In a time where online forums overflow with severe stereotypes about various groups and urban centers, a Reddit user is presenting a touching alternative perspective—gaining widespread admiration. This North Indian woman relocated to Bengaluru, developed feelings for a person from Karnataka, and ultimately got married. She aims to challenge the negative narratives by sharing her genuine experiences. According to her, instead of feeling isolated, she has found warmth; her landlord welcomed her as his own child, an auto-rickshaw driver affectionately addressed her as "Thangi" (meaning sister), and the whole neighborhood went out of their way to switch languages during conversations simply so she would feel at home.
Her journey started quite differently from a satirical Reddit post that poked fun at Kannadigas. However, her experiences in the city painted a different picture for her. She remembered how her former landlord and his spouse would provide her with dinners three times each week and treat her akin to their kin. When she finally departed following her marriage, heartfelt sobs filled the air, as though she was bidding farewell to her birth parents.
Next came Auto Anna – Dhananjay, who gradually grew fond of her and even extended an invitation to his wife’s baby shower. In spite of their linguistic differences, they forged a connection anchored in shared admiration and hard work. "He communicated using fragmented English and Hindi, while I responded with imperfect English mixed with basic Kannada," she recalled.
Her romantic journey with her Kannada-speaking supervisor—who was also one of her classmates during their time at an American university—was not devoid of challenges. Even though they belonged to the same community, their distinct cultural backgrounds led to opposition from both families initially. However, akin to a cinematic plot twist, he arranged for his family members to make a long trip from Bangalore to her hometown in Haryana just to persuade her parents—and thankfully, they managed to convince them successfully.
Currently, she resides in Padmanabhanagar, a place where people call her "the sole resident from North India," but she has always felt at home here. Despite finding it challenging to speak fluent Kannada, her husband’s relatives and neighbors make extra efforts to involve her, frequently shifting to English whenever she participates in discussions.
She has interacted extensively with everyday life in Bangalore—riding BMC buses, shopping from local vendors, and asking strangers for directions—and maintains that she has consistently encountered kindness. "Perhaps because I am kind to others, or perhaps not," she noted, "no one has ever treated me rudely." In her concluding message, she advises readers against judging an entire group based on a few negative experiences. She emphasized, "It would be unfair to generalize about everyone; rotten apples can be found anywhere."
Netizens react
Multiple Redditors stepped up to challenge the notion that people from Karnataka are unfriendly, recounting touching stories that paint an entirely different picture. A user mentioned they’re currently studying Kannada but has quickly formed deep friendships within the community; in fact, one friend learned the language from their taxi driver at work. Another individual recounted moving around various regions of the country before settling down in Bangalore for more than ten years, where they discovered that Karnaataka natives were some of the most warm-hearted and easy-going people to connect with.Many shared comparable views, stating that their fondest recollections of Bengaluru revolved around the city’s residents rather than its clichés. Someone noted experiencing greater hostility from other North Indians because they didn’t respond in Hindi, whereas others recounted being taunted for inadequate Hindi skills in Northern towns, an experience they did not encounter in Bengaluru. Yet another person who has called the city home since 2015 admitted they converse in Kannada as poorly as a child does, yet have always encountered nothing but tolerance and kindness here.