Sunday, June 10, 2012
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Hindi
This is one old article I wrote for some reason. I do not consider myself to be sentimentally attached to what I mean through this, and well you are open to judge me...behind my back :). So here is the stuff:
Hindi , and the Cool factor
"...just look at her, she speaks in Hindi (girls giggling)" goes a Ponds Ad. The Ad shows the better of the Hindi speaking protagonist over others. But what more a non-dwindling fact or let me put it as an issue is the other side, - the instance being the Ad - is how speaking in a language like Hindi, which is first in line as our National language makes the speaker a seemingly laughing stock. This is a common observation in the urban Indian society. Clearly the comparision is with English, which is undoubtedly the international and official language, thanks or no thanks to Imperialism. But the question here is not about Hindi competing, but about the way it is being presented and its justification.
The constitution of India (Article 343) recognises Hindi as the official language of India. Hindi is also the main language in many states of India such as Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal/ Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Himachal Pradesh. It is spoken by more than 437 million people in the world. The other dialects of Hindi are Brajbhasha, Bundeli, Awadhi, Marwari, Maithili, Bhojpuri, to name only a few.
And yet there is this satirizing of the people trying covetably to follow their roots rather then faking themselves up with something "cool"-er. English and Hindi are both official languages in India with more or less equal usage over the nation. To be precise, its English that is less known in the real India. The point is we are proud of diverse cultures of India. But we are divided when we talk about India. We like to speak ourselves more like South Indian, North Indian, etc. we must seen as United rather than divided by our many castes and cultures. Otherwise one day all natural language of India will die and foreign language and culture will rule us. And to survive this, and among themselves, Indians need a strong language to communicate. Hindi is one such language which is strong in a lot of negotiable features.
Continuing with the Hindi satire, there's one Youtube clip over the internet of Lalu Prasad Yadav delivering a speech over a Parliamentary session, in Hindi. He is being interrupted by a fellow member and asked to continue in English. Yadav's endeavour with broken English gets him in an embarassing position of getting chuckled at. Whist he had every right to do the same in Hindi, he's stopped. And thus goes a big blow to an official Indian language by an official one of the west. It is true that Hindi as a National language is often resisted by the non-Hindi speaking belt of India especially of the South. But to have a national language there has to be one from our own culture. Apart from the many Indian languages with rich backgrounds Hindi is special.
The Indo-Aryan language of India. Hindi is the second most spoken language in the world, after Chinese. About 500 million people speak Hindi, in India and abroad, and the total number of people who can understand the language may be 800 million. Hindi being the National Language of India has its roots in the classical Sanskrit language.It is effectively a continuation of Hindustani, which developed from Khari Boli, the speech of certain classes and districts in Delhi affiliated with the Mughal court in the 16th-18th centuries. The language acquired its current form over many centuries, and numerous dialectical variations still exist. Like Sanskrit, Hindi is written in the Dev Nagari script, which is common to several other Indian languages as well. Much of the vocabulary of Hindi comes from Sanskrit, though Hindi also has a special relationship with Urdu. Their grammar and much of their vocabulary are virtually identical. Linguists think of Hindi and Urdu as the same language, the difference being that Hindi is written in Devanagari and draws vocabulary from Sanskrit, while Urdu is written in Persian script and draws on Persian and Arabic. The separation is largely a political one; before the partition of India into India and Pakistan, spoken Hindi and Urdu were considered the same language, Hindustani.
At the informal level the use of Hindi has been growing, even among non-native speakers. Hindi is often used if the speakers in question hail from different linguistic provinces, especially if they belong to a social stratum that has not accessed a very good English education, and often even otherwise. Hindi movies have been playing a substantial role in popularizing the language all over the country. Popular Hindi TV serials do the same today. Seeing the popularity of Hindi, BBC World Service started News in Hindi in 1940. The language of media is becoming more inclusive of Hindi words. Several FM radio channels have opened new avenues for Hindi presentation. In fact, there is big demand for those who can creatively use Hindi language for communications.
