--- title: I help a guy in Texas propose to his love in Hindi date: "2001-06-10T12:00:00Z" categories: - chat-transcripts wp_id: 1797 description: I helped an 18-year-old from Texas navigate his crush on an Indian girl named Geeta. Through our chat, I translated Hindi phrases, explained Gujarati surnames, and discussed the concepts of Karma and the Bhagavad Gita to help him connect with her culture. keywords: [hindi translation, chat transcript, indian culture, gujarat, karma, bhagavad gita, patel, cross-cultural dating] --- I help a guy in Texas propose to his love in Hindi. (I'm root\_node) **cody\_bam\_bam**: Any Patels here?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Any Patels here...from Texas?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Anyone know what the name Geeta, comes from?\ **root\_node**: Geeta comes from the Sanskrit word for song (gaay), I think.\ **root\_node**: Doesn't 'Geeta' mean song, in the firat place, cody?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: I dont know...\ mahindersingh\_mayank: hi any good &truthly friend\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: i tohguht it was a name of soome teachings?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Well i live in Texas\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: And im in lov with this girl her shes Indian\ **root\_node**: "Bhagavad Geeta" is what you're probably referring to. That literally translates to "God's Song".\ crush0508: hello cute\ **root\_node**: That's interesting! Where's your girlfriend from in India?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: her last name is Patel, she says its a pretty popoular name in India\ **root\_node**: Oh yes, fairly popular (At this point, we shift to personal messages) **cody\_bam\_bam**: a/s/l\ **root\_node**: M 26 Mumbai\ **root\_node**: And yours?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: She says its by the ocean...eastern part of India, what ocean is that?\ **root\_node**: Must be the Arabian sea.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: yea thast it\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man this girl is great\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: her name is Geeta\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Geeta Ramanbaja\ **root\_node**: Where did you meet her? Online?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Noo!!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: she lives here\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: in Texas\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: her family ons some hotels here\ **root\_node**: Oh good. Does she know? (that you're in love with her)\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: what means respect in India...??..\ **root\_node**: You want to translate 'respect'? Well... 'maryaada' would probably be close.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: No she dosnt know, i dont think?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: What bout, Baha..Baja?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: soemtihng like that?\ **root\_node**: I have no idea what Baja means, actually.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: ok, thanks man\ **root\_node**: Welcome. And best of luck!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: So what could i say to her to steal her heart man?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Sometihn from yalls cultur, u know?\ **root\_node**: Dunno, cody... it takes much more time in India than at Texas, I guess... how long have you known her?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: 2 years\ **root\_node**: Hey, that's pretty good! And you STILL haven't told her?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: i just need some help , i eman i want to sy soemtihng to her that would steal her heart man, sometihng that would surprize her.\ **root\_node**: I could tell you a few phrases, but I suggest you go a little slow, and start giving her hints. OK, first thing you need to do is figure out her mother tongue. It may not be Hindi. If she's a Patel, she might speak Gujrati. If so, it's best to say it in Gujrati.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Well shes Hindu\ **root\_node**: I'm sure she is. But the language she speaks at home may not be Hindi (as opposed to Hindu -- which is a religion)\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: she prays to Shieva..i belive?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: yea i undersatand\ **root\_node**: OK, if you want to say, "You look pretty", try "aap sundhar ho". (The 'sun' in "sundhar" is a short version of "soon", and not to be pronounced 'sun')\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: thats geart man\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: what bout...Im deeply in love with you\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: cause man\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: i fall and fall for her the more i talk to her\ **root\_node**: It's going to be awfully tough for you to pronounce just by reading what I say. You really should meet with an Indian or a Pakistani and ask them to teach you Hindi phrases. But for what its worth, here's how I'd transliterate it: "Mei(n) thumse pyaar karthaa hoo(n)"\ **root\_node**: The (n) means you don't say 'n', but end it nasally.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man , thats geart\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: so whats the offical lang in India\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Its not English , is it?\ **root\_node**: No, but its fairly commonly used. Hindi is the official language.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: So u now many Patels?\ **root\_node**: A few, here and there. It's an extremely common surname.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: 18 m txas\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: sorry wrong person\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man this girl is beautiful man\ **root\_node**: I imagine so. Does she study with you?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Yea\ **root\_node**: And where's that? What do you study, that is?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: She graduated this year\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: just school man\ **root\_node**: And where are you two planning to go for college?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Shes gongi to UT, Unversty of Texas\ **root\_node**: The one at Austin?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: I plan to go next year after i graduate\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: YES!