Hindi for the soul

BY DOLLY SINGH MIRANDA

“Learning your own language helps strengthen your identity,” said Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Citizenship, Communities and Aboriginal Affairs, at Hindi Divas celebrations in Sydney last month.

Hindi Mela, a 2-day celebration organised by Australian Hindi Committee, IABBV Hindi School and the Indian Literary and Art Society of Australia (ILASA) to mark Hindi Divas consisted of a plethora of treats for the lovers of the language.

A kavi sammelan (poets’ meet) held at Epping and a whole day event organised by the IABBV Hindi School at Thornleigh Public School had it all: from poems and recitations to ghazals and songs, from sher-o-shayari and dohas to plays and skits, it was all about Hindi, displayed in its full glory, glowing with pride and basking in the attention of the rapt audience!

Hindi School event

The celebrations at the IABBV Hindi school were kick started by Mala Mehta who shared her vision of Hindi being introduced and taught in all mainstream schools in Australia and a greater understanding and acceptance of the Indian culture in the mainstream.

It was very encouraging to see the support of many dignitaries present including Victor Dominello, Consul General of India Arun Goel, MPs Phillip Ruddock and Matt Kean MP, Dr Phil Lambert from the Department of Education and Training, Mayor of Hornsby Shire Steve Russell, singer Kamahl Kamalesvaran and Principal of Giraween Hindi School Gunjan Tripathi, among others.

Victor Dominello spoke about the “importance of knowing your roots” and congratulated Mala for her hard work, passion and pioneering work for Hindi in Australia.

Dr Lambert also echoed the same sentiments and spoke about the “growing need for Australia to understand contemporary India”.

The most-awaited part of the day was however, the performances by the young students, who have made their teachers and parents proud!

These students have shown exceptional commitment to their mother-tongue, spending their Sunday mornings at the Hindi School, learning the language and staying deeply connected to their roots and the community.

The teachers have also shown equal fervour, dedication and passion for the language by volunteering their time and knowledge at the school.

They performed with equal vigour Tagore’s famous play Kabuliwalla as well as a poem composed and written by teacher Varsha, Sapna London Ka, inspired by the London Olympics.

The little ones delighted with Ek raja ki beti, Ek chiriya ke bacche, and Incy winsy makra

One poem which was highly appreciated by all was titled Sooraj aur chand a beautiful poem about God.

Jisne suraj chand bannaya, jisne taaron ko chamkaayan

Jisne chidiyo ko chehekaya, jisne phoolon ko mehkaya

Jisne saara jagat banaaya, jisne rachi hamari kaaya

Us eshwar ko sada manao, use prem se shish jhukao

The tabla presentation by 6-year-old Babu Cunio, was simply touching.

Renowned singer Kamahl, recited Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s famous Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, and had the audience completely enthralled and enraptured!

He also recited Unending Love by Tagore, which apparently was also a favourite of Audrey Hepburn!

The event was also marked by students receiving awards for outstanding achievement and excellence in Hindi. their ware.

Nidhi Daithankar and Vritee Divecha received the NSW Minister’s Awards 2012 for excellence in Hindi.

Astha Rajvanshi and Ankita Sachdeva (alumni) were commended for their achievements outside the Hindi School. The winners of the essay competition were Pallavi Arora (15) from Mac Robertson GHS Melbourne for her essay on Meri Naani; Hardik Trivedi (16) from Glen Waverly Secondary College Melbourne and Saumya Kakria of Mac Robertson GHS Melbourne for their essay Mere Pita, and Pallavi Singh from Fairhills HS Melbourne for her essay Mother Teresa.

Awards were also given for poetry recitation and photo essay competitions. The Indian Consulate in Sydney and community organisations sponsored the prizes.

The occasion also saw the release of Rekha Rajvanshi’s new book Kangaroon ke desh mein, based on the experiences of new migrant families. The post lunch session was devoted to drama.

The first play Mera Pushpak Vimaan written by a well know Hindi writer KM Mishra and directed by Rekha Rajvanshi was based on a working class family man who dreams of owning an airplane!

A common theme was – you guessed it – love!

Poets Ritu Bhamra, Manju Mittal, Anu Chhabra, Rajpal Sandhu, Sukhpreet and Pradeep, all spoke about this wonderful yet frustrating state of mind.

Pradeep, who came last but got the heartiest laughs, presented brilliantly on the challenges and difficulties of expressing love in the Hindi language. There was much laughter as he recited some hilarious incidents of trying to write love letters in Hindi during his student days.

Relationships as a theme was also frequently visited. Presenters Sonu Sarda, Rajpal Sandhu, Ritu Bhamra, and Manju Mittal, all touched on various aspects and nuances of relationships

Sonu Sarda’s Rishtoh Kee Udhedh Bun was particularly memorable: Rishtey hum jitna bunte hai utna udhedte jaate hai Kisse ko jyaada pyaar karein toh takrar keh bahane ban jaate hain Har rishta apeksha mein itna ulajh jaata hain kee har pal upekshith mehsoos karta hai Aur phir na rishta rehta hai na pyaar Reh jaata hai to bas ek lokhachar

Kitty is gone missing written by Neena Badhwar and directed by Rekha Rajvanshi revolved around some central themes of issues faced by families after migrating to Australia. It used humour to portray sensitive points around changing values, ethos and lifestyles among the Indian families!

The final play Ek adbhoot kahani, was an abridged version of a short play by Bimal Banerjee, translated into Hindi by Rekha Rajvanshi.

Kavi Sammelan

Rekha Rajvanshi’s opening lines at this year’s Kavi Sammelan were a perfect aperitif to prepare the palate for the beautiful evening to follow.

Kissi Geeta se na pooja se ada hotee hai Na badhshahon kee daulat se ada hotee hai

Rehmatein sirf barastee hai unhee daaman mein jinme bujurgo kee dua hotee hai

The event brought together seasoned as well as fresh talent in perfect harmony.

Held at the Epping Leisure and Learning Centre and entitled Kavi ke udgaar, sangeet kee jhankaar, it was in beautiful baithak style, complete with silk and satin rugs, sequin cushions and Lord Ganesha’s idol on the podium.

Along with the more experienced, established poets, nine upcoming “shayaars” (most of them finds from Facebook) presented

Other topics included the Hindi language (Asmita, Pradeep), India (Vimla Luthra), Life and dreams (Garima Trivedi), Indian woman (Sonu Sarda) and Maa (Asmita).

A special mention of the renowned, spirited and a mentor to many, Om Krishna Rahat, lovingly called “OK Uncle”. His narrations also had people laughing, cheering and clapping loudly!

As if the soul needed more, the poetry was interspersed with music and songs sung by the famous and extremely melodious Pushpa and Vinod.

They belted out some evergreen hits like Mere toh Girdhar Gopal, Waqt ne kiya kyaa haseen sitam, and Taube tumhaare yeh ishaare among others!

Lalit Mehra sang songs inspired by the sufiana gharana, and Shobha rendered an edition of Megha chaye aadhee raat.

Amidst all this, there were tributes to the greats of the Indian literary society – Amir Khusro, Ghalib, Kaifi Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Gulzaar.

The evening was graced by many dignitaries and leaders of the community including Vice Consul Mr. Sethi with his wife.

One also had the privilege of chatting with some spirited and keen senior citizens, who are writers and poets themselves and follow their passion keenly, like Kailash Bhatnagar and Vimla Luthra.

A beautiful evening indeed with Hindi poetry that touched the soul!