Vanakam - the Universal Tamil Greeting

Whenever I am in the US - its pains me to have foreigners come up to me and say Namaskar. Namaskar is the Hindi greeting used in North India and Hindi-speaking communities. Nothing to do with me or my linguistic roots. I am Tamil - a Dravidian woman with ancestral roots in Tamil Nadu. I guess this is a common confusion - India is incredibly diverse with many languages and dialects. Namaskar is not the universal greeting. Just like tandoori is not the universal Indian cuisine. In Singapore for example, Tamil is one of our four official languages (English, Malay and Chinese are the other three official langauges). In recognitiion of the Tamil communities' contribution to nation building and the large Tamil population that migrated from Tamil Nadu to Singapore, Tamil has its rightful place as an official language in Singapore. So, in Singapore if you meet an Indian say Vanakam and if he is a Tamil Indian he will be truly impressed !!!