Many foreign students come to India to learn Hindi, with most of them choosing either Mussoorie or Varanasi. They often say that there are only three reputable Hindi schools in India, and Varanasi and Mussoorie receive the most attention. One student from the University of Washington, Lane Rasberry, stayed at my guest house for five months. He came to Varanasi to learn Hindi at a school called Bhasha Bharti. Lane was also interested in outsourcing chemistry research to India and conducting his PhD research with an Indian scientist. He attended classes two hours a day, five days a week, paying Rs. 200-250 per hour, which was significantly more than what I used to pay to learn English.

Initially, Lane planned to study Hindi at Bhasha Bharti for the entire duration of his stay but decided to leave after two months due to various reasons. He then began practicing Hindi on his own in the Hindi-speaking environment of my home, with assistance from my family, especially my father. Although he was still searching for a Hindi teacher, he struggled to find a suitable one. I also attempted to find a teacher but was never satisfied with the individuals who claimed to be good Hindi teachers for foreigners.

We tried several teachers, but none were able to meet the expectations of either Lane or me. One of the teachers, who was quite self-absorbed, spent more time talking about himself than actually teaching Lane. Lane also approached my English teacher, who, upon learning that Lane paid Rs. 200 per hour to Bhasha Bharti, became very eager to attract him as a student. However, I felt it was better for Lane to continue with Bhasha Bharti if the fees were the same. I decided to stop visiting the English teacher to avoid the pressure of convincing Lane to switch.

By the time Lane left, his Hindi was sufficiently good for him to express his feelings. He could understand better than he could speak, and while I had no trouble understanding his Hindi, he still needed considerable practice. I wasn’t sure if he would be able to practice Hindi effectively once back in the US. Lane mentioned Skype as a potential tool to help him practice his Hindi, and I thought it was a great idea. I planned to continue communicating with him in Hindi through Skype to support his practice.