Hindi

Noah lands in Delhi and his friend Rohan is waiting with his sister Priya: hello, how are you to a man and to a woman, I'm fine, and you, thank you, this is my sister, nice to meet you, me too, let's go.

Rohan drives Noah in from the airport, Priya beside him: this is Delhi, so much traffic, what's that, that's the metro, is this Lajpat Nagar, no it isn't, slowly, again, and now.

Mummy ji opens the door of the house in Lajpat Nagar: hello with the respectful little word, come in, how are you with the familiar and the polite you, sit, thank you, a little Hindi, very good.

Rohan shows Noah the house: this is the kitchen, where's the bathroom, there, my room, your room is up on the roof, this is your room, wow, very good, see you tomorrow.

Noah's first dinner at the Sharmas' table, with Papa ji and Dadi ji: come, sit, eat, this is dal, this is roti, do you like dal, I like it a lot, very tasty, more, a little more, enough.

Morning chai with Mummy ji: chai, yes of course, where are you from, I'm from America, from Portland, is it far, very far, you're a cook, I'm a cook, Rohan's a cook too, I'm a teacher.

Mummy ji's list at Gupta ji's corner store: hello, tell me, milk please, how many packets, the numbers one to ten, eggs, six eggs, anything else, no that's all, come again.

Priya looks at the photographs on Noah's phone: who's this, this is my mother, this is my father, your sister, she's in Portland, do you have a brother, one sister that's all, one brother, one is plenty.

Papa ji shows Noah the family's sweet shop in Chandni Chowk: this is the shop, very big, a laddoo, take, eat, very sweet, a hot jalebi, the little ones in syrup, small but very good, a good shop.

Raju bhaiya's auto from the lane to the metro station: where to, sit, your name, my name is Noah, say Raju bhaiya, how much, the tens to a hundred, forty rupees, fine, here you are, thank you.

Noah and Rohan take the metro from Lajpat Nagar to Chandni Chowk: one token please, where to, sixty rupees, which line, the violet line then the yellow, which station, and the announcement everyone knows.

At the chai stall beside the shop in Chandni Chowk, Noah orders for Rohan and himself: two chai, less sugar, more milk, a samosa, is it hot, how much does it come to, thirty rupees, here, thank you, come again.

A customer at the counter of the shop in Chandni Chowk wants twelve round sweets and fifteen syrup spirals, and Papa ji makes Noah count: the numbers from eleven to twenty, anything else, that's all, come again.

Dadi ji takes Noah to the vegetable market in Lajpat Nagar: how much are the tomatoes, eighty rupees a kilo, too dear, sixty, seventy, two kilos, the onions, one kilo please, how much in all, one hundred and eighty rupees.

Priya takes Noah to a cafe in Khan Market: for you, a coffee for me, hot or cold, cold, masala chai for her, anything else, no that's all, the bill please, certainly.

The circles of Connaught Place all look alike, so Noah stops a passer-by: excuse me, where's the metro station, go straight then left, is it far, it's near, five minutes, not right, no left, thank you very much, don't mention it.

A morning in Lajpat Nagar: what time is it, it's eight o'clock, I'm late, the shop opens at nine today, at what time, at nine, it's eight now, quick let's go, nine o'clock, fine.

In the kitchen behind the shop in Chandni Chowk, Noah asks what everyone does: Rohan makes the syrup spirals, Papa ji sits at the counter, Dadi ji makes the round sweets, the best; Noah watches and learns, and in Portland he makes food too.

Too much street chaat, and Priya the doctor at the kitchen table: what's wrong, my stomach hurts, does your head hurt, fever, I don't know, no fever, take this medicine, twice a day, drink water, no chaat today, thank you doctor.

Mummy ji at the breakfast table: what day is it today, Thursday, the days from Monday to Sunday, on Sunday the shop is shut, everyone at home, Dadi ji's food, Priya works on Saturday, and on Sunday at home.

Lajpat Nagar market with Priya, a kurta for Diwali: which colour, blue, red and white, this one, a little big, the small one, please, here you are, how much is it, eight hundred rupees, very good.

Diwali week at the shop's counter in Chandni Chowk: two kilos of the cashew sweets, boxes, four boxes of half a kilo each, anything else, twenty round sweets, the spirals too, ten spirals as a gift, happy Diwali, to you too.

Diwali evening on the roof in Lajpat Nagar: come up, put the lamps here, bring those, how many, all of them, look how beautiful, eat a sweet, and happy Diwali.

The paratha lane of Chandni Chowk with Rohan: what would you like, two potato parathas for me, one paneer paratha, curd or lassi, a sweet lassi, me too, anything else, no that's all, how much does it come to, two hundred and forty rupees.

Saturday in Dadi ji's kitchen, the rice pudding: first the milk, then the rice, then the sugar, no not yet, now stir, slowly, like this, now the sugar, taste, very good.

Sunday lunch at Dadi ji's table with the whole family: everyone come and eat, is this rice pudding yours, yes mine, very tasty, how do you find Delhi, I like Delhi a lot, and the food, I like the food a lot, take more, enough.

An auto from Lajpat Nagar market to India Gate with Priya: brother, India Gate, a hundred rupees, too much, seventy, eighty, fine, sit, we have to go to India Gate then back, back too, one and a half hundred, let's go, here you are.

The recipe notebook is missing: where's my notebook, which notebook, the recipe one, on the table, not on the table, in your room, not in the room either, near the door, look in the bag, here it is.

Raju bhaiya's auto to the metro, a month on: hello, the metro, you speak Hindi now, a little, I can speak a little Hindi, can you understand, yes I can understand slowly, very good, forty rupees, thank you.

The last week of the month, chai with the whole family: when is the flight, next Sunday, so soon, stay through the winter, I want to stay but Portland, Portland later, what do you want, I want to stay in Delhi, chai for everyone.