Vinayika Poddar tries to decode the clash of English language with the mother tongue
I was at the Old Delhi Railway Station last month and while I was waiting for my train to arrive; I saw a young girl standing next to me talking to the coolie in English. The poor man was so bewildered and did not seem to understand anything. Back then I was not able to understand why she would talk to the man, who clearly wasn’t educated, in English. She wanted to feel power and confidence, she wanted to feel superior in front of the people around her. Just because she was speaking English the people around would look up to her, envy her. She would automatically get better service from that coolie.
Till a few months ago I would have probably done the same as that teenager girl. I would never talk in Hindi in a public place like a fancy restaurant or a social gathering. But, today I am a different person. Today when I am away from my people, my culture, my country, I realise the value of having a mother tongue, a language that I was born with. I feel proud to know Hindi in a country where no one else does. Every time I visit the little Indian shop near my school, looking at all the Red Chilli Kurkure packets, the Hajmola bottles, the Bubbaloo bubblegum make me feel like I am back in the street of India. The big queue in front of the Indian naan and butter chicken stall makes me feel proud to be an Indian. A Bollywood song with its Hindi lyrics can make Indians in any part of the world groove together. A passing conversation in Hindi with a waiter at an Indian restaurant makes me feel both homesick and proud; the language connects me to my home. The only thing that saves me from completely getting lost in this foreign land is English. It is a language that has united the world.
While India was under the British rule, the British educated Indians in English, and those educated Indians were the ones who had the highest paid jobs. They were the rich and the upper class, because they were educated in English. So, the idea of English speaking individuals being the so call ‘upper class’ of the society has continued ever since. May be it also justifies our obsession to learn English, may be not. I am not sure anymore. I do not want to give up Hindi. But I feel that presently, when I am away from India, and not speaking Hindi, my Hindi might die. What if I forget the language completelyIJ But, I think again...It is my mother tongue. No matter where I live, I will always be called an Indian. No matter how far away I am from my country, I can never forget my mother tongue.