A few weeks ago, in a pocket of India remembered only by scuba-diving tourists, Boa Sr spoke her last words. With her passing, the Great Andamanese of India’s far-flung Andaman islands lost more than a member of their tribe. They lost – we lost – the last living speaker of Bo, their native tongue and – what should have been for the rest of us – a national treasure.

Besides a few stray newspaper articles, little was said about this unspeakable loss. Maybe no words remain to describe it. Had it been Sanskrit that died, it would have been felicitated with a mausoleum of eulogies.

There are some that do not mourn the death of languages; instead they choose to celebrate such demises claiming that they serve to unite the world. And there are some who are at seemingly endless war over languages – over the right to speak them and the right to prevent them from being spoken.

India has 26 official languages among a total of 452 listed by The Ethnologue, along with thousands of dialects. Our northern states were not divided on the basis of language but in southern India, language was the factor that drew the tenuous borders between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, and set Tamil Nadu apart from Kerala, and Orissa from Andhra. While all of these states have a good mix of speakers of all languages and immigrant communities that have lived there and integrated into the society and economy far longer and far deeper than some of the locals, the officialdom associated with language draws a sharp wedge between people. As we read this, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are bowing to these divisive forces.

In Bangalore, for instance, Tamil-speaking labourers have consistently been targeted while the largest population of non-Kannada speakers – those who speak Telugu – carry on un-maligned. With the recent migration of people from the north Indian states into Karnataka, auto-rickshaw drivers have started to speak Hindi even before they utter a phrase in Kannada. Yet, their resentment of them is unmasked. On the other hand, pro-Kannada groups are pressing demands for reservation and fuelling anti-English agitations.

Our languages, considered by the awestruck outside world as a testimonial to our diversity, are today the fault-lines along which our society is being divided. Who are the real instigators of this divide – the passive people or the hyperactive political mafia?

In the trained tongues of scholars, language becomes a sharp tool for enlightenment and social integration. In the loose tongues of knaves, it degenerates into a blunt weapon.

At the One Small Love concert on February 14, Saswati Chakravarty, former senior editor of The Economic Times and an ardent Bangalorean, examined the question of language as a tool of cultural assimilation.

Saswati arrived 25 years ago in Bangalore from Kolkata (then Calcutta). Though she did not feel like an outsider in the city that “accepted differences”, she learned Kannada and explored theatre, film and music in the native language of her adopted city.

But did her learning Kannada make her an insider? Does knowing to speak Kannada give her a feeling of empowerment? Through this process of assimilation, what happened to the Bengali in her? Can the notions of language and culture be used interchangeably as they often are today?

Where do we draw the line? And who will draw it?

Watch the video for an enlightening perspective from this acclimated Bangalorean.

Discuss the issue of language here.

The post Free Speech is music to our ears – Saswati draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

If Led Zep was a Hindi rock band, and “Chandrande irritu bhagam” was that great Floyd album and “Sakkaray magu nanna” or something like that, was the biggest Tamil/Kannada hit by Guns n Roses, if only it had happened like that, it would have helped me learn all our beautiful languages so much more easily. It’s difficult for me to catch up now… at this ripe age. I repent bunking all those tuition classes for 2nd 3rd and 4th language in school. I’m part of a pathetic hopeless minority, and it’s lonely here. Obviously, you must have figured by now, i bunked most English classes also

So that’s no Eng, no Mallu, no Hindi, no Kannada, no French..wow (and when it comes to math and physics and chem… just forget it boss..it’s a hopeless scene).

Some people say we ape the west…Bijoy says we are the apes here.. and that mixed with being a hard core Nirvana fan makes it the full circle of life, evolution existence, sociopsycho whatever etc.

Speaking of Nirvana, that reminds me of what happened at a tribute concert in Kozhikode (Calicut) Kerala, when Kurt Kobain died. Why a tribute gig happened in Kozhikode??? I don’t know, blame it on Vasco da Gama.

Anyways, some Calicut buddies (the drugstore cowboys) who were devastated at Kurt’s death got plastered, and were screaming out all the lyrics of Nirvana songs…and that’s when the cops landed up.

And the mallu cops pull up the boys and ask them whats happening?

So my friends replied “Kurt marichu saaray, Kurt marichu sniff sniff”

Cop is very surprised and replies – “endhu keatu marichu???”

hehehe…sorry that was a bad private mallu joke

But i guess in the end its all about how you mean things and not about how its said … remember that Moody Blues song that went…

“Its not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me.
Its more the way you really mean it
When you tell me what will be.”

Spot quiz – name the song.

So I guess, in a sense, if the heart is in the right place then language skills are not that critical

In any case I would like to catch up with the Indian vernacular rock and I hope in a few years we will see the Delhi release of Patthar Gully Akhbaar (Rock Street Journal) and Urulunna kallu (rolling stone) for our beloved Keralites.

Had a quick beer with a good friend of TAAQ + eminent journo (not a paper puli, she). She interviewed Mick Jagger once and asked him a pretty pertinent question… why they sang ‘Satisfaction’ in such an American accent. “i Cain’t get no saaatisfaaaction” as opposed to “i Kaant get no satisfaction”. For that matter even the sentence construction is completely non British. In propah English it should have been “I cant get ANY satisfaction”…. ‘i cant get NO satisfaction’ is so wrong.

Obviously, even Jagger was aping someone from further west.

I think there’s no education like rock education – we don’t need no education.

Or to put it in correct English – we don’t need “any” education period (meaning bunk all classes)

Cheers,

Rajeev

PS:

Here’s my favorite Nirvana lyric. The way he meant it can never be translated. Listening to it right now … long live Kurt

Dumb

I’m not like them
But I can pretend
The sun is gone
But I have a light
The day is done
But I’m having fun
I think I’m dumb
Or maybe just happy

Think I’m just happy [repeat 3x]

My heart is broke
But I have some glue
Help me inhale
And mend it with you
Well float around
And hang out on clouds
Then well come down
And I have a hangover

Have a hangover [repeat 3x]

Skin the sun
Fall asleep
Wish away
The soul is cheap
Lesson learned
Wish me luck
Soothe the burn
Wake me up

[repeat first verse and chorus]

I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb
I think I’m dumb

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