Learning Hindi script

Just wondering - how many travellers out there have taken the time to learn the Devanagari (or other Indian) script? I've been doing so in preparation for my next trip, and so far it has been quite a rewarding experience.

I have found a few helpful websites, including http://www.ukindia.com/zhin001.htm

I learned (at Mussoorie's Landour Language School) and it has been very useful, particularly at bus and train stations. It was a pain in the ass to learn, but completely worth it.

The "combined letters" are so appropriate.

Anarchic dismembering of letters and mashing them together to make new ones, seemingly without respect for authority, certainly reflects the India experience!

i learned it-not realizing how many people i meet in bhopal are probably illiterate. i can speak hindi pretty well, but dont understand a blessed thing. it is hilarious-in the markets i speak hindi and they speak english and we each think we know what the other one is talking about, but who really can be sure?

my favorite character is the ksha...looks like a monkey holding onto the trunk of a tree. i amaze people by reading signs on trucks, or sayings on calendars, without understanding a single word because my vocabulary is so limited.

the servant lady had a great time talking to me today while madam was out-when i let her in i said (in hindi) 'crazy dog is quiet today' because it didnt bark when she came and i didnt have to lock it up. so she said two or three sentences to me, and i said 'nahin samjhti hoon' (dont understand) and then in hindi, i said 'i can speak a little hindi, but i understand nothing' and she said three or four more sentences and i said 'nahin samajhti hoon' and she laughed like crazy so we went on for awhile like that...no wonder they think foreigners are interesting.

Alan_D's wife Caroline taught herself to read Hindi, she took great delight in reading signs, railway station names but she really took the cake at a Dhaba where we had stopped for chai, we asked how much we owed and the waiter said 'four rupees each', Caroline pointed at the blackboard (written in Hindi) and said 'but there is says chai is three rupees!'. Flabbergasted waiter nil, foreigners one.

I can read Hindi but I am not very good at listening and speaking because they are my weak points and it is difficult to work on these two skills when you are alone in a country where nobody speaks Hindi.
I have often heard about Mussoorie's Landour Language School. I would like to find an Hindi school in India. Is this one good? Is it suitable for beginners?

Marilay,
I can't speak personally to the Landour School but it has mentioned in IM quite a few times and has a good reputation.

Addressing this old thread. I took a year of Hindi at a local University as a non matriculated student and got a fair handle on Devanagari and spoken Hindi. Not that I was ever all that proficient at it, it definitely added to my experiences in India after that.

Very easy because it is systematically arranged. Certain letters have no English equivalent so enjoy. I still can't say my wife's name properly (Sanscrit)..

I'm contemplating learning Hindi for my upcoming stay - but I'll also be a month working with Nepali immigrants near Siliguri, so I'm wondering whether I should concentrate on that. Any thoughts?

Is this your first trip to that area; or India in general. If so, I think you should avoid and/or rethink this. The nepali immigrant issue and the border area insurgency is a tinder box issue. Please do not become the "news" as happened with the two Italian tourists earlier this year.

While I agree that keeping one's speaking and listening comprehension sharp is a challenge in a country where opportunities are rare; such should not be the case in Paris. Also catch BBC Hindi service on Short Wave radio. They are indeed very good when it comes to speaking.

Allahabad-Kanpur-Sitapur region speak good hindi; which Madhya Pradesh, Uttranchal all speak hindi, there is colloquialism that gets introduced unconsciously.

Landour Language School is designed and caters to foreigners. YMMV

I've learned the alphabet but I'm kind of slow with it. I found it pretty much not useful--I'd be riding in a bus or taxi and seeing road signs, and as soon as I'd figured out the first two or three letters the sign would have passed. When I had a slower pace, it could be good for entertainment value, but just about everything geared for visitors has signs in English letters anyway.

That is my problem too! Plus the even bigger problem is once I have deciphered the word, I realise I don't know what it means!
Nycank; of course BBC is good to listen to Hindi but I was talking about people to talk with. Hindi is not very spread in France. I think I should have learned Tamoul, actually!

I think I will try to find a Hindi school in Delhi. It should be less complicated for transports and all that kind of things.

First time. I'm volunteering with the social services wing of an organized church up that way. You really think I should reconsider?

Kendriya Hindi Sanstha (I am not unbiased)..