But what is the point? Even after knowing or not knowing the illustrious features of Hindi, the satire will go on, till the tree of pure Indian culture is dislodged from its roots and alien shrubs grow over. Speaking for the fans of "No Hindi as our National Language" club, it is true that that there are about ten other legalized official language. But for an Indian to survive in another part of India, knowing English just won't help. Experience it and you know you have to know Hindi. And for the other "club", in promoting Hindi for the purpose, there have been a lot of loopholes starting from Jawahar Lal Nehru's efforts as prime minister to nationalizing Hindi. There is this 'Hindi Diwas' as a part of the promotion. But seemingly enough the lectures are delivered in English, quite a height of irony. Even in the IITs, the premier technological centers of India, the irony shows every time. It is justified if people prefer English over Hindi, but not when the later is pushed back rather hard. In states like Orissa, shops with and around Hindi hoardings are crushed down. This gets worse in places like Mizoram (figuratively and currently the highest literate state) and Nagaland where Hindi movies are banned, and violence pops in the name of Hindi. This makes a rather disturbing scenario, as if its not India we are talking about, and I would mean "tell me about it"- about places like what. These are heavier problems. But what is more ridiculous then the lighter versions of this, which takes me back to the satiring side of it. With a whole lot of Americanism, if not Europeanism, thrown in, the generation is trying to be compatible with their self defined versions of being cool. And not speaking Hindi (more appropriately applicable for the Hindi speaking "cool" people) is definitely be one step. My opinion is exactly in contradiction.
Hindi , and the Cool factor
"...just look at her, she speaks in Hindi (girls giggling)" goes a Ponds Ad. The Ad shows the better of the Hindi speaking protagonist over others. But what more a non-dwindling fact or let me put it as an issue is the other side, - the instance being the Ad - is how speaking in a language like Hindi, which is first in line as our National language makes the speaker a seemingly laughing stock. This is a common observation in the urban Indian society. Clearly the comparision is with English, which is undoubtedly the international and official language, thanks or no thanks to Imperialism. But the question here is not about Hindi competing, but about the way it is being presented and its justification.
The constitution of India (Article 343) recognises Hindi as the official language of India. Hindi is also the main language in many states of India such as Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal/ Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Himachal Pradesh. It is spoken by more than 437 million people in the world. The other dialects of Hindi are Brajbhasha, Bundeli, Awadhi, Marwari, Maithili, Bhojpuri, to name only a few.
And yet there is this satirizing of the people trying covetably to follow their roots rather then faking themselves up with something "cool"-er. English and Hindi are both official languages in India with more or less equal usage over the nation. To be precise, its English that is less known in the real India. The point is we are proud of diverse cultures of India. But we are divided when we talk about India. We like to speak ourselves more like South Indian, North Indian, etc. we must seen as United rather than divided by our many castes and cultures. Otherwise one day all natural language of India will die and foreign language and culture will rule us. And to survive this, and among themselves, Indians need a strong language to communicate. Hindi is one such language which is strong in a lot of negotiable features.
Continuing with the Hindi satire, there's one Youtube clip over the internet of Lalu Prasad Yadav delivering a speech over a Parliamentary session, in Hindi. He is being interrupted by a fellow member and asked to continue in English. Yadav's endeavour with broken English gets him in an embarassing position of getting chuckled at. Whist he had every right to do the same in Hindi, he's stopped. And thus goes a big blow to an official Indian language by an official one of the west. It is true that Hindi as a National language is often resisted by the non-Hindi speaking belt of India especially of the South. But to have a national language there has to be one from our own culture. Apart from the many Indian languages with rich backgrounds Hindi is special.
