As I mentioned in the post here, M and I have been working on hindi language skills for the past few weeks - a bit of writing (I realize now that hindi is a much much easier language to write - it follows logical phonetical patterns...), a bit of speaking, a bit of listening. Honestly, it is seeming tougher than I thought. With Vish and I mostly conversing in English, Manya does not get to "hear" hindi - which means her exposure is limited and the nuances and context of the language is that much harder to pick up.
In frustration, she goes the other day, "How do I know whether कमरा (room) is boy or girl? How do I decide when to use what gender?" We are sticking to the good old wisdom - the more you use a language, the more you'll know.
Add to the gender mess, the pitfalls of translation. That goes two ways - in sentence construction - you cannot literally translate word for word - because the grammar and syntax and semantics differ greatly. Then the biggest hurdle at this point - vocabulary. With English, M first heard the language, then learnt to speak it, then learnt to read it and finally learnt to write. Over the years, her vocabulary has really grown - she expresses herself and her emotions in complex sentences using words beyond her age. Now, she feels the vaccumm of that lack of expression in hindi. We tell her not to think in English and try to translate, but try to think in hindi - but that is easier said than done. We are at the linguistic stage of मेरी माँ का नाम युविका है | (My mother's name is Yuvika.) But developmentally, what she wants to actually say is माँ preposterous है | "Mom, what is the hindi for preposterous?". Gosh, I have no idea! Forget the big words. "Mom what is the hindi for arm pits." Ummm. Errrr. "Mom, do you really know hindi?" Oops!
So ofcourse I had this big brain wave. She needs to watch hindi videos! What better way to use technology to learn a language. Since I am pretty clueless as to the current kids' hindi watchlist, I went back to my own childhood for pointers. We started with the then very famous and popular video on Doordarshan. Who does not remember "एक चिड़िया , अनेक चिड़िया". This was ofcourse immediately dismissed as boring.
I then introduced her to the source of my first childhood nightmares. विक्रम और बेताल. M was completely taken in by Betaal. She anyways loves all things gore, so the fascination was obvious. However, the stories (quoting her) "just don't make any sense". Also as I watched I realized that the stories were not only age inapporpriate but completely irrelevant given how the times have changed.
Finally, Vish started watching the Ramayana with her and they have been going on steadily. However, I don't know how much hindi she is learning. Every few minutes she lets out an exasperated sigh and finds something absolutely silly, stupid, obnoxious or "this just doesn't make any sense". We have reached the part where Ram and Lakshman have finally found Hanuman and the story of Bali and Sugreev is introduced.
Here are some of her observations in her very own words...
"I love Indian gods and the Indian kings and queens from the olden days - they have so much gold, and gems, and jewellery." (A side note: In complete contrast to me who is a no jewellery person, M loves jewellery - the blingier the better!)
(Ram-Sita Wedding)
"Why is everyone looking at Ram so lovingly? I don't find him that handsome. Why is Sita's mother looking at him like that?"
(Me: "Manya she is captivated by his divinity - his beauty, charm - his godliness.")
"I think he looks quite ordinary."
(Ram being sent for vanvas)
"This is so unfair. Why does Ram have to agree with his dad? He is wrong. Everybody is wrong. It is just not fair. "
(Me: Manya those were the days when the kids followed the parents' word without a question. There was absolute obedience - no ifs and buts"
"I think that's pretty dumb. Anybody can be wrong. You love your parents but you don't have to follow them if they are wrong. I would never leave all my jewels behind and go to the forest. And why does Sita have to go? If I was Sita, I would just take my jewels and go back to my parents' home."
(I was itching to start a conversation about satyug and kalyug but decided to park it for another day - kalyug is here to stay ;))
"Why are all the men top naked - what do they do in winters. How much can all those necklaces keep them warm? In the summers do the jewels on the bare skin cause rashes?"
(Sita apharan)
"This is ridiculous. Ram is such a useless husband - if he has all these powers, why can't he just give some to Sita so she can protect herself."
"How can drawing a line around Sita help?"
"Why is Sita so powerless - why can't she fight for herself? How come no woman has special powers? Why are only men fighting and women crying?"
"Why does Ravan need another wife when he already has a wife? Does getting more wives make you richer? Don't you marry for love? Then how can he force Sita?"
"Mom, the animations and graphics are not so realistic - everythign looks a bit fake. They need to make a new one."
Yes, they do!
Phew, I will keep you posted as we progress with the epic. Till then wish me luck as we grapple with allegories and metaphors and even unquestionable logic!
