Entry From Backside Only, refers to a phrase commonly used on signposts to indicate the rear entrance of a building. Binoo John, the author, said young Indians had embraced the variant of the language as a charming offspring of the mingling of English and Hindi, rather than an embarrassing mongrel.

“Economic prosperity has changed attitudes towards Indian English,” said Mr John. “Having jobs and incomes, and being noticed by the rest of the world, have made Indians confident - and the same confidence has attached itself to their English.”

…

The columnist Anjali Puri said pride in Indian English also stemmed from the success of writers such as Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie: “These writers have used English to portray Indian reality and it has given people the confidence to try out new words and play around with the language without being scared about whether they are correct.”

If spoken English can be curious, the written form is even more so. In railway offices, a standard opening line in correspondence is: “Dear Sir, with reference to your above see my below.”

As in Britain, employers complain that the standard of English is so abysmal that recruits cannot write a sentence without three grammatical mistakes. One call centre executive in Bombay said a new recruit wrote an email that began: “I am in well here and hope you are also in the same well.”

A glossary of the latest lingo as spoken on the streets of India:

Dear sir, with reference to your above see my below - popular opening line in official letters.
Teachress - a female teacher.
Timepass - a trivial activity that passes the time.
She freaked out last night - she had a good time.
Your lyrical missive has enveloped me in the sweet fragrance of our love - from a book advising lovers on how to write to girlfriends.
How often do you take sex? - question from doctor to patient.
Pritam Singh has left for his heavenly above - a death notice.
Hue and Cry notice - title of police missing person newspaper advertisement.
Don’t do nuisance in public - government admonition against urinating in public

More here. Via Ultrabrown.

P.S. Entry on Sept 22. Manjula Padmanabhan’s review of the book in Outlook.