The Indo-Aryan language of India. Hindi is the second most spoken language in the world, after Chinese. About 500 million people speak Hindi, in India and abroad, and the total number of people who can understand the language may be 800 million. Hindi being the National Language of India has its roots in the classical Sanskrit language.It is effectively a continuation of Hindustani, which developed from Khari Boli, the speech of certain classes and districts in Delhi affiliated with the Mughal court in the 16th-18th centuries. The language acquired its current form over many centuries, and numerous dialectical variations still exist. Like Sanskrit, Hindi is written in the Dev Nagari script, which is common to several other Indian languages as well. Much of the vocabulary of Hindi comes from Sanskrit, though Hindi also has a special relationship with Urdu. Their grammar and much of their vocabulary are virtually identical. Linguists think of Hindi and Urdu as the same language, the difference being that Hindi is written in Devanagari and draws vocabulary from Sanskrit, while Urdu is written in Persian script and draws on Persian and Arabic. The separation is largely a political one; before the partition of India into India and Pakistan, spoken Hindi and Urdu were considered the same language, Hindustani.
At the informal level the use of Hindi has been growing, even among non-native speakers. Hindi is often used if the speakers in question hail from different linguistic provinces, especially if they belong to a social stratum that has not accessed a very good English education, and often even otherwise. Hindi movies have been playing a substantial role in popularizing the language all over the country. Popular Hindi TV serials do the same today. Seeing the popularity of Hindi, BBC World Service started News in Hindi in 1940. The language of media is becoming more inclusive of Hindi words. Several FM radio channels have opened new avenues for Hindi presentation. In fact, there is big demand for those who can creatively use Hindi language for communications.
But what is the point? Even after knowing or not knowing the illustrious features of Hindi, the satire will go on, till the tree of pure Indian culture is dislodged from its roots and alien shrubs grow over. Speaking for the fans of "No Hindi as our National Language" club, it is true that that there are about ten other legalized official language. But for an Indian to survive in another part of India, knowing English just won't help. Experience it and you know you have to know Hindi. And for the other "club", in promoting Hindi for the purpose, there have been a lot of loopholes starting from Jawahar Lal Nehru's efforts as prime minister to nationalizing Hindi. There is this 'Hindi Diwas' as a part of the promotion. But seemingly enough the lectures are delivered in English, quite a height of irony. Even in the IITs, the premier technological centers of India, the irony shows every time. It is justified if people prefer English over Hindi, but not when the later is pushed back rather hard. In states like Orissa, shops with and around Hindi hoardings are crushed down. This gets worse in places like Mizoram (figuratively and currently the highest literate state) and Nagaland where Hindi movies are banned, and violence pops in the name of Hindi. This makes a rather disturbing scenario, as if its not India we are talking about, and I would mean "tell me about it"- about places like what. These are heavier problems. But what is more ridiculous then the lighter versions of this, which takes me back to the satiring side of it. With a whole lot of Americanism, if not Europeanism, thrown in, the generation is trying to be compatible with their self defined versions of being cool. And not speaking Hindi (more appropriately applicable for the Hindi speaking "cool" people) is definitely be one step. My opinion is exactly in contradiction.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
KIRAN BEDI
Why not drop in something about Kiran Bedi in my blog...just to prove the impact she has and will be having on on me...
About the invincible, inviolable, courageous, one and only KIRAN BEDI :
Kiran Bedi is an Indian police officer and is the first woman to join the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972. She was born on 9th June 1949 in Amritsar, Punjab state, India, and is one of the most celebrated and widely known police officers who ever served the Indian Police Force. Kiran Bedi is the second of the four daughters of her parents, Prakash Lal Peshawaria and Prem Lata Peshawaria.
She has been recently appointed as Director General of India's Bureau of Police Research and Development. Earlier, she was Police Advisor in the United Nations peacekeeping department, and has also been honored with the UN medal for outstanding service. In May 2005, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Law In recognition of her “humanitarian approach to prison reforms and policing”.
For a complete information, visit : http://www.kiranbedi.com/
Bedi and bluestocking
It was our first day of the institute's annual tech fest - Techniche, as it is called. And thank our friend organizers, who thought of this brilliant idea to invite KIRAN BEDI...for a lecture on CYBER CRIME. well, sounds great. and all we technomaniacs visualised this marvel of a bedi to go nattering about stuff like cybernetics, which'd be quite a gel-in for our tech fest. I (a little time for myself..:)), have heard about The Bedi since being almost a toddler, seen her on TV, newspapers and where not. And a lot of her interviews lately. She is damn 'vow'-able. So you can say, I'm her vivid fan. So this day meant a lot to me. Finally me and Kiran Bedi under one roof, and there she stands a few metres ahead of me. I mean, WoW! And now we gonna hear her talk - one of her obvious talents - on technical stuff. And even the presenter(a student), introducing Bedi to the stage read her well prepared lines, denote ramblings, about a this being a lecture on cybercrime.
