim Corbett, Walter Farley, etc.

Music? Mainly English (well, it's not like I understand the lyrics when I listen to Hindi

music).

Poetry? Tennyson (the Master :) !!! ), Yeats, Frost, Lawrence, Browning, Eliot, Coleridge (Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of my All-time Favourites!), Keats.. You'd never catch me reading a Hindi book!

But before you get prejudiced, it's lack of knowledge, rather than dislike, which stops me from reading Hindi literature. Brought up in an environment where English is the primary (and at most times, Only) mode of communication, I never actually paid attention in "Second Lang" or "Third Lang".
Besides, I Loved English (with a capital L). I loved Enid Blyton and Lucy Daniels and A. A. Milne and Dr. Seuss..... who needed anything else when there were always the wrapped-candy universes of The Famous Five, Secret Seven, Animal Ark, and the eternal Winnie-The-Pooh, to go back to? And we had the best of the best English teachers to guide us through, introducing us to new, delightful worlds! I lived English. I breathed it, I talked it, I lived it. And never, ever did I think it would get me in trouble!
Rishi Valley, despite being situated in the heart of South India, communicates, for almost all purposes, in English. The most Telugu you pick up is from the akkas, “kunchum” and “inka” (for the yummy stuff in the D.H !!) and “oddhu” (for the infamous "green veg" of Junior School). And besides, they've learnt enough English for a half-gesturing, half-linguistic way for most things to be put across! Third Language was hardly paid any attention. They were "fun-classes" for most people, “No sweat, it's only Third Lang”. Then came the final test - the dreaded Eighth Std Third Language “Exam”. And then? 'No more Third Lang, yippee!'
Second Lang (Hindi, for me) of course, didn't stop there. We had it all the way till our ICSE. I painfully made my way through Ekanki Suman and Gadhya Sankalan and god knows how many other books, and managed 78 in my boards. And that was the end of it! I thought I would finally be free of my struggles with languages!
Of course, as I realise now, I was horribly wrong. And I can't even begin to say how much I wish I had paid attention in those classes! My Telugu was branded “Hybrid Telugu” (truly mortifying, trust me!); as a result, my Hindi will not see the light of the day. English is my one and only means of communication. It is a Big disadvantage, especially when you're studying in a place where most people speak (insert one: Malayalam/ Telugu/ Hindi). As if that wasn't enough, I also get made fun of, for speaking English at home! Hey, that's just not fair!
Maybe its just me, and my language skills aren't up to the notch! Maybe the area of my brain which is supposed to be involved in communication got damaged when I fell as a child or something! But all I can say is, I sincerely wish I could turn the clock back, and get a little better at the languages I'm supposed to know!