1. In school, your last name was always somewhat of a mystery to pronounce because, apparently, people can’t see past three syllables.
2. You were teased about your Hindi growing up, even though your GRAMMAR WAS PERFECT AND YOUR ACCENT WAS FLAWLESS.
3. You always had a back-up language to fall back on when you didn't want strangers to know your business, a.k.a. what you and your Mom were gossiping about on Linking Road.
4. You had to be the “model minority” and somehow became a representative for all South Indians wherever you went.
5. You've been on the receiving end of "If you're South Indian, why are you bad at math?" and other stupid questions.
6. You’ve used one or all these phrases in response to the aforementioned stupid questions:
“No, we do NOT put coconut oil in our hair every morning.”
“No, we don’t have curd with every meal.”
“No, we don’t always wear a lungi when we’re at home.”
7. Not a school year went by without someone calling you "Madrasi".
8. You have, at least once, been asked to translate "Nakku Mukku".
9. Or "Apdi Pode".
10. Or "Jimikki Kammal".
11. Your friends' favourite South Indian restaurant growing up was your house.
12. But your favourite South Indian restaurant was somewhere in Matunga.
13. Speaking of good food, you always came back from your home town with a suitcase full of your friends’ and neighbours’ favourite snacks, because hey, demand has to be met with supply, and BOY was there demand!
14. You knew you had made a new best friend when you were able to teach each other insults in your respective mother tongues.
15. Because deep down you're grateful for living in the melting pot that is Bombay, having grown up with the best of both worlds.
