Hindi film Aradhana had created a sensation in Tamil Nadu

I lived in TN during the anti Hindi agitation days right upto the 100 weeks celebrattion of the Hindi film " Aradhaana " at Little Anand. Aradhana released when the Hindi agitation was only a few yrs old. Long serpentine queues were there for advance booking for the Hindi film Aradhana. I am Maharashtarian, who worked in Chennai and later moved to Mumbai. I was surprised to see the crowd sing along with the song " Roop Tera Mastana" in their own Chennai brand Hindi " Roop Kera Maskana" when the song appeared on the screen. At that time Kamaraj was not for imposing Hindi , but after the Kamaraj plan , Bhaktavatsalam made the cardinal mistake of imposing Hindi with directives from centre. Kamaraj as the Congress president was powerless. If Hindi had not been imposed and left to the " Parkkalam " philososphy of Kamaraj ( did he foresee Cyberspace etc) Hindi would have been popular in TN. " Parkkalam signifies an evolutionary approach, whereas brute force is always reactionary.
from: Gajanan
Posted on: Sep 28, 2012 at 06:07 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/think-rationally-about-learning-hindi-and-it-will-make-sense/article3942784.ece

Tamilians are emotional people and have been brain-washed into believing that even speaking good about other languages especially Hindi and Sanskrit would endanger Tamil. Due to this attitude, I am finding that many of the Tamilians are neither good in Tamil nor in any other language. I am a Tamilian settled in an industrial city in central India. I find many present-day Tamilian professionals whom I meet during my various business interactions, are not able to communicate effectively in Tamil or English. Their knowledge in Tamil literature is also limited to Tamil Cinema lyrics only. You talk about Thirukural or Kambaramayanam, they run away. My view is that Tamilians should come out of their shells and develop a broader view on life. They should learn to appreciate the good things in other languages and cultures too. It is childishness to point fingers at others for every one of our limitations and refuse to develop ourselves.
from: shankar
Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 11:44 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/think-rationally-about-learning-hindi-and-it-will-make-sense/article3942784.ece

The best part of the article is that this has come up in English daily, advocating about Hindi; based in South and the article is written by someone from north.
While going through the article and comments I really felt that our textbooks lack much of the integrating factor. Its pity that our Hindi