But not till the moment SHE started speaking, in that housefull lecture hall..."I've not come here to talk on Cyber Crime, I'd have better sent my PA for that". That was a heavyweight argument. That actually made me smile out of relief. "Cool! Not to go geeky now!"...and she started talking about personal empowerment. Doing things for the greater good. Having the sense of responsibility, taking the initiative, developing this trait of being a good human being, developing a high PQ(Patriotic Quotient), the spiritual quotient(SQ) and the emotional quotient(EQ)...and not the stuff involving this IQ(thank God this time...). I bet you all my money, that was awesome to listen to, much as I coveted.And awe-inspiring beyond doubt. No, she was not a feminist, nor she was a phobe of any kind, she was a true patriot. A selflessly dutiful citizen doing her job. And this- her flying down to the 'remote' IIT guwahati, from a hectic schedule in Delhi and talking with us - is one of her works. She actually came here to motivate us - the well educated, somewhat high IQ achievers with a seemingly bright monetary future.
She stressed on the kind of education we're having. The education, that is making all of us consumers, tax savers, greedy for money urbanites and whatever filthy for the country. That this education system needs a reform, to make us good individuals with a high sense of responsibility and morals as well. The fact that we are been ruled by corrupt group of individuals, who actually got the pump from none but ourselves - the reasons, plausible solutions et al. And I tell you, that was moving. I hope I develop a strong heart, and do something meaningful, strong enough to be a reasonable altruist.
This surely gave me a clear vision of India becoming a Super Power, a developed nation- full of people with the right morale and opinion. And that we, the youth can make all this difference...that was Bedi's basic aim, that's why she came here.
Yes, that was productive on my part, I'll try out now. But nevertheless, She came. And mind you its daring for any puny man to make a bluestocking out of Kiran Bedi. She's affable. I dare to stab anyone who hates her.
Well, take it easy. Its just a blog. :)
But not till the moment SHE started speaking, in that housefull lecture hall..."I've not come here to talk on Cyber Crime, I'd have better sent my PA for that". That was a heavyweight argument. That actually made me smile out of relief. "Cool! Not to go geeky now!"...and she started talking about personal empowerment. Doing things for the greater good. Having the sense of responsibility, taking the initiative, developing this trait of being a good human being, developing a high PQ(Patriotic Quotient), the spiritual quotient(SQ) and the emotional quotient(EQ)...and not the stuff involving this IQ(thank God this time...). I bet you all my money, that was awesome to listen to, much as I coveted.And awe-inspiring beyond doubt. No, she was not a feminist, nor she was a phobe of any kind, she was a true patriot. A selflessly dutiful citizen doing her job. And this- her flying down to the 'remote' IIT guwahati, from a hectic schedule in Delhi and talking with us - is one of her works. She actually came here to motivate us - the well educated, somewhat high IQ achievers with a seemingly bright monetary future.
She stressed on the kind of education we're having. The education, that is making all of us consumers, tax savers, greedy for money urbanites and whatever filthy for the country. That this education system needs a reform, to make us good individuals with a high sense of responsibility and morals as well. The fact that we are been ruled by corrupt group of individuals, who actually got the pump from none but ourselves - the reasons, plausible solutions et al. And I tell you, that was moving. I hope I develop a strong heart, and do something meaningful, strong enough to be a reasonable altruist.
This surely gave me a clear vision of India becoming a Super Power, a developed nation- full of people with the right morale and opinion. And that we, the youth can make all this difference...that was Bedi's basic aim, that's why she came here.
Yes, that was productive on my part, I'll try out now. But nevertheless, She came. And mind you its daring for any puny man to make a bluestocking out of Kiran Bedi. She's affable. I dare to stab anyone who hates her.
