Living in South Korea as an English teacher for 18 months, I became well aware of the strict etiquette in existence in South Korean society since the days of Confucianism.

One of the first questions I would receive, no matter where I was in Tamilnadu, was if I could speak any Tamil. My reply was always good for a laugh. I’d start with the three words I knew well – vannakkam (hello), nandri (thank you), aamaa (yes) – and whomever I was talking to would let out a chuckle. These were the words any tourist knew, and even though I’d been in the southern Indian state for a nearly month, I hadn’t managed to pick up much more.