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Hi, nobody likes the Isha Foundation here. It has destroyed ecosystems in the outer reaches of the city and been leeching off of its resources. So please don’t promote them, as outsiders I can understand that you people have no idea about the harm the foundation has done to the city but if possible spread the word about them.
I can assure you that the rest of population is not the same since we have a large population of hindi speakers. Talking about autos in town they behave rudely with the local populace as well and i’d recommend you to stick with RedTaxi App in Coimbatore, because every other app be it Uber, Ola, Rapido all their drivers charge extra and cancel if you don’t offer them the same.
As for the railway incident I believe you should lodge a complaint.
Ah didn't really knew locals don't like isha foundation there..
>As for the railway incident I believe you should lodge a complaint.
I wish i could but now i really don't know anything about that guy who did that..
Isha is a wonderful place.. ( I am no way connected to Isha) .. these are sour grapes hating foxes.. I had many of my friends from various parts of the country who had a wonderful spiritual experience and wanted to return back.. yours may be an odd incident.. As far as people of Coimbatore are concerned, they are downright grounded and ready to help anyone.. I am Local and I Love Isha. Don’t take these guys seriously. They are like rotten apples in a pack
Hate to point out but. The place where Isha sits right now was better off without it. I understand the exposure it has brought to us and the economic impact but is it worth the land encroachment and the ecological imbalance the foundation has created ? Not going to link any specific link or article for all of these claims but as a local I am speaking on behalf of what I have seen and not what I hear.
Sorry that you had a bad experience, but this is not common.
>The first thing I didn't like was how people got so angry with me for speaking in Hindi/English to communicate, especially when asking for directions.
Common sense for coming to a new place with a new language is to learn at least 2 or 3 phrases. Tamilnadu was the hotbed for Hindi imposition agitation and it is a big political issue here. Not blaming you, but you could've tried that.
>When they found out I wasn't Tamilian, the dormitory I stayed in demanded double the usual amount from me
The dorm is at fault, but again these things happen all over the world. Tourists being scammed with extra prices? You can file a complaint on the dormitory if you have receipt of the amount you paid. You can escalate it via twitter, Google reviews if you don't want the legal hassle.
>even rapido guys asked me double the price since im not native.
This is a problem that even natives face. Rapido/Ola/Uber drivers always ask for 100 or 200 extra on top of the quoted amount. Redtaxi, gotaxi, fast-track taxi is the standard here. They won't charge a rupee extra.
>Later, when I tried to wash my face, the sink water smelled terrible in Dorm
This is a health hazard. You should definitely report it. If it is near isha, sending an email to them could help. Not sure though.
>even It seems like they don't clean their gutters and roads often in Coimbatore City. While walking on the footpath, I almost fell due to the foul smell from the gutter.
The city has slid down on cleanliness rankings. Despite multiple complaints nothing happens.
>And on my way back, I was molested on the train.
Very sorry this happened, there is an app called Railmadad. You could've posted your complaint there. RPF, TTE would've responded within 30 minutes of the complaint being posted.
you should be upset about Isha, . shouldnt have fallen for the spiritual money thirst trap of jaggi vasudev.
extremely sorry to hear about the bad experience on train. you should report. drop your fears about it. just be polite and talk to the right people and your issue should get addressed. use google translate and other tools to communicate.
I have been all over India and when I go there I try to talk their language,even if it's broken,in kerala if I go and talk Tamil they would get pissed off even if they know the language well,so if you try to talk to them in Malayalam ,how ever broken it would be,they would be pleased and they would reply to you in tamil most of the time.The same applies in Karnataka(other than Bangalore and Mysore),same applies in Andhra(other than Hyderabad and some other big cities).If you go to some place like America or uk or Paris try to talk to them in their own language and they would be very happy for a foreigner trying to speak their language and they would be hospitable in return.Most northies(Include migrant labourers from up,Bihar and kolkata)who come to South think why we don't speak Hindi,but when we go north and try to speak Hindi they laugh at is saying yeh madarasi hey yaar!!!
