"Sometimes Problem"

Just like there's an "American English" and a "Australian English" and a "British English," there is an "Indian English." It goes beyond speaking english in a funny accent to how they structure their sentences and their common word choices.

There are more attributes to Indian english than I'd care to go into here, but one aspect which stands out is the propensity to say "No Problem." They say it a lot, especially young indians, similar to the range of contexts which young americans say "cool," or "sweet." So it might get dropped 10 or 15 times in one conversation.

Anyway, so I'm speaking before dinner with Pinky, the 19 year old granddaughter of the ower of the Shivam Guest House. She is peppering the conversation with "no problems," but more that usual because we are talking about my travel plans the next day. Suddenly, from the kitchen her mom pops her head in and with an exasperated wag of her finger says: "No Problem! No problem! Sometimes Problem!"