I let myself get involved in random conversations now and then with people I meet, either when I’m staying at a hostel or walking down the street of a different city. One thing I’ve started to notice is that I often get asked if I’m from Bangalore. This usually happens after I speak in a language I mostly learned by listening to rap music—yes, that’s English. I’m not sure whether to take it as a compliment or not, but honestly, it doesn’t bother me. On the brighter side, it’s a good conversation starter.

I love talking to random people; they share so many stories in a short amount of time, and you are not bound to meet them again. It’s fascinating to hear different perspectives and experiences, even if only briefly. Once you overcome your fear of missing out—in the sense of feeling the need to stay in touch and exchange contacts because you hope the spark will happen again—you can actually appreciate the value of these brief encounters. These short interactions can be surprisingly meaningful or fun, depending on who is guiding the conversation, so I take the lead because I’m fairly good at asking questions, but one thing that I mostly do, as I’ve mentioned previously, is to let go of the expectation to maintain a long-term connections, despite the quality of the conversation. I don’t refuse to connect to people, but don’t initiate either. It’s only through this, I’m able to remember them and their stories.

In 2011, I somehow managed to qualify for the entrance exam of one of the best schools in my city. I remember writing absolute gibberish in the English and Science tests because the questions were beyond my understanding. I could only write what I had memorized, and I hadn’t prepared anything for the entrance test, so things were not in my favor. At that time, I couldn’t formulate answers purely by thinking. There was a question in the science test: Why is ‘ambulance’ written inverted? Well, I had no fucking idea so I ended up writing nonsense because I didn’t understand the meaning of “inverted”. I think the math test saved me because when it came to the English test, I got all confused with grammar, and everything went over my tiny brain. I did whatever I felt like doing, relying on luck. The entrance test didn’t matter to me for some reason, and I was too young to be worried about the results, so I got selected.

Even before 2011, I never had a problem reading English, but understanding usually happened only after the teacher had explained everything clearly. I could grasp what was being taught, and to score good marks, the criteria were straightforward—write answers exactly as they were in the notebook. I was pretty good at memorizing, and I could memorize everything word for word, and this helped me score good marks. The payback happened during the entrance test when I struggled badly. It’s funny to look back and think of these things.

This “memorization” reminds me of an incident which took place in 2007, when I was in 3^rd standard, and my EVS teacher decided to give us an oral test, and I had no idea it was coming. My best friend and I, who always sat together, found out about the test during the recess. I don’t remember exactly how he did, but somehow, in just about a couple of minutes, I managed to memorize one of the answers. I left the rest untouched. That answer felt incredibly long, especially considering how small I was and how large my handwriting used to be, but she was asking the same question to every student.

To this day, I still remember that answer. I memorized it in a state of fear because it was fairly common for teachers back then to carry a wooden stick and use it regularly. The question and its answer was -

How to produce hydroelectricity?

To produce hydroelectricity, the river water is collected in a huge reservoir called dam. This water is allowed to fall from the height on the blade of turbine, and this turbine moves the generator which generates electricity.

I remember that after exams, when I used to come home, my mother would ask me the answers to the questions that appeared in the paper to see if I did well. I would wait for her to say the first word of the question, and then I’d recite the whole question and answer it. One of the interesting things about childhood is that the incidents and their respective memories stay with you for a long time, and I have a crystal-clear memory of my childhood.

Taking a huge jump forward to 2014, it was the time when I started listening exclusively to rap music. Since I was only aware of Eminem from his song ‘Smack That,’ I felt drawn to his music because of his smooth flow. His unique style stood out to me, making me want to explore more. I think I spent over two years listening to his albums, and ended up diving deep into his discographies, covering a significant portion of his work. Listening to him was an adrenaline rush. At first, it was the flow and the beat that got me hooked. His fire delivery and complex rhyme schemes used to blow my mind. Later, when I started looking up the lyrics on Genius to understand their meaning, I appreciated his storytelling and wordplay even more. His songs were not just music; they were stories, full of emotion and complexity. Over time, I became one of the many Stans.

Eminem’s The Way I Am was the first rap song that I memorized. But I didn’t just memorize the words; I copied the flow and how the words were being spoken. I absolutely loved shouting his songs out loud—it was such a great feeling to rap along with him. However, it took time to reach that point.

I remember writing down the lyrics of his songs from AZ Lyrics in my notebook, then transferring the songs from my HP All-In-One to my mother’s Nokia C2-01. I would listen to the same song over and over, reading the handwritten lyrics alongside. On my PC, I used to slow down his songs in VLC media player. By becoming familiar with the flow, I would mimic the words as they were being said. The handwritten lyrics were actually a good idea because they made me aware of what was being said in the song. Slowing down the songs helped me understand how the words were pronounced. After that, memorization became the last step. This was quite the opposite of how I used to learn when I was younger, where I relied solely on rote memorization without understanding the context or pronunciation.

I followed the same process with the rest of his songs. First, I wrote down the lyrics, then listened to the same song over and over until I got used to the flow of the rap. I would speak each word from the song slowly and in a broken manner to get a better grasp of it. Next, I slowed down the song to get familiar with the pronunciation. Finally, I would mix everything together and rap along.

If you repeat this process over and over, it not only changes the way you say things but also how you say them. For instance, I still say “It’s not big of a deal“ (which carries of and an accent as I don’t pronounce the words entirely) instead of “It’s not a big deal” because of a line from Take From Me by Bad Meets Evil. I had adapted the line in the same way it was said:

You might not think it’s that big of a deal to steal from me, But music’s all I got

The whole Speedom verse was a nightmare for me. Even though I had memorized the lyrics, I still struggled to maintain the flow. However, I found that if I rap slowly, I can get the words right.

In ‘No Love,’ I struggled to get these lines right initially, but then I mimicked the way they were being said, and I was able to deliver these lines while maintaining the flow.

‘Til I’m toppling from the top I’m not gonna stop
I’m standing on my Monopoly board

People just get sick ‘cause you spit
These fools can’t drool or dribble a drop anymore

These incidents occurred in 2014, but they didn’t stop there. Since then, I’ve consumed a lot of foreign content, picking up bits and pieces from the shows and music I’ve liked. Instead of just shaping my vocabulary, a bit of spice got added to my accent.

So, the conclusion is - no, I’m not from Bangalore or any of the big cities, but my English is pretty okay as of now. I can communicate without stuttering or using fillers like “umm” and “like.” The only difference is that my source of learning to speak English has been different, and thus, I have an accent that blends perfectly with the way I speak.