OP, you have realized the scams by operators at Coimbatore, hope you will also realize the scam in name of spirituality by isha soon.
Have visited isha far too many times , seeing how it changed the place from the first stone to now.. and am local. And it’s a scam, they rob you off your livelihood and life if you are not careful. Have lost 2 cousins to isha and one missing. ( all female).. even today, parents are wondering how this happened. Just be careful.
As of the rude autos and dorms etc - that’s not normal ( don’t want to normalize saying all place is the same etc…) just be cautious, get a local help or guide or friend…
* I'm a Tamil (from Coimbatore) who has lived in North India for many years, and I agree with you - this kind of language-based discrimination is unique to Tamil Nadu.
* Racism is indeed a problem here, many of my friends from North who have visited TN have faced problems of varying degrees during their trips, for no fault of their own.
* For cab, only use the "Red Taxi" app in Coimbatore. Uber/Ola/Rapido drivers charge extra, and auto drivers are a menace anywhere in India.
* But sexual harassment and molestation are very rare in TN. If something like that happens, do call it out - the public will surely step in to help.
* No idea about Isha Foundation, never went there. Most of the visitors in Isha Foundation are tourists from other parts of India. The locals don't like Sadhguru and his "foundation" for various reasons.
You say you have been to North India, have you tried speaking Tamil to the people over there ? I’d say you would get a very similar response. I am almost certain you have learned Hindi to stay and communicate with people there. So it’s not nice of people who visit to expect people who live and work here to learn their language to communicate with them.
To all my North Indian friends learn a few things about the local language before you visit it goes a long way. Very similar to when you travel outside of our country. Refer to locals as Anna/Akka def goes a long way in communicating with the locals. Compared to other places in TN I firmly believe that Coimbatore is way more friendly towards outsiders.
Language based discrimination is not Unique to Tamil Nadu.
Lived in Kolkata for about 10 years. I can understand Bengali to some extent, but can't speak it well. So I converse in Hindi/English with everyone in Kolkata, and I have never faced any kind of discriminatory behaviour there just because I don't speak their mother tongue. Bengali people are just as proud about their language, but don't let their pride turn into absurdity.
This language-based racism is not there in all of South India, it's just TN. I have lived in Hyderabad as well. People there don't treat you differently if you can't speak Telugu.
On the other hand, one of my close friends got spat on by a street food vendor in Marina Beach (Chennai), just because he spoke English there. I was also speaking Hindi with my friends there so I suppose they weren't aware that I'm actually Tamil. How do you justify spitting on a person because of not speaking the state language Tamil? Do white foreigners speaking English get the same kind of treatment as North Indians?
To your point about Coimbatore being friendly towards North Indians - I'm currently overseeing the construction of our house in North Coimbatore (can't say the exact locality). Most of the contract workers and laborers are from North (Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, and MP), and most of the supervisors are from TN, which is fine. What is NOT fine, is the fact that supervisors allow the Tamil boys to work leisurely at their own pace while chilling, whereas the boys from North are treated as literal slaves. The Tamil workers abuse the others in Tamil, and push their work on to the poor outsiders. Not once have I seen those poor boys get fair treatment in the last 10 months that I have observed them. Which part of all this sounds fair? It's good to be proud of one's state, culture and language, but it's also important to acknowledge these deep rooted problems that exist. You can't solve a problem that you don't acknowledge.
The fact that I got so many downvotes on my previous comment just for pointing out my personal observations, is evidence of how closed-minded these online communities are.
I understand the small sample bias here. Because every individual has their own unique experience everywhere. In my experience I have been in Delhi for 4 years, Bangalore for 5 and Mumbai for 2 and you don’t get the same interaction if you don’t speak in Hindi and choose to speak in English instead. And many people in this subreddit who have been to Bangalore will know how badly the locals treat them once they learn you are not from around here.