(PS As we were having these conversations, I was reminded of a conversation around Ramayana that I had exacty a decade ago with my then four year old nephew that I documented here. Maybe deep analytical skills, when it comes to mythology and epics and stories, run in the family ;).
In frustration, she goes the other day, "How do I know whether कमरा (room) is boy or girl? How do I decide when to use what gender?" We are sticking to the good old wisdom - the more you use a language, the more you'll know.
Add to the gender mess, the pitfalls of translation. That goes two ways - in sentence construction - you cannot literally translate word for word - because the grammar and syntax and semantics differ greatly. Then the biggest hurdle at this point - vocabulary. With English, M first heard the language, then learnt to speak it, then learnt to read it and finally learnt to write. Over the years, her vocabulary has really grown - she expresses herself and her emotions in complex sentences using words beyond her age. Now, she feels the vaccumm of that lack of expression in hindi. We tell her not to think in English and try to translate, but try to think in hindi - but that is easier said than done. We are at the linguistic stage of मेरी माँ का नाम युविका है | (My mother's name is Yuvika.) But developmentally, what she wants to actually say is माँ preposterous है | "Mom, what is the hindi for preposterous?". Gosh, I have no idea! Forget the big words. "Mom what is the hindi for arm pits." Ummm. Errrr. "Mom, do you really know hindi?" Oops!
So ofcourse I had this big brain wave. She needs to watch hindi videos! What better way to use technology to learn a language. Since I am pretty clueless as to the current kids' hindi watchlist, I went back to my own childhood for pointers. We started with the then very famous and popular video on Doordarshan. Who does not remember "एक चिड़िया , अनेक चिड़िया". This was ofcourse immediately dismissed as boring.
I then introduced her to the source of my first childhood nightmares. विक्रम और बेताल. M was completely taken in by Betaal. She anyways loves all things gore, so the fascination was obvious. However, the stories (quoting her) "just don't make any sense". Also as I watched I realized that the stories were not only age inapporpriate but completely irrelevant given how the times have changed.
Finally, Vish started watching the Ramayana with her and they have been going on steadily. However, I don't know how much hindi she is learning. Every few minutes she lets out an exasperated sigh and finds something absolutely silly, stupid, obnoxious or "this just doesn't make any sense". We have reached the part where Ram and Lakshman have finally found Hanuman and the story of Bali and Sugreev is introduced.
Here are some of her observations in her very own words...
"I love Indian gods and the Indian kings and queens from the olden days - they have so much gold, and gems, and jewellery." (A side note: In complete contrast to me who is a no jewellery person, M loves jewellery - the blingier the better!)
(Ram-Sita Wedding)
"Why is everyone looking at Ram so lovingly? I don't find him that handsome. Why is Sita's mother looking at him like that?"
(Me: "Manya she is captivated by his divinity - his beauty, charm - his godliness.")
"I think he looks quite ordinary."
(Ram being sent for vanvas)
"This is so unfair. Why does Ram have to agree with his dad? He is wrong. Everybody is wrong. It is just not fair. "
(Me: Manya those were the days when the kids followed the parents' word without a question. There was absolute obedience - no ifs and buts"
"I think that's pretty dumb. Anybody can be wrong. You love your parents but you don't have to follow them if they are wrong. I would never leave all my jewels behind and go to the forest. And why does Sita have to go? If I was Sita, I would just take my jewels and go back to my parents' home."
(I was itching to start a conversation about satyug and kalyug but decided to park it for another day - kalyug is here to stay ;))
"Why are all the men top naked - what do they do in winters. How much can all those necklaces keep them warm? In the summers do the jewels on the bare skin cause rashes?"
(Sita apharan)
"This is ridiculous. Ram is such a useless husband - if he has all these powers, why can't he just give some to Sita so she can protect herself."
"How can drawing a line around Sita help?"
"Why is Sita so powerless - why can't she fight for herself? How come no woman has special powers? Why are only men fighting and women crying?"
"Why does Ravan need another wife when he already has a wife? Does getting more wives make you richer? Don't you marry for love? Then how can he force Sita?"
"Mom, the animations and graphics are not so realistic - everythign looks a bit fake. They need to make a new one."
Yes, they do!
Phew, I will keep you posted as we progress with the epic. Till then wish me luck as we grapple with allegories and metaphors and even unquestionable logic!
(PS As we were having these conversations, I was reminded of a conversation around Ramayana that I had exacty a decade ago with my then four year old nephew that I documented here. Maybe deep analytical skills, when it comes to mythology and epics and stories, run in the family ;).
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