The article is wrong on so many counts that I don't even want to
respond to it. But I am furious because it is a malicious article. The
intent is all too clear. Biased would be a mild word for it; it is
more like a conspiracy against the growth of Hindi. Wajihuddin Saahab
seems to have reached (or may have been told to reach by the higher
powers) the conclusion already. He is merely trying to justify that
somehow with half-baked hypothesis and incorrect data. But he fails
miserably. Let's see his arguments one by one.
He writes:
========
At the academia, Hindi is not the preferred subject of specialisation
anymore. "Till the 1990s, we had nearly 400 students in the Master's
course at the Mumbai University. Now the number has dwindled to half,"
says Ramji Tiwari, a former Hindi teacher at the university. "Earlier,
students would take pride in their rashtra bhasha. Now learning the
national language is no longer a matter of pride."
========
First of all, knowing the language of one's surroundings should be
less a matter of pride than a mere natural phenomenon. In fact not
knowing it is being illiterate. Secondly, Mumbai University's data
cannot be extrapolated to conclude that it's happening everywhere. The
situation is actually the contrary. How would he explain new Hindi
related courses being added in Universities all around the world. I am
not sure if he reads even his own newspaper because he surely seems to
have missed this one:
DU to offer MA in Hindi journalism (
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Education/DU_to_offer_MA_in_Hindi_journalism/articleshow/2077942.cms)
Here's another one to open his eyes:
Hindi the bestseller at Delhi University
(
http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/03/stories/2007070358250300.htm)
His next point:
======
The language is ailing even in the film industry, once the repository
of Hindi's rich traditions. It used to shelter writers like Pradeep,
Shailendra, Indivar, and Neeraj. But new talent is simply not coming.
In the place of the great poets of yore is now someone called Sameer.
======
He cannot be more wrong on this one. But what can you expect from
someone who doesn't see beyond Sameer. If there was any time after 60s
that the Hindi film lyric writing was this good, it is now. Here are
some names - Prasoon Joshi (I wonder how he missed him since he is
quoted below), Swanand Kirkire, Sayeed Quadri, Jaideep Sahni, Piyush
Mishra. All of these are writing excellent stuff. If that's not new
promising talent, I don't know what is.
Another ignorant rant:
======
Somehow, Hindi does not have literary giants anymore. And that's
unusual for any language.
======
I doubt if he even reads anything in Hindi. Hindi does not have
literature or literary giants anymore? Heard of Kashinath Singh, Vinod
Kumar Shukla, Srilal Shukla, Rajendra Yadav, Kedarnath Singh, Manglesh
Dabral, Leeladhar Jagoodi? Though Hindi literature is much more varied
and way beyond these names, it does have its superstars, if you are
only interested in that.
And here comes a gem:
=====
Singer Lucky Ali mistook the word aas (hope) for 'ass' and almost
recorded it the asinine way.
"It was tough to explain to him the difference between aas and ass
because, probably, he had never heard of aas," says Akela. Clearly,
Hindi has stopped inspiring film writers.
=====
And how does that episode exactly tells you that "Hindi has stopped
inspiring film writers" and that too "clearly"? Come on, Mr.
Wajihuddin. You may want to enroll for a course in reasoning. Tell you
what, enroll for the Hindi journalism course. Thinking and writing in
the language you speak may help.
Another gem:
=====
The masses have no choice but to buy Hindi newspapers. The real love
for a language is reflected not in newspaper habits but in book sales,
and by that count the literary future of Hindi is gloomy.
=====
Are you kidding? Where do you come up with sentences like "The masses
have no choice but to buy Hindi newspapers." I mean who is forcing the
masses to do so? I doubt it's the Shiv Sena.
=====
Despite the bleak scenario of Hindi, some optimists feel that the
language is not in decline. "Hindi is being used increasingly in the
boardrooms and on the streets," says Prasoon Joshi, adman and poet.
"Yes, Sanskritised Hindi of Doordarshan is dying and it should die,"
he says.
=====
What optimists? You only need to be a realist to see that Hindi is not
dying; it is evolving like every other surviving language. It is
borrowing words from languages that it comes in contact with - be it
English or other Indian languages. It is a naturally absorbing
language. It did so earlier with Arabic-Persian words. Did it not
remain Hindi anymore? It will probably borrow a lot from English now.
And it will still remain Hindi - understood and spoken by most of
India. Every surviving language does that. Prasoon Joshi knows more
about the boardrooms than you do. And you either believe him or show
us some real data, not your opinions. I for one am not interested in
what you think.
wuff..
Vinay
On Feb 25, 10:17 pm, Debashish <
debash...@gmail.com> wrote:
> "Sanskritised Hindi of Doordarshan is dying and it should die," says
> Prasoon Joshi, adman and poet. Read the article athttp://
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Review/Does_Hindi_have_a_future/ar....