They mind their language, and love it too

Mind Your Language and Zabaan Sambhalke may have been iconic television serials in the 1980s and 1990s but for 80yearold Dr Sushila Gupta itrsquos all in a dayrsquos work As the Honorary Research Director at Hindustani Prachar Sabhau00a0Dr Gupta teaches Hindi to students from variou00a0us corners of the globe who have made the city their home For over a decade Dr Gupta along with two instructors at the institute have been teaching students the ins and outs of the national language and providing a key to understanding Indian cultureu00a0 Illustration Amit Bandre ldquoWhen foreigners reside in Mumbai they feel the need to learn Hindi Usually private courses are expensive and the people who run these are moneymindedrdquo explains the former college principal adding that educating expatriates requires different methods than teaching people who hear Hindi daily and are familiar with it ldquoWhile there are MA level courses to learn Hindi most students prefer to get acquainted with conversational Hindirdquo she observes Class conscious Classes are held every Saturday and include 1015 students per batch who range from consulate staff to wives of diplomats and social workers The Hindi course helps students learn the alphabet and also teaches them to communicate in public Students of Dr Gupta vouch for her unorthodox teaching methods It includes getting her students to give twominute speeches in Hindi during seminars and making them bargain with shopkeepers in Hindi as part of their syllabus NUTS ABOUT INDIA Students enjoy coconut water during one of their sessions ldquoStudents must love the language and enjoy speaking it to do well To learn Hindi more than a classroom environment itrsquos necessary to expose students to the world out there Thatrsquos where their language skills ultimately get put to the testrdquo observes Dr Gupta PRIZE PERFECT The convocation ceremony which included distribution of certificatesu00a0 To draw the attention of the students the lectures include discussions on topics such as cinema and music ldquoStudents have to feel a connection to the topic to be able to speak up interesting topics and a healthy dose of humour help draw them into discussions Besides I give them a lot of homework so that they donrsquot forget their lessons Despite this my students often say they canrsquot wait for class on Saturdaysrdquo reveals Dr Gupta with a laugh High on Hindi After having taught students from all over the world Dr Gupta admits that there is no age or gender barrier to learning Hindi ldquoI have had students as young as 10 and as old as 70 both of them managed to learn just finerdquo To reiterate her point Dr Gupta took upon the challenge of learning Russian in a year and trained in Moscow She came out with flying colours ldquoIt might be easier to learn a new language when you are young but if you practice and are determined nothing will stop you even when you are olderrdquo However there are challenges at times due to diverse nationalities of students mdash ldquoThe Japanese for example have trouble with pronouncing lsquoRarsquo and lsquoLarsquo while the Danish stumble with pronouncing lsquoKarsquo and lsquoAarsquo Russians and Spanish students learn soon but British and American students have problems due to their accent We take it with a pinch of salt No one is allowed to laugh at others as they are all in the same boatrdquo All in a dayrsquos work Besides being taught Hindi these classes also offer students a crash course on Indian culture and history ldquoAll Indian festivals are celebrated in the class students make Rangolisand wear Indian attirerdquo Being expatriates these students often end up leaving the course midway due to visa hassles transfer postings or even natural calamities ldquoWe had a Japanese student who lost his friend during the Tsunami Still he insisted on giving his exams Though he didnrsquot get through in the first attempt he reappeared for it and passed It reflects the resilience of their culturerdquo she observes Sometimes they get unexpected additions such as when the parents drop into class with young ones in tow Dr Gupta admits that despite the challenges it feels worth it when at the end of the day the Japanese students bow down to thank the instructors and the instructors see their students speak the language with aplomb In fact it was at the studentsrsquo insistence that they started a fourth year Hindi course from this year onwards ldquoLanguages are not made by joining letters and words It acts as cultural markers that define a nationrdquo she concludes Case studies IAH Sorensen 49 from Denmark visited India as a volunteer married an Indian and settled down in Mumbai She has been a student at the Sabha for three years has attended Saral Hindi classes and enrolled for the fourth year course this year ldquoI love this institute and the fact that they teach foreigners the nuances of Hindi and the culture Itrsquos not easy as we have no roots in Hindi and they have to teach us from scratch We are assessed on practical exercises such as communicating in the marketplace shops and restaurants which forces us to speak correctly Dr Gupta is sweet but very strict and shows no mercy for her all students are the same We love her for it and have begged her to continue teaching us which is why the course has been extendedrdquo she saysu00a0Norwegian Joe Ekker 37 is also a fourth year student at the institute and has completed the Saral Hindi course as well Unlike other students Joe came to India to specifically learn Hindi ldquoI searched for years for the right course Most had academic courses which were unsuitable as I was new to Hindirdquo he says Ekker lived near Indian and Pakistani communities in Oslo and thatrsquos where he first heard Hindi ldquoThis course taught me how to deal with the practicalities of the language Now I have started correcting peoplersquos Hindi grammarrdquo he laughsu00a0 Did you know gtgt Recognised by the Central government the Hindustani Prachar Sabha was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 to promote Hindustani an amalgamation of Hindi and Urdu using Devnagari and Urdu scripts gtgtu00a0u00a0The Hindustani Prachar Sabha offers threeyear courses in Hindi for foreigners and conducts Saral Hindi classes for students to grasp conversational Hindi From this year they have introduced a fourth year of education gtgtu00a0u00a0Annual Hindi classes are free and held on Saturdays They charge R500 as a refundable deposit They also have fourhour crash courses in Hindi R300 per session gtgtu00a0u00a0The Sabha has a library that includes 45000 books in Hindi and Urdu making it one of Asiarsquos largest research libraries u00a0 The 20122013 Hindi classes will commence from June 23 11 am At Mahatma Gandhi Memorial building Netaji Subhash Marg near Charni Road station W Call 22812871 22810126u00a0