The primary purpose of language is to facilitate communication, share ideas, thoughts and feelings with others.
I may be accused of conveying my thoughts in English on this day. However, the language serves the purpose of the message that I want to convey.
I often visit my village whenever I am home. I meet and greet several elderly people (because they’re the only ones left). The remarkable thing is that my language involuntarily turns to Magahi, the dialect spoken in parts of Bihar and Jharkhand. In fact, I learnt this language because I spent a part of my childhood here. The same code switching used to happen whenever I talked to my grandfather and mother before they renounced the earth to settle in heaven. I have the luxury of talking in Magahi to my Nana and Nani ji, though mostly on the phone. Sometimes, I talk to my parents in Magahi too.
As far as I can grope my memory, I came to the city for my schooling, where Hindi became a part of my life. I didn’t have much difficulty in switching because both languages differ only to a certain degree. Actually, we as kids, even though in a village, were trained to behave in Hindi first, besides talking. Families in the villages have the opinion that it’s the language that demarcates you from the savages. It defines your demeanour. It’s the language that shows that you’re receiving a good education and reside in cities. So, to learn to behave in Hindi, I got admission in English medium schools where textbooks were in English, the rest were in Hindi, including the English classes. I learnt Hindi there with occasional English, which shaped me and my journey so far. With my transition from village to city, Magahi was also left behind.
The importance of English came with a college education. Pursuing a bachelor’s degree from DU brought me into contact with people from all over India. Whether in class or hostels, I would often meet with people from Southern states and North-Eastern states or even International students. English became the lingua franca through which we would often converse, exchange views, and get to know about the tradition and culture prevalent in that region. At that time, to speak or to write, I would first think in Hindi and then frame it in English. The language bridged the communication barrier among the non-Hindi speakers. Even today, whenever I meet non-Hindi speakers, the language automatically changes to English for the better flow of communication. However, it remains the same with those who speak Hindi. It happens effortlessly. You’ve seen two people from the same region shifting to their native languages as they realise that they share the same language. It helps a great deal when you visit such a region, where Hindi is not spoken. For instance, in southern states or abroad.
Most of the time, we use English as a necessity. But that’s also facilitated by Hindi. We use it to convey our ideas to a larger audience. Had I written this post in Hindi, I would have addressed a section of people who know Hindi. Language serves as a medium. You can still convey your Indian sensibility while writing in English and be as Indian as those writing in native languages. At the same time, I feel that the impact is more when conveyed in Indian languages because it’s rooted in the cultural and social context. The poem “An Introduction” by Kamala Das accurately captures this situation.
Hence, I speak in three languages and write in two, and believe me, I never had to worry about which to use and where. It happens naturally. The same should be transpired to the other generation, too, so that they can use them accordingly.
हिंदी दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं!
©Shashank
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