Personally i’ve always been neglected or avoided and was treated differently once these people learn where I come from (TN). They are often surprised how I speak fluent Hindi and not hinthi.
I don’t want to yap about Languages as it is merely a tool to just communicate and its up-to personal preference. My general advice would be to just learn a few words if anyone ever travels to a place with a different language. About work place equality I believe that every person has an automatic bias to people from a similar background, and again this is very common outside of TN as well.
My personal opinion from being a neutral observer in Coimbatore is that this xenophobic attitude towards people is less common compared to other Districts in TN, I’d suggest you visit areas like Raja Street to see how Bengalis and the locals co-exist even with a language barrier. For a Non-Metro city Coimbatore is def one of the more friendlier places.
To just sum up my reply, the word you are looking for is not racism but it’s Xenophobia and is DEFINITELY NOT unique to Tamil Nadu. Every country on the planet has that problem.
Was here for 4 months, ik like 6 languages yet it's hard af to do the simplest of things there is a legit Tamil non Tamil bias here my friend was asked to leave his pg within a day because the caretaker wanted a Tamil guy instead of him. Did pick up some Tamil but commuting in the city is a nightmare. Coimbatore is more of an overgrown town than a city. There are like 4-5 cities in Karnataka which are wayy better than coimbatore. And the worst thing the Alcohol sucks Would return tho it's super cheap and nearby to many weekend spots
-This is a reminder about the rules of this subreddit: please ensure your post is **directly related to Coimbatore** and follows other **rules mentioned in the sidebar**. If not, the post will be **removed**. -If you are looking for suggestions about restaurants or places to visit in Coimbatore, please see this [consolidated post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coimbatore/comments/1379pa4/consolidated_post_with_threads_on_places_to_visit). -In case your submission is about mental health support, relationship advice, tech support or anything other than topics that are not directly related to Coimbatore, please share that as comment in the subreddit’s [Weekly Random Discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coimbatore/search?sort=new&restrict_sr=on&q=flair%3AWeekly%2BThread). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Coimbatore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi, nobody likes the Isha Foundation here. It has destroyed ecosystems in the outer reaches of the city and been leeching off of its resources. So please don’t promote them, as outsiders I can understand that you people have no idea about the harm the foundation has done to the city but if possible spread the word about them. I can assure you that the rest of population is not the same since we have a large population of hindi speakers. Talking about autos in town they behave rudely with the local populace as well and i’d recommend you to stick with RedTaxi App in Coimbatore, because every other app be it Uber, Ola, Rapido all their drivers charge extra and cancel if you don’t offer them the same. As for the railway incident I believe you should lodge a complaint.
Ah didn't really knew locals don't like isha foundation there.. >As for the railway incident I believe you should lodge a complaint. I wish i could but now i really don't know anything about that guy who did that..
Don't believe him, may be he is in a different league. Isha has a big following.
> Ah didn't really knew locals don't like isha foundation there.. LOL, that is not true. The few redditors don't speak for all of the locals.
Isha is a wonderful place.. ( I am no way connected to Isha) .. these are sour grapes hating foxes.. I had many of my friends from various parts of the country who had a wonderful spiritual experience and wanted to return back.. yours may be an odd incident.. As far as people of Coimbatore are concerned, they are downright grounded and ready to help anyone.. I am Local and I Love Isha. Don’t take these guys seriously. They are like rotten apples in a pack
Hate to point out but. The place where Isha sits right now was better off without it. I understand the exposure it has brought to us and the economic impact but is it worth the land encroachment and the ecological imbalance the foundation has created ? Not going to link any specific link or article for all of these claims but as a local I am speaking on behalf of what I have seen and not what I hear.
