local Hindi

I do speak Hindi, especially at home or when I am with friends from UP. But I generally prefer to stick to English when talking to anyone else. Hindi may be what a lot of my friends think it to be - the "national" language, but for me, it has been a very local language and every time I am in India, it seems to be getting more and more localized. I see a very compelling reason to speak Hindi only to people from UP. There is a certain flavor to Hindi of UP, that only people from the region can appreciate. A lot of times, the vocabulary uses so much of Urdu or Sanskrit, that it is practically a language different from that of Bombay or Delhi. Hindi in UP is not just the language of city-talk, but it also has been the language of law and business. Yet is the other "mainstream" form of Hindi - the variety that relies on English for sophistication but keeps the only "local" aspects for Hindi expression - that has been welcomed and accepted. Much as I like to distinguish this form of Hindi from the one I speak, there is a certain music and nonchalance to this city-hindi that I find amusing. The Mumbai-Hindi is really the best example; it is spoken in a city inhabited by everyone from around India - the bhaiyas, the madrasis, the ghatis and the bongs. They are all there and they use the mishmash of Hindi and English to go by. The nonchalant "masti" of the life in the city- whether it be impoverished or elite - is expressed very well in the form of Hindi that has evolved in the city. Hindi of Mumbai might have the same syntax as that from UP but it derives a lot of words from Marathi and other local languages, apart from, its Mumbaiya character.

Delhi has its own form of Hindi - yet again - influenced by neighboring states. The Punjabi and Hindustani are so close in syntax and mood, that for me it has always been difficult to distinguish Delhi Hindi from Punjabi. If I were to speak the Hindi of Delhi I would rather choose Punjabi because I think there would be a lot more justice served that way - both to Hindi and to Punjabi. It is hard not to acknowledge the role that a common syntax and general appreciation of poetry that Urdu has provided to the whole of North India. If there is one language - with its variants loosely similar to each other - through North India, then it is mostly because of influence of Urdu. However, the influence of Urdu as well as the usability of a common Indian language has declined over last century to the extent that Hindi is only a shallow reminder of the past. Hindi is not used for any purpose except admittance of unyielding local ways. An average North Indian speaks Hindi only as long as he or she is describing his "local" feelings. The moment there is need to be assertive or to say something pithy - the language unconsciously switches to English. the only exceptions are those who have accepted English completely and never choose Hindi to communicate with anyone. If you don't believe that, do a very easy experiment. Just start disagreeing with a Hindi speaker and tell him that he is wrong about everything he is saying. Most likely the Hindi speaker would re-tell you everything in English - only expecting you to find it all more authentic, reliable and convincing. Such is the Hindi that has flourished in the cities of India. Despite its charm and amusement, there is really little that it has to offer. It would not be incorrect to say that the Hindi of big cities is really a local flavor of English, rather than that of Hindi.

a crisis of beauty

There is that essential charm in theology - the story of Christianity. The effect of religion is at least as deep rooted as is human history - partly because religion itself is a record of history.

There is this beauty in religion that it can explain everything - even things that science cannot. Nothing comforts more than when all nature is explained through a simple story. It is really the story that makes religion so graspable and far reaching.

There are many other things woven into religion but primarily it is the the human story that forms most of its appeal. Religion stands time, the future - and our being outside of the realms of time is pondered over and is explained convincingly by religion. Nothing else nearly achieves that.

The feelings of love, family and other values can be easily irreversibly tied together with this story. The story only provides beauty and its only the beauty itself that religion is tied to. Unfortunately we tend to claim more than beauty from assertions of our religion. That is where the beauty of religion fails to converge with the nature of its appeal. This is the crisis that we deal with.