Learning Mandarin with Mr and Mrs Mehta

15 July 2014
A class in progress at Inchin Closer, which holds Mandarin classes for people who have or seek business links with China.
Courtesy Inchin Closer
A class in progress at Inchin Closer, which holds Mandarin classes for people who have or seek business links with China.
Courtesy Inchin Closer

On a Sunday afternoon in Mumbai, Shemal Gandhi sat on a bench meant for a 13-year-old with a textbook on his lap and his head in his hands. He flipped the book open to the tenth section and read silently to himself about what a fictional Rahul Mehta had got up to in China.

After an office meeting, Mr Mehta went to his hotel in Huangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang province in eastern China. He switched on the TV to watch the news but it was not working. Mrs. Mehta called the reception to get it fixed.


Next, Gandhi read snippets of conversation aloud, but not so loud as to disturb the other students in the classroom, who were all engaged in self study.

Mansi Choksi is a journalist based in Mumbai. Her Twitter handle is @mansi_choksi, and her work is up on www.mansichoksi.com.

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