Well, take it easy. Its just a blog. :)
Monday, August 27, 2007
Diplomacy continues
Some of you guys may not agree with me...and may consider polishing ur daggers for me. But no, I don't think anybody will even scowl at me this week. Ok, another moment for my introduction...I'm kinda intransigent. Show me a pig flying(whatevr "magic" involved), I'll just not buy the idea. I still don't mean to say I believe if I experience the concerned subject myself...no. And I got no idea myself what I'd let come in and when, depends on the time and situation. Maybe the other day I'll believe, men can be pregnant too. Well too much for my self-demanded information...where was I? yeah, that no one'd grab my collar or speak to my face. Nor 'd I imagine doing anything like that. That...will not be cool; not in the flamboyant 'Cool Factor' sense...but just for the sake of being cool. Now that's gonna be another ocean to speak about. I was merely justifying the need of diplomacy, in a higher degree of usage sense. And I said earlier, no one on earth will be pouring scorn on my face. I basically am reffering to my friends, coz they're the people that matter. They won't want me as their enemy right? So as I said much before, they(the friends who'd be mad at me...) will hide their red and try to be nice to me. And I'll remain as happy as ever. And being happy...its all that matters to be qualititavely alive. Now what is ur point?
I sometimes feel like going insecure, thinking - are my friends for real? Or are they fake as anything, and are biting my back hard. But to be pragmatic (as I believe I am), no one but a loser'd think this way. And I'm not one for sure...
So I'm happy seeing my friends(not planning any "..."s here) being nice to me, responding to what I say, going around with me, helping me in tackling doubts etc. Well I can never define any word by myself especially when it demands my analysis. So I can't know my exact definition of friendship. So I'm supposed to be happy with the friends I have, the way I understand them as. They may be honest or may be diplomatic towards me, I can never know. But I'll choose the better of the two apples. I'll not care if they are pretending to be nice. I'll consider their being nice as their being nice. I'll accept their diplomacy as truth. And so am I practicing.
I'm diplomatic. I'm happy. How happy are you?
I sometimes feel like going insecure, thinking - are my friends for real? Or are they fake as anything, and are biting my back hard. But to be pragmatic (as I believe I am), no one but a loser'd think this way. And I'm not one for sure...
So I'm happy seeing my friends(not planning any "..."s here) being nice to me, responding to what I say, going around with me, helping me in tackling doubts etc. Well I can never define any word by myself especially when it demands my analysis. So I can't know my exact definition of friendship. So I'm supposed to be happy with the friends I have, the way I understand them as. They may be honest or may be diplomatic towards me, I can never know. But I'll choose the better of the two apples. I'll not care if they are pretending to be nice. I'll consider their being nice as their being nice. I'll accept their diplomacy as truth. And so am I practicing.
I'm diplomatic. I'm happy. How happy are you?
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Diplomacy is the best policy!
So guys, ur ears must have worn out hearing the same old "nice guy" saying...yeah u guessed it: "Honesty is the best Policy". And u think it works. Works so well that u're a contented soul at the end of the day. Of course being good implies being honest...to an extent thou.
Stab me if I mean nonsense.
You might often hang around with ur friends. And at times u do get involved in some sort of discussion which demands ur opinion, knowledge, intellect or whateva u got in u. right? And keeping in mind that u r not submissive, u will ne'er give in. u'll make ur point clear, and most probably 'circularly' accepted. But hey, thats neva tht done always. And u know that. Ur friends are equally indomitable as u. They too have their own ideas. C'mon after all each of them fall under the 'Friends' category, and u rate them ur near ones.
So it often happens, ideas clash, debates break up, no one ready to loose. As indispensable one's ego preservation should be, u'll not stand others-no matter who he/she is-to vindicate and make u feel like loosing ur grip. And often in this process, relations get strained. And some tender slender ones like the spouse bond, and most concerned here : friendship, fall apart...never to be the same again. Now c'mon who r u fooling? Accept it, this is true. It happens. Even if we patch up, the fun bonding is in the vicinity...
