You don’t really understand how vast and varied India is until you step out of your own state. That’s exactly what a Bengali Reddit user realised after moving from Kolkata to Chennai for a central government job. What followed was a mix of culture shock, all thanks to their mostly North Indian colleagues.
In a now-deleted Reddit post, the user shared how everyday conversations at the office revealed just how differently people across India think and speak. From casual caste jokes to misogyny and sexism, it was like living in a social experiment. But one incident, as they wrote, was “the pinnacle of this whole experience.”
“I was talking to two of my Bengali colleagues in Bengali when a coworker from Ghaziabad asked, ‘Tumlog ghar pe bhi Bengali hi bolte ho kya? (Do you guys speak Bengali at home),” The user wrote.
‘How Clueless Can You Be’
That’s not all, the colleagues even said that they thought everyone in India speaks Hindi and regional languages are just optional. “She’s 24! Like how clueless can you be?” added the user. Further, they added that their colleagues were equally stunned to learn they didn’t celebrate Diwali. “I told them I went home for Durga Pujo, and they said, ‘Maine kabhi nahi suna ki koi Diwali nahi manata hai (I never heard that someone doesn’t celebrate Diwali).'”
And then came the never-ending fish jokes. “They ask me every single day how I can eat something as stinky as fish,” the Redditor wrote.
Social Media Users Share Experience
The post quickly blew up online, with thousands of users chiming in with similar experiences. One of the reactions wrote, “I was once asked by a Haryanvi girl why South Indians are weak in Hindi.” Someone had a perfect reaction as they replied, “Why are Haryanvis weak in Tamil when it was their state’s official language for years. No accountability themselves?”
Another user even highlighted, “Casteism isn’t really exclusive to the Hindi belt. In fact, the only time I’ve experienced explicit casteism was with a Telugu ex-friend. He was a Reddy and brought up several times that someone like me wouldn’t be allowed to even enter his house.”
Taking things a notch higher, a Reddit user commented, “I once met someone who couldn’t point to Maharashtra on the map, and he was from Madhya Pradesh. He didn’t know there is a state called Odisha.”
The post is proof that even in a country as diverse as India, cultural awareness doesn’t come automatically.
