In the lane after Prithvi Theatre in Juhu, in a pristine white bungalow, with a beautiful foyer, lies my school for the day. I`m late for attending a Hindi class that has three students in it. In this school for Indian languages, where there are whiteboards, chairs, desks and a large window, it doesn`t feel like school. But, Premchand`s Eidgah and Manto`s short stories in the library in the reception area put me at ease. Our professor Ali Taqi, who is also the founder-director of the school is teaching the Hindi verb hona (to happen). The class is intense and every doubt is answered with logic. In the end, homework is given as well.

While I was there to observe the class only for a day, my classmates are serious students, who are there to learn for a reason. Caleb Wissun-Bhide is a cinematographer, who has moved from London, and needs to learn the language to interact with his peers; UK citizen Kavita Dattani is an academic, who is here to do fieldwork for her PhD in geography and will need to know Hindi to for her research; Reyes Rigo is a doctor in Chinese medicine and has lived in Mumbai for five years, often with the help of translators. "I thought it was about time I learnt the language," she smiles.