English makes it simple to describe western life-style

Once my friend Karan said, "Ganesh, what's special about relationships in Mumbai that If you like some girl and she is engaged, don't worry. Wait till she breaks up with the guy, which is bound to happen. Till then, have patience and be just friends." I asked, "How are you so sure that a break-up is the destiny of every relationship?" "Hmmm.. I know my statement is not 100% correct, but yes, in 90% cases I am right, my friend", said Karan while keeping his right hand on my left shoulder with full confidence. I didn't understand the actual meaning of a break-up, so I enquired. He said, "That is what happened with my relationship yesterday. Jagan is the witness.", he said and went to the bathroom. I asked Jagan, "What happened?" He said, "Leave it, man. Let's eat something. I am hungry." After some time, all three of us left for dinner. My doubt remained a doubt.

Break-up seemed to be a very popular word in Mumbai. So I hesitated to ask the meaning to anyone. After some months, two of my friends were talking about someone's break-up. I asked, "What happened?" They said, "Some couple have parted their ways." I gathered some courage to ask, "Ok, is this what they say 'break-up'?" One of the friends said, "Yes, break-up is a mutual decision of parting ways." "Is it necessary to fight during a break-up?", was my next question. "Depends upon the couple", was the answer.

Now, I also understood the meaning of the term “break-up”. However, it didn’t take me as much time as it took me to understand the meaning of “Dating”. When girls were followed, teased, passed cheap comments in my hometown, I used to feel very bad. One of my old friends used to tell me that he was falling for a girl. But, what I observed was that he passed nasty comments whenever he saw the girl. I asked, “What kind of love was it?” He said, “This is the way the communication will start. First, I will pass comments, then I will follow her, and then she will notice me. Gradually, we will talk to each other.” I said, “What the fuck?!” That day I thought there should be some norms for starting communication where a relationship is considered. “Dating” was the word I got as an answer in Mumbai after two years of being hit with the question.

These are just two of the numerous English words which I learnt in last four years. And I am sure that communication became smoother after learning the words. Truly, western culture can be described the best only in a western language.