Remember Namak Halal, well I do!!! A classic film with one of the most hilarious dialogues ever delivered by Big B. It goes something like, “I can talk Englis, i can walk Englis, I can laugh Englis, because Englis is a bery phunny language. Bhairon becomes barren and barren becomes Bhairon because their minds are very narrow”.
Bachchan then goes on to give an elaborate yet hilarious example of how well versed he is in Hindi and leaves us in splits with his complete buffoonery. I guess the whole of India must have laughed on this scene and the dialogue itself became a cult. This was yesteryears when knowing English was an added advantage unlike today where it has become a necessity. And in such a scenario where some are excellent at it, the majority suffers which makes a lot of people these days feel like it’s a crime that they are not great at English…something I call the vernacular complex!!
When I say vernacular, I don’t mean those studying in a non English medium educational institution, I mean those who have a heavy influence of their regional accent over their speaking English which in today’s hip India makes them inferior to the pure breed Indian born Angrez. Man, if the Brits come to know about this they would be beaming with eternal joy! Not only were they successful in the divide and rule policy but they unknowingly created “talk our language and feel superior” policy (Teen Goona Lagan Maaf situation). I don’t have anything against the language after all my blogs are in English (or atleast parts of them are). But how can a mastery over one language make anyone superior than those who might not have had the same resources to educate themselves in that language?
Considering the current political scenario in “Indian Raj”, not getting into the debate over which language should be used, wouldn’t be appropriate. After all, I don’t want Wizard of Proz to be renamed as Jadugar Proz (in such a case I will disown myself). But the basic law of communication is to get the message across and while English is definitely a language much used in the corporate sectors, the rural and the major urban sector of the country is still very much Hindi speaking. And these are your customers, employees and in short your target audience who would be more comfortable in talking in Hindi than to be confused the hell out by sophisticated English. Also it’s not even our national language, try using your sleek English in the northern states of India and you will get a “Bhak boodbuck” as a standard reply.
Well definitely knowing English is a must as we are in the era of globalization and it’s the language the world speaks but then does knowing it makes you superior to those who don’t …I don’t think so. What makes you superior are your thoughts and a language is simply a medium to express those thoughts. And if I can learn Latin listening to Ricky Martin’s “Un, dos, tres” how hard can learning English be with all the material you are exposed to.
For those who struggle with the language, I would say every time you think someone’s making fun of you, give them a “Yenna Rascalla” line in your mother tongue. Do that to feel better, but keep talking & reading the language because it’s not rocket science and one day you will definitely be killer at it. Also in a situation where you have to speak the language, go for the improved Indian version of English…Hinglish!!! Say those bits which you are good at in English and when you are unsure of what to say next, take a pause, add a words like “but, you see or basically” and switch to Hindi…believe me it works. Do this, keep learning & be yourself and soon you will speak such angrezi that you will leave the angrez behind… ain!
Bachchan then goes on to give an elaborate yet hilarious example of how well versed he is in Hindi and leaves us in splits with his complete buffoonery. I guess the whole of India must have laughed on this scene and the dialogue itself became a cult. This was yesteryears when knowing English was an added advantage unlike today where it has become a necessity. And in such a scenario where some are excellent at it, the majority suffers which makes a lot of people these days feel like it’s a crime that they are not great at English…something I call the vernacular complex!!
When I say vernacular, I don’t mean those studying in a non English medium educational institution, I mean those who have a heavy influence of their regional accent over their speaking English which in today’s hip India makes them inferior to the pure breed Indian born Angrez. Man, if the Brits come to know about this they would be beaming with eternal joy! Not only were they successful in the divide and rule policy but they unknowingly created “talk our language and feel superior” policy (Teen Goona Lagan Maaf situation). I don’t have anything against the language after all my blogs are in English (or atleast parts of them are). But how can a mastery over one language make anyone superior than those who might not have had the same resources to educate themselves in that language?
Considering the current political scenario in “Indian Raj”, not getting into the debate over which language should be used, wouldn’t be appropriate. After all, I don’t want Wizard of Proz to be renamed as Jadugar Proz (in such a case I will disown myself). But the basic law of communication is to get the message across and while English is definitely a language much used in the corporate sectors, the rural and the major urban sector of the country is still very much Hindi speaking. And these are your customers, employees and in short your target audience who would be more comfortable in talking in Hindi than to be confused the hell out by sophisticated English. Also it’s not even our national language, try using your sleek English in the northern states of India and you will get a “Bhak boodbuck” as a standard reply.
Well definitely knowing English is a must as we are in the era of globalization and it’s the language the world speaks but then does knowing it makes you superior to those who don’t …I don’t think so. What makes you superior are your thoughts and a language is simply a medium to express those thoughts. And if I can learn Latin listening to Ricky Martin’s “Un, dos, tres” how hard can learning English be with all the material you are exposed to.
For those who struggle with the language, I would say every time you think someone’s making fun of you, give them a “Yenna Rascalla” line in your mother tongue. Do that to feel better, but keep talking & reading the language because it’s not rocket science and one day you will definitely be killer at it. Also in a situation where you have to speak the language, go for the improved Indian version of English…Hinglish!!! Say those bits which you are good at in English and when you are unsure of what to say next, take a pause, add a words like “but, you see or basically” and switch to Hindi…believe me it works. Do this, keep learning & be yourself and soon you will speak such angrezi that you will leave the angrez behind… ain!
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