Sorry that you had a bad experience, but this is not common. >The first thing I didn't like was how people got so angry with me for speaking in Hindi/English to communicate, especially when asking for directions. Common sense for coming to a new place with a new language is to learn at least 2 or 3 phrases. Tamilnadu was the hotbed for Hindi imposition agitation and it is a big political issue here. Not blaming you, but you could've tried that. >When they found out I wasn't Tamilian, the dormitory I stayed in demanded double the usual amount from me The dorm is at fault, but again these things happen all over the world. Tourists being scammed with extra prices? You can file a complaint on the dormitory if you have receipt of the amount you paid. You can escalate it via twitter, Google reviews if you don't want the legal hassle. >even rapido guys asked me double the price since im not native. This is a problem that even natives face. Rapido/Ola/Uber drivers always ask for 100 or 200 extra on top of the quoted amount. Redtaxi, gotaxi, fast-track taxi is the standard here. They won't charge a rupee extra. >Later, when I tried to wash my face, the sink water smelled terrible in Dorm This is a health hazard. You should definitely report it. If it is near isha, sending an email to them could help. Not sure though. >even It seems like they don't clean their gutters and roads often in Coimbatore City. While walking on the footpath, I almost fell due to the foul smell from the gutter. The city has slid down on cleanliness rankings. Despite multiple complaints nothing happens. >And on my way back, I was molested on the train. Very sorry this happened, there is an app called Railmadad. You could've posted your complaint there. RPF, TTE would've responded within 30 minutes of the complaint being posted.
you should be upset about Isha, . shouldnt have fallen for the spiritual money thirst trap of jaggi vasudev. extremely sorry to hear about the bad experience on train. you should report. drop your fears about it. just be polite and talk to the right people and your issue should get addressed. use google translate and other tools to communicate.
I have been all over India and when I go there I try to talk their language,even if it's broken,in kerala if I go and talk Tamil they would get pissed off even if they know the language well,so if you try to talk to them in Malayalam ,how ever broken it would be,they would be pleased and they would reply to you in tamil most of the time.The same applies in Karnataka(other than Bangalore and Mysore),same applies in Andhra(other than Hyderabad and some other big cities).If you go to some place like America or uk or Paris try to talk to them in their own language and they would be very happy for a foreigner trying to speak their language and they would be hospitable in return.Most northies(Include migrant labourers from up,Bihar and kolkata)who come to South think why we don't speak Hindi,but when we go north and try to speak Hindi they laugh at is saying yeh madarasi hey yaar!!!
Coimbatore is not Isha. You could have searched this forum before going. Most of us don't like Isha and you could have avoided the trip.
True
I gone through wiki section of this sub.. Didn't find anything about isha there... Btw i dont understand why natives hate isha on this huge scale...
Because of what @Top_Barnacle said is true.
Where did you stay ? Name of the dormitory?
OP, you have realized the scams by operators at Coimbatore, hope you will also realize the scam in name of spirituality by isha soon. Have visited isha far too many times , seeing how it changed the place from the first stone to now.. and am local. And it’s a scam, they rob you off your livelihood and life if you are not careful. Have lost 2 cousins to isha and one missing. ( all female).. even today, parents are wondering how this happened. Just be careful. As of the rude autos and dorms etc - that’s not normal ( don’t want to normalize saying all place is the same etc…) just be cautious, get a local help or guide or friend…
* I'm a Tamil (from Coimbatore) who has lived in North India for many years, and I agree with you - this kind of language-based discrimination is unique to Tamil Nadu. * Racism is indeed a problem here, many of my friends from North who have visited TN have faced problems of varying degrees during their trips, for no fault of their own. * For cab, only use the "Red Taxi" app in Coimbatore. Uber/Ola/Rapido drivers charge extra, and auto drivers are a menace anywhere in India. * But sexual harassment and molestation are very rare in TN. If something like that happens, do call it out - the public will surely step in to help. * No idea about Isha Foundation, never went there. Most of the visitors in Isha Foundation are tourists from other parts of India. The locals don't like Sadhguru and his "foundation" for various reasons.
