Reading and writing deficits in two multilingual speakers of Kannada, Hindi and English are described. Disorders of the two patients (Mr G and Ms S) had different etiologies. Mr G had severe alexia with agraphia in English as well as in Kannada and Hindi. Ms S exhibited dissociation across the languages, showing symptoms of surface dyslexia in English and mild dyslexia in Kannada. Both patients were tested on the Western Aphasia Battery and on tests developed by Colt heart. Their test performance is described and discussed in the context of orthographic differences between English and various Indian languages.