CC 1.1 Situation

This lesson features a woman and her children going shopping for vegetables and fruits. It contains vocabulary for simple greetings, asking simple questions, names of vegetables and fruits, and asking prices and bargaining.

CC 1.2 Greetings

A common greeting among Hindus is نمستے. This is usually accompanied by the following gesture: place your palms together in a “praying position” in front of your chest; you may also make a slight bow.
In India you may occasionally hear the “courtly” Urdu greeting آداب or آداب عرض

CC 1.3 Showing Respect

The particle جی can be added after someone’s name, or at the beginning of a sentence to show respect for the person you are talking to. The shopkeeper in this lesson uses جی a lot.
It is always a good idea to use جی with “yes” ( جی ہاں) and “no” (جی نہیں ).

Microwaves have only just recently become available in South Asia. Refrigerators even now are used mostly for storing cold drinks and perishable goods, milk, butter, etc. and freezers are not frequently used. Traditionally food is cooked fresh every day and people go out to the markets every day to buy fresh vegetables and fruits. Prices are not posted and it is expected that the shopper should bargain with the seller (see CC 1.5 below). American-style grocery stores exist in some of the bigger cities, but most people prefer the roadside stalls where things are fresher

CC 1.5 Bargaining

When shopping for anything (including vegetables) you are expected to haggle over the price (like people do for cars and houses in America). You ask the seller his price, and then you respond with a counter-offer, usually much lower. You can go through as many iterations as you like until a mutually agreeable price is reached – or not.

CC 1.6 Fruits and Vegetables

Many South Asian fruits and vegetables are not available in the United States or Europe, although Asian specialty shops may carry some of them. For example, “karela” (bitter gourd) is popular in South Asia and East Asia. Try it some time! Many people believe that South Asian vegetables, grown without artificial stimulants or greenhouses, are more flavorful than the ones we get in America. Unlike America, each fruit or vegetable is only available during its particular harvest season: oranges in winter, mangoes in summer, etc. Lesson 4 (Review) contains more vocabulary for South Asian vegetables.

CC 1.7 Animals

In most cities and towns in India it is not uncommon
to see unattended cows and other animals on the streets. Many cows
do not belong to anybody; they forage for a living. Cows are considered
sacred by Hindus. In addition to domesticated horses, goats, buffaloes,
pigs and donkeys, you will see stray dogs, monkeys and other animals
roaming the streets. Some monkeys (بندر) and silver-haired apes
(لنگور) belong to people and are kept on leashes as shown in this lesson. Most monkeys and langoors are wild, however, and may be dangerous if provoked. The parrot and
kitten (watch closely) in this lesson are common pet animals.