Triple 8, Double Zero

In riding to the tech park where I work every day, I hear about all of the work that various people do. I have shared cars with people from so many industries so far, and can report that there is a lot of technology discovery, research and production ideas currently underway in Bangalore. I have heard from individuals about their companies that are about to introduce technologies that are simply amazing. I think specifically about one individual who shared what his company was working on, and remembered that I had seen this in a recent movie, but it is not yet available to the widespread public, in a completely integrated way, and also is just available in limited markets. People have shared so many interesting technologies on which they are developing or perfecting, and so most every day, my ride to work is pretty interesting! My main point is, that the traffic that heads into the technology parks in Bangalore is heavy, and there is a LOT of groundbreaking work going on here. In my expat “intro to life” in Bangalore so far…these are the details…that make the visitors and the people of India fascinating to me every single day...The people with whom I work are from at least 5+ states in India. There are an amazing number of highly educated “20 to 30 somethings” in Bangalore, who are eager to learn and work hard and become leaders. Many have Masters degrees +, and have travelled to other countries to study in a lab, etc. prior to coming to Bangalore to settle into these tech parks.

There is the interesting way in which Indians recite a series of numbers. In the US, for example, a number with repeating numbers, we will invariably share as “eight eight eight”. In India, it is ALWAYS “Triple 8”, NEVER “eight eight eight”. In giving phone numbers, you hear “Double 0, Triple 8, 4, Double 7”. It is something I have never heard prior to travelling to India, and now I have actually started saying this myself. I wonder if Indians wonder why we don’t rattle off numbers in this fashion? Do they get impatient when we say eight eight eight? Haha After saying “triple 8” so many times, I cannot imagine ever saying eight eight eight again! “TRIPLE 8” simply rolls off the tongue. (I have not heard a quadruple yet, but I have a feeling it is coming!) The phone numbers here are a digit or 3 longer, so more chances for repetition, which maybe led to this. If you are taking down a number, you’d better be quick, as there are 9 digits which end up being shared in, oh, about 4 syllables. Quite efficient.

Finally, the Indians I have met do not have “questions”, but rather, they have “doubts”. I was in one of the first meetings upon my arrival, and after listening to some technical procedures, someone said “I have a doubt”. I thought “Oh no!”. I was thinking, are we “doubting” the overlying procedure, the technology? A doubt sounded quite serious! A time where we may need to “go back to the drawing board” and start over. But no...a “doubt” is simply a group of Indians saying “they have a question”……Ahhh. Got it now! Hearing these differences in the way we in the US, and the Indians interpret language is always fascinating to me. Never a dull moment. No “doubt” about it!