|
Humor / Satire
The Hari Putar Dialogues � 29
by
Rajesh Talwar
(Sify
News; 28 October; Mumbai: Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan has justified
the cause of Hindi. And this comes at a time when the conflict between
the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and migrant north
Indians is assuming alarming proportions in Maharashtra. Amitabh�s
reaction comes in the wake of a few comments posted on his blog in
bigadda.com (http://bigb.bigadda.com/) about his recent penchant for
writing in Hindi. However, considering the current political scenario in
the state, this can spark off a political debate once again. Big B has
been blogging for the last few months and is immensely popular both
among his fans and media. However, since he was discharged from hospital
he has been writing in Hindi as well)
Putar:
According to a report in Sify News today Amitabh Bachchan has started
writing his blog in Hindi.
Hari: That�s an interesting development, putar.
Putar: One of the interesting things about Amitabh Bacchan is that he is
equally fluent in Hindi and English.
Hari: Many people are fluent. Why do you think this is interesting?
Putar: A lot of people can speak and write both languages, but not at
Mr. Bachchan�s level of competence.
Hari: That�s true. I guess the English comes from his schooling and the
Hindi as a result of being born in an illustrious Hindi poet�s family.
Putar: That is part of the reason why he has become such an impressive
cultural representative of the country.
Hari: But I�m certain many of his English speaking fans who read his
blog are now disappointed that he is writing in Hindi, because they
cannot read or understand that language.
Putar: That�s true. A few have even threatened that they will stop
reading his blog if he continues to write in Hindi. Bacchan writes in
his blog. �There is some consternation among a few of you about the
writings in Hindi. They want a translation or some threaten to leave the
post altogether.�
Hari: And what has been his response to that?
Putar: The report quotes Bachchan as saying: �If I have an opportunity
to express some of my sentiments in my mother tongue, I shall not
hesitate to do so, whether there is someone to read it or not. I have
always maintained a balance in my life and in my conduct. I shall
continue with that. If there is thought in English that needs to be put
in Hindi, I shall endeavor to do that and vice versa. The English
language too is a great absorber of other tongues within its European
ambience. We must never disrespect the mother tongue of another, nor its
belief or its importance.�
Hari: I�m
sure these fans don�t mean any disrespect. They just feel frustrated
that they cannot understand what he is saying any more.
Putar: Well,
let me continue to read Mr Bachchan�s response. He writes: �Firstly,
what has been expressed in Hindi is a recap of what has appeared in
English, so readers are not missing anything special that may have been
expressed in another language. And secondly, I have never put any
pressure ever on anyone to visit my blog. All of you came on
voluntarily. I have enjoyed your presence, your accolades, your abuse
and your criticism in a fair democratic manner. If you desire is to
leave this facility, I really am no one to stop you.�
Hari: Surely
there is some way out.
Putar: Well,
I�m sure that a fan can volunteer to translate Mr Bachchan�s blog into
English, and with his permission the translated section can also be put
on to the blog.
Hari: What if
other fans want to read his blog in Kannada or Telugu? Mr Bachchan has
fans all over India.
Putar: Some
fans might want to read his blog in Swahili or German. Don�t forget Mr
Bachchan has fans all over the world. Hence the success of his recently
finished world tour.
Hari: He has
been voted to be the most popular human being on the planet.
Putar: Yes,
but we can�t have all these translations going around on one blog.
That�s too much. A simple Hindi to English should be enough.
Hari: Well,
now there will be thousands of fans who read his blog in Hindi, but who
cannot speak.
English. They
will feel upset if and when he reverts back to Hindi. All said and done
English is better because he has more English speaking fans in the
world.
Putar: Tell me something papaji?
Hari: Bol, putar?
Putar: There is a story about a famous linguist in Ancient India who
spoke fourteen different languages, but each as if it were his mother
tongue. The king arranged a competition for anyone to guess his mother
tongue.
Hari: And did anyone succeed, putar?
Putar: When the linguist was coming down a staircase having finished a
recitation in all these languages, someone tripped him and as he fell he
uttered a shout.
Hari: And so?
Putar: And the person who had tripped him said, �And that shout has been
uttered in your mother tongue?� Because when we get emotional we always
speak in our mother tongue.
Hari: That was an interesting ploy. And it�s almost certainly true that
in our more emotional moments we tend to revert to our mother tongue.
But what is your point and what is your question.
Putar: Well, as you know Mr Bachchan was admitted to hospital not long
ago.
Hari: It was covered all over the global media.
Putar: And he has started writing his blog in Hindi only after leaving
the hospital. He has obviously been through an emotionally turbulent
time and therefore for some time many of his thoughts will come to him
in Hindi, his mother tongue. This could be explanation. What do you
think, Papaji?
Hari: I don�t know, putar.
November 2, 2008
Top
|
Humor
|