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Shes very smart\ **root\_node**: Quite a few of my friends study there. Heard its a nice place. IBM has a huge plant there, too. (I used to work at IBM)\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Very Nice\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man i wish i knew where she was from in India\ **root\_node**: Very smart AND very beautiful. Hmm.. that's always a good combination\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: I agree\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Well i know some of her family was injured when the tornado came through...\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: was that by the Arabian Sea?\ **root\_node**: OK, they're from Gujarat, then. There was an earthquake in the cities of Bhuj and Ahmedabad. The latter is a pretty big city, and she's likely to be from there.\ **root\_node**: Which means, she speaks Gujrati.\ **root\_node**: Pity, I don't know any Gujrati, but it should be easy enough -- just ask around among the Indians you know if there's any. Or, of course, go to the Gujarat chat room.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Alright\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man thanks a milliom\ **root\_node**: Anyway, if I can be of any help, let me know (**root\_node**@yahoo.com). Bye, then!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: May i ask ...u may have answered alrady but Geeta\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Whats Geeta?\ **root\_node**: Geeta means song.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Song\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Alright\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Her farthers name is Raman\ **root\_node**: Yeah. There's a famous religious script by that name, too -- called the "Bhagavadh Geeta". It means "God's Song". Quite often, the name Geeta means "Bhagavadh Geeta"\ **root\_node**: Or at least, that's the connotation.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: i know this is stupid but...ive been intersted in the Hindu culture for, well as long as i can remeber, how hard is it to be accepted there?...to transfer to Hindu?\ **root\_node**: Not as hard as I'd think, but probably tougher than you would. Don't worry about it -- as everywhere else, it's her decision that finally counts. Just get her to like you, and everything'll be fine! **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man im trying..\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: shes a vegetarion also!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: no meats!!\ **root\_node**: Oh, yes. Me, too, incidentally. You'll find plenty of them.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: For real..\ **root\_node**: It's interesting, actually. I was in Japan (which is a country in which the concept of vegetarianism is almost alien), and...\ **root\_node**: when I explained I was vegeratian, don't eat fish/meat/poultry, the guy thought for a while, and asked, "Please, you eat only plants!?"\ **root\_node**: Which is true, come to think of it...\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: hahaha how common are christians there\ **root\_node**: Not very. About 5-10% I'd say. It's like 75-80% Hindus.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Whats Karma?..\ **root\_node**: That's like "What's the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything!" Anyway, let me explain what little I know. The theory goes like this: there's a soul, and there's a body. The soul is immortal, and the body is mortal. So when we die, the soul is reborn in as a new body. Fine so far?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: I see.. . ........\ **root\_node**: Now, as long as the soul exists, we feel happiness and sadness, because we're reborn. The soul is reborn (the theory goes) because of 'vaasanas' or residual tendencies.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Understand.....\ **root\_node**: If we do good, we accumulate the benefits of being good. If we do bad, then we accumulate the benefits of being bad. And as long as these 'benefits' or 'residual tendencies' (or vaasanas, as we call them) exist, the soul will keep getting reborn.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Sorry for being blunt but...Cow...reborn as a cow?\ **root\_node**: What happens to us in each life, is a result of these vaasanas. That is, if we did good in some life, some good will accrue to us in this or future lives. Likewise for bad.\ **root\_node**: A soul can get reborn in any body. If cows do good (though I have the least idea what's good in the cow sense), they can become, perhaps, deer, which might be higher up the scale.\ **root\_node**: Humans are supposed to be at the apex. This whole concept of rebirth, vaasanaas, etc. is the concept of Karma.\ **root\_node**: The short version is, what happens to you is a result of what you did in your past births -- and that's the result of your 'karma'\ **root\_node**: Literally translated, 'karma' means action\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man ua re great,\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: thanks lot\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: How old are you again?\ **root\_node**: 26. Ancient, by your standards, I guess?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Nah not at all.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Shes great at soccer too man.\ **root\_node**: Well, I sure felt being 26 would be terrible when I was 18.\ **root\_node**: Sheesh, you've struck gold, man! Go for her!!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man im trying.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: If you only knew\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: So did the tornados occur near the Arabian Sea?\ **root\_node**: Wasn't tornadoes. It was an earthquake.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Thast right\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man i feel dumb now!!!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Sorry\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: well was those enar tha sae?\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: near\ **root\_node**: Relax, no problem. Yeah, that was near the sea.\ **root\_node**: Not at the sea coast, though.\ **root\_node**: The place that was hit worst was Bhuj -- the epicentre of the earthquake.\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Man that was bad\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Yus houlda seen her at our Prom Dance\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: She had her grandmothe send her an Indian dress from India\ **root\_node**: Hey Cody, I've got to talk to someone else now. See you later, then!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: She looked great man!!\ **cody\_bam\_bam**: Aight!, Thanks for everytihng man.\ **root\_node**: Quite welcome. Bye! --- ## Comments - **Sai Suren Reddy** _12 Apr 2013 10:05 am_: Anand sir your chat transcripts are awesome. I had few similar experiences. I always had a picture of you who will always be busy with your stuff. But when did you find time for this kind of stuff? Seriously wanted to know.....will be waiting for your reply.