Today is the birth anniversary of Kusumagraj, a much venerated (he was a recipient of the Dnyanpeeth Award) and prolific author. As a tribute to his memory, his birth anniversary gets celebrated as the day dedicated to the Marathi language.
Actually, it must be. Forget the much hyped importance of the dialects, why, the much derided, despised, hated so-called standard language is hardly "Marathi" any longer! No, the usual culprit, English, has not much to do with this phenomenon.
Actually, it is Hindi! Most all of my Maharashtrian students complain, "तुम्ही सांगितलेले पुस्तक नाही भेटले लायब्ररीत." The "भेटले" here is the Hindi "मिलना" encroaching on Marathi! In simple, proper Marathi, it should be "सापडले" or "मिळाले". I can list countless such examples.
At times, I wonder if the opposition to Hindi was born out of the anger against this huge invasion. Oh, that is a silly joke, the tribe that proliferates today! All of us know the party politics involved in that episode!
Actually, I would like to get back to the theme we discussed yesterday. Yes, Savarkar! Often I wonder how many, who oppose, berate, attack him tooth and nails bared, know that he enriched the simple spoken Marathi hugely?
Let me provide a few examples. "दिनांक, क्रमांक, बोलपट, वेशभूषा, दिग्दर्शक, चित्रपट, मध्यंतर, उपस्थित, प्रतिवृत्त, नगरपालिका, महापालिका, महापौर, पर्यवेक्षक, विश्वस्त, गणसंख्या, स्तंभ" are some of the very many regularly used Marathi words which he introduced!
Hence my contention! Whether it be a person or a language, when you hate someone for the sake/hake of hating, you belittle yourself, not the person or the issue concerned!
Pratima@One must be proud of one's mother tongue. One must use it often, and properly. Yet that love should not translate in to a hatred of or a belittling of other mother tongues. Every language is beautiful, rich and enriching in countless wonderful ways.
Quote of the day: "Never ever forget either your mother or your mother tongue." Anonymous quote, but highly relevant!
Word of the day: contention "Contention" refers to a strong assertion, especially in an argument. Hence expressions like the "bone of contention".
No comments:
Post a Comment