The American Accent.

I thought the only use I had of it was to make the lives of fellow Americans easier because they choose not to understand other accents. Just realized at Mumbai airport today that having an American accent makes your life a lot simpler in other countries too. I would have not known this till one of my American cousins travelled in India and saw how people responded to her accent so thought why not give it a shot today and lo behold, it created miracles and saved me a lot of time at the airport.

To check in I first addressed a lady in Hindi and then regular English and received no response. The instant I addressed another lady in my wonderful Americanized accent, I had about three people scampering around me. Not really sure what brought the change because there was no way they were expecting a shower of dollars from me.

I think there is a remnant of the British era that makes most Indians a slave to a foreign accent. The person with the accent even if they look no different or worse off are treated with utmost respect in comparison to a fellow Indian who might be more worthy of the respect.