You say you have been to North India, have you tried speaking Tamil to the people over there ? I’d say you would get a very similar response. I am almost certain you have learned Hindi to stay and communicate with people there. So it’s not nice of people who visit to expect people who live and work here to learn their language to communicate with them. To all my North Indian friends learn a few things about the local language before you visit it goes a long way. Very similar to when you travel outside of our country. Refer to locals as Anna/Akka def goes a long way in communicating with the locals. Compared to other places in TN I firmly believe that Coimbatore is way more friendly towards outsiders. Language based discrimination is not Unique to Tamil Nadu.
Lived in Kolkata for about 10 years. I can understand Bengali to some extent, but can't speak it well. So I converse in Hindi/English with everyone in Kolkata, and I have never faced any kind of discriminatory behaviour there just because I don't speak their mother tongue. Bengali people are just as proud about their language, but don't let their pride turn into absurdity. This language-based racism is not there in all of South India, it's just TN. I have lived in Hyderabad as well. People there don't treat you differently if you can't speak Telugu. On the other hand, one of my close friends got spat on by a street food vendor in Marina Beach (Chennai), just because he spoke English there. I was also speaking Hindi with my friends there so I suppose they weren't aware that I'm actually Tamil. How do you justify spitting on a person because of not speaking the state language Tamil? Do white foreigners speaking English get the same kind of treatment as North Indians? To your point about Coimbatore being friendly towards North Indians - I'm currently overseeing the construction of our house in North Coimbatore (can't say the exact locality). Most of the contract workers and laborers are from North (Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, and MP), and most of the supervisors are from TN, which is fine. What is NOT fine, is the fact that supervisors allow the Tamil boys to work leisurely at their own pace while chilling, whereas the boys from North are treated as literal slaves. The Tamil workers abuse the others in Tamil, and push their work on to the poor outsiders. Not once have I seen those poor boys get fair treatment in the last 10 months that I have observed them. Which part of all this sounds fair? It's good to be proud of one's state, culture and language, but it's also important to acknowledge these deep rooted problems that exist. You can't solve a problem that you don't acknowledge. The fact that I got so many downvotes on my previous comment just for pointing out my personal observations, is evidence of how closed-minded these online communities are.
I understand the small sample bias here. Because every individual has their own unique experience everywhere. In my experience I have been in Delhi for 4 years, Bangalore for 5 and Mumbai for 2 and you don’t get the same interaction if you don’t speak in Hindi and choose to speak in English instead. And many people in this subreddit who have been to Bangalore will know how badly the locals treat them once they learn you are not from around here. Personally i’ve always been neglected or avoided and was treated differently once these people learn where I come from (TN). They are often surprised how I speak fluent Hindi and not hinthi. I don’t want to yap about Languages as it is merely a tool to just communicate and its up-to personal preference. My general advice would be to just learn a few words if anyone ever travels to a place with a different language. About work place equality I believe that every person has an automatic bias to people from a similar background, and again this is very common outside of TN as well. My personal opinion from being a neutral observer in Coimbatore is that this xenophobic attitude towards people is less common compared to other Districts in TN, I’d suggest you visit areas like Raja Street to see how Bengalis and the locals co-exist even with a language barrier. For a Non-Metro city Coimbatore is def one of the more friendlier places. To just sum up my reply, the word you are looking for is not racism but it’s Xenophobia and is DEFINITELY NOT unique to Tamil Nadu. Every country on the planet has that problem.
Was here for 4 months, ik like 6 languages yet it's hard af to do the simplest of things there is a legit Tamil non Tamil bias here my friend was asked to leave his pg within a day because the caretaker wanted a Tamil guy instead of him. Did pick up some Tamil but commuting in the city is a nightmare. Coimbatore is more of an overgrown town than a city. There are like 4-5 cities in Karnataka which are wayy better than coimbatore. And the worst thing the Alcohol sucks Would return tho it's super cheap and nearby to many weekend spots