Statutory Warning - This piece in no way
is trying to show one language below another but is an attempt to show how
important is the role of language in our daily lives.
Believe
me I am a proud citizen of this country called India and have always respected
its diversity but off late this diversity has become a little overbearing for
me. Here I am out on a field visit with a groups of classmates from different
parts of southern India and almost at every step I realise the division between
us which is nothing but language based. On the very onset of this journey I
realised what language does…it divides! We are a group of 7, out of which 3 of
us belong to northern India and the rest to the southern. It just wasn’t the
fact that I couldn’t get some of the jokes my friends from south cracked to due
to language issue, it was also the anguish my northie classmate faced when the
bus we were traveling in had a Telugu movie being screened. The poor girl had
to get up at 2 am and shout at the conductor as hearing loudly an absolutely
different language gave her a headache. The same person couldn’t control her
happiness when she saw our hotel room had a television. I’m still not sure what
she was happy about – having a TV after 2 months or being able to hear things
in a language she knew. I’m guessing at a subconsciously level it was the
latter.
Language
also binds as I saw a colleague of mine bond with the teachers, students and
staff in the Telugu medium school we visited, while me and another friend
gapped at everyone’s faces unable to ask or answer questions. I always thought
it was about being from the same gender that men got along with each other and
so did women (well almost), but this time I could bet that it wasn’t just
gender that my dear friends from south shared but it was also the language and
regional connections. While watching the popular show – Kaun Banega Crorepati,
I also heard a southie friend complain that he felt no matter how educated he
was, he wouldn’t be able to participate in the show. On being asked why he felt
so, his simple reply was - it was meant for north Indians as there were
questions relating to Hindi language. I wish Mr.Amitabh Bachchan could answer
that because seriously I didn’t know what to say!
The
one thing that is connecting us so far is not just being students of the same
university but also a language – English! I hate to say this but the British
are still ruling us! Well believe me if it weren’t for English I would’ve been
at a loss of words for communicating with my colleagues.
So,
yes we are one nation one country but then again we are divided due to
language, binded because of it and ruled by it!
