The Marathi Day

 February 27. The World Marathi Day. We all celebrated it. School children, of course, had the field day. If they had teachers and head masters who are creative and are ready to work (quite hard) with them, the young ones came up with quite spirited performances.

As for adults, we were a little misty eyed. We shared videos that celebrated the Maharashtra Geet. We reminisced a little bit. We shared jokes. Great! But what next? 

Sure, Marathi is now accepted as a classical language which is great, too. But what next? Have you realised that ever since Marathi was nominated as a classical language, there has been constant and huge talk about the dialects. Yes, dialects, sociolects, idiolects and all such varieties matter. 

Yet what is equally important is the fact that the standard language is not sacrificed to the identity wars. Actually, even within a dialect, there are multiple varieties. Language changes literally every twelve miles. Undoubtedly,  all these varieties have to be enriched, have to be cared for. But not at the cost of the standard language, and, that, too, just to spite a certain identity.

Otherwise, impossible practical difficulties would emerge. A language needs vibrancy that emerges out of contemporary relevance. Suppose, to make Marathi highly relevant, it is decided to use it for commerce and science enterprises. Obviously, these efforts would be possible only if we respect the standard usage of the language. 

Can we have banking or share market deliberations in very many local dialects? Can we discuss all the aspects of various scientific analyses in very many dialects sociolects, idiolects? Right now the UGC is translating text books, et al, in the various mother tongues of India. The very purpose of such an enterprise would be defeated if there is an undue insistence on local dialects. What then would be any relevance or use of the classical status?

The classical status cannot be merely for idolizing the past. It has to have a present as well as future reference point. Hence the need to avoid jingoism about dialects and sociolects, and so on. Otherwise, empty rhetoric can fuel, as it always does, empty tokenism and meaningless societal skirmishes, however smart the garb might be regarding the use of the local variety! Hope, on the Marathi Day, we will pledge to overcome such empty egoism.

Pratima@ It is very fashionable these days to dismiss grammar and celebrate communication. Actually such convenient binaries themselves are promulgated by vested interests who are basically more in to just furthering their own welfare, and at the cost of the academic discipline, the societal structure, for instance. Time to know the wolves hiding in the unsheared wool of the sheep!