And of course, not to sound discouraging or pessimistic, there is certainly a good solution to all these - 'TIME'.
"Who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows, only time?
And who can say if your love grows,
As your hearth chose, only time?..." (Only Time, Enya)
...Hold it! hold it! I didn't mean to write anything about time. Ok 'Time is a great healer'. Thats true and justified. but its another thing I haven't mentioned yet...about the best policy, pratically.
Everybody (often) loves to be a good person; so that they achieve more and more people loving and caring for them. Thats a naive and sweet thought. But what if u are not social enough. What if ur personality just is not pleasing enough...by which I mean the 'Be yourself' thing, which may not be acceptable.
Whats actually important that u have the human wealth in abundance...in other words, a lot many well-wishers, do-gooders, supporters and friends for you. Life is then better and easier, isn't it?
So do u think being honest always pay good outcome? Not always, in fact rarely. Having said, I'm/someone's not sure if they are naturally affable. So be diplomatic. Its really not necessary that u speak ur heart out everytime, not giving a damn to what the listener thinks about it. Sometimes its much much better to pretend, pretend nice. Maintaining diplomacy helps, don't u agree? You remain a half closed book(if not full), and that keeps u safe in life. by that I mean, u got friends u are just satisfied having u around, not because they know u front to back, but because they just love ur attitude, ur thoughts(that're actually semi-transparent- good for them, good for you!) and above all You- the person. And there's nothing bad in maintaining that dude.
Sometimes its better this way. So is the new policy "Diplomacy is the best policy!". So guys, be a diplomat, and befriend the world.
Stab me if I mean nonsense.
You might often hang around with ur friends. And at times u do get involved in some sort of discussion which demands ur opinion, knowledge, intellect or whateva u got in u. right? And keeping in mind that u r not submissive, u will ne'er give in. u'll make ur point clear, and most probably 'circularly' accepted. But hey, thats neva tht done always. And u know that. Ur friends are equally indomitable as u. They too have their own ideas. C'mon after all each of them fall under the 'Friends' category, and u rate them ur near ones.
So it often happens, ideas clash, debates break up, no one ready to loose. As indispensable one's ego preservation should be, u'll not stand others-no matter who he/she is-to vindicate and make u feel like loosing ur grip. And often in this process, relations get strained. And some tender slender ones like the spouse bond, and most concerned here : friendship, fall apart...never to be the same again. Now c'mon who r u fooling? Accept it, this is true. It happens. Even if we patch up, the fun bonding is in the vicinity...
And of course, not to sound discouraging or pessimistic, there is certainly a good solution to all these - 'TIME'.
"Who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows, only time?
And who can say if your love grows,
As your hearth chose, only time?..." (Only Time, Enya)
...Hold it! hold it! I didn't mean to write anything about time. Ok 'Time is a great healer'. Thats true and justified. but its another thing I haven't mentioned yet...about the best policy, pratically.
Everybody (often) loves to be a good person; so that they achieve more and more people loving and caring for them. Thats a naive and sweet thought. But what if u are not social enough. What if ur personality just is not pleasing enough...by which I mean the 'Be yourself' thing, which may not be acceptable.
Whats actually important that u have the human wealth in abundance...in other words, a lot many well-wishers, do-gooders, supporters and friends for you. Life is then better and easier, isn't it?
So do u think being honest always pay good outcome? Not always, in fact rarely. Having said, I'm/someone's not sure if they are naturally affable. So be diplomatic. Its really not necessary that u speak ur heart out everytime, not giving a damn to what the listener thinks about it. Sometimes its much much better to pretend, pretend nice. Maintaining diplomacy helps, don't u agree? You remain a half closed book(if not full), and that keeps u safe in life. by that I mean, u got friends u are just satisfied having u around, not because they know u front to back, but because they just love ur attitude, ur thoughts(that're actually semi-transparent- good for them, good for you!) and above all You- the person. And there's nothing bad in maintaining that dude.
Sometimes its better this way. So is the new policy "Diplomacy is the best policy!". So guys, be a diplomat, and befriend the world.
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