हिंदी - एक भाषा, एक अभ्यास

अपने राष्ट्रभाषा मैं ब्लोग लिखने का यह मेरा पहला प्रयत्न है। इससे मेरे मित्रों को शायद आपत्ति या आश्चर्य हो सकता है, परंतु मैं इसे अपने किसी इतर गतीविधियों के समान ही समझता हूँ। ऐसा लिखने मे थोड़ी दिक्कत शुरू मे जरूर होती है, पर ब्लॉगर की इस नई सेवा का कम-से-कम एक बार तो उपयोग सभी ने करना चाहिऐ, ऐसा मुझे लगता है। और मुझे बेहद ख़ुशी होगी अगर मैं अपने दोस्तो मे सबसे प्रथम इस सेवा के लाभ उठानेवालों मे से हूँ।

Irritating, what’s this, or plain NOT AMUSED…..whatever your reaction to this new exercise of mine is, is wholeheartedly accepted (like I have a choice here!!). I was planning to broach this subject for a long time; I guess Blogger feature was just a pretext. The usage of Hindi in daily life is undoubtedly evident. But how much Hindi as a language is to be read or written? Although this touchy subject ‘touches’ various issues like ‘Nationalism’, ‘Culture’, ‘History of India’, ‘Modern Life’ et al, I shall attempt to prevent myself from hijacking the main issue here. Reiterating, the issue here is ……written in bold above.

Today English is pervading in our lives from being the official international business language to a more personal, friendly, distortable language and a niche or a lifesaver when talking about competitive exams compared to the deadly Math section। SMS lingo, Marathi parents talking to their wards in English (broken) and this very blog which is the representation of your thoughts are all examples of acceptance of this foreign language. We (I assume many to agree with me on this, so ‘we’, not ‘I’) all grew from basic comprehension to understanding to enjoying to declaring ‘Boring’ the English tele-serials on Star World or Zee Café. We were happy seeing subtitles of western songs so that we could hum along, but Hindi was always natural, always assumed. During all this we never came across reading anything in Hindi (no, the signboards don’t count). Hindi was a part and parcel of our lives, so ingrained that we give no heed to it.

So why does Google, Nokia introduce Hindi feature in its blog or phones? How many of us use the Hindi feature in our phones or are going to use it in our blogs as prophesied by Google? Very few, can be counted on hand. Then why is this additional burden or trouble on their part? Do they expect the users to treat this feature as another novelty or are users actually going to be comfortable from now on in their own language? I, like many of you vote for the ‘novelty’ option. This attempt by the multinational is based on a false assumption that many would feel proud that their ‘own’ language is open for access. Hindi in India does not shoulder national importance like in other countries (especially China and Germany) where without marketing in local language is equivalent to selling canned beef to ascetic monks. IT SIMPLY WON”T SELL!! It should be noted that one is a developing while one is a developed nation. It is a must, an indirect enforcement upon foreign companies to comply with the national lingual climate and failing to do so would invite public ire or at least rejection. While in India, not only the products but also the tag lines can be launched in English. Does this make us more vulnerable or taken-for-granted in any way?

Not really. English here is now one of the commonly spoken languages here. So it is wise to gauge the public mood and market accordingly for these companies. Speaking English rather than expressing ignorance towards Hindi, speaks volumes of acceptance of the International language in our daily lives. But is Hindi spoken at all? Well, this is indeed a personal question (as personal as the regional language one has). Nevertheless, the fact remains: the lesser we speak Hindi, the faster it is going to vanish. People strike a conversation in English many a times, which I find sometimes unnecessary. If both the persons involved are not belonging to different nationalities, then why not make use of the common language. I mean it’s very simple; if we don’t speak, who will? Hindi has survived today less through literature and more due to movies. But in spite of a plethora of movies ‘bombing’ (pun intended) the box office week after week, we never manage to look at it from the angle of curiosity of exhibition of Hindi literature. Even the movie name font is in English. So where is the written Hindi after all?

Does it exist only in dailies and textbooks or in our lives too? It will be a slow process from speaking in Hindi to bringing the Devnagari to everyday use in products, advertisements, etc. Imagine due to the advent of an upsurge in globalization and heavily increased FDI in India, (which already is) Hindi is being taught as a foreign language outside India for better marketing communication in globally reputed B-schools. But how can this be possible without the local people speaking it repeatedly, incessantly and frequently?. Unless we make a conscious effort, there aren’t any takers for our national lingo. I personally try to restrict my conversation to anyone within the confines of Hindi or Marathi initially. Although whenever I am greeted in English, I make it a point to not switch it to another one. This prevents a lot of possible miscommunication and sometimes even misunderstanding. We all think in our mother-tongue; that’s a fact. And historically or rather geographically speaking (considering from the area we hail), no man of Indian descent can have his mother-tongue to be English. So we all see that it’s a big sham.

English still comes to me today consciously; earlier it was sporadic but pretty glib now. As of the people who are reading this, I don’t urge them to join me in a nationwide and radical move of a language changeover, or even suggest the use of Hindi in their blogs, but definitely request them to rethink on this issue. And yes, SPEAK MORE HINDI, if not write or read!!

300 - Prepare for Gory (scenes!!)

I like doing reviews. It's sort of my favourite pastime. I could go about it for endless hours and with a right partner, it could go on for days. The movie 300 - made me think for a while and wonder - how obvious is the movie in conveying the message of valour, confidence, courage and the significance of your credo in the midst of impending catastrophe. I rather believed that this whole stroy has an equally relevant flipside to it!!

This movie undoubtedly is a toast to all the leaders who stood for what they believed is right without fear or reason in situations which were against their odds. Although it should be realized that courage is sometimes not what you have but what you choose to have. Coming straight to the point, those who would have watched this movie will agree with me that the chances of winning the battle for Leonidas were less than Bermuda winning the World Cup. In such circumstances, what should a king who is at the helm of a country do? HE SHOULD BACK-OFF!!

Yes, that is the truth or rather the wise man' advice. When King Leonidas was promised the safety of his land by the Persian King Xerxes's negotiator, he should have accepted the offer considering the long-term aftermath. A thought-out negotiation with the hidden motive of raising an army like the King's trusted man Dilios (also the movie's narrator) did after they succumbed to the mighty army at the end of the movie could have provided the right solution. He raised an army of 10K along with associate Greek empires to make the total around 40K and thus narrates the story of the brave 300 to motivate them (remember there's this scene at the end!!) Had Leonidas been so cunning or rather SMART enough, he would have averted a toll of 300 and regained his so called 'Lost Pride' too.

His situation reminds us of The Great Shivaji Maharaj in a similar dilemma during the epic battle of Pavan Khind(Ghodkind). The decision bears a resemblance with what Shivaji had to do 400 years ago. During the battle of Ghodkind, Shivaji falsely suggested he's looking forward to negotiate with Siddhi-Johar, while escaping away to Vishalgad to regroup his soldiers for a fierce battle. Although he lost his important man Baji Prabhu, he was witty enough to realize the larger picture of the importance of a king's survival. A wise decision would be to take cognizance of your position and act accordingly. Blind courage which is disoriented and which has an obvious outcome of failure is appreciated nowhere. Courage if displayed at the right time at the right place and at the right moment bears importance and is worth celebrating.

Talking of values, Leonidas did what he considered was important for the Spartans to keep their pride and honour. Although there is slight glitch to it again. The Spartan law (the Counsel of Ministers) per se suggested he listen to the Oracle and give heed to her advice, regardless of its relevance. This clearly indicates that Leonidas defied the law of the country, he ironically chose to swear his allegiance for.

The movie can be summarized as a must-watch for gore lovers. The ancient Greek replication displayed in the movie with its amazing effects and Gerard Butler's chutzpah, can be one of the driving reasons for the film's success. As for the title line, '300 : Prepare for Glory', be prepared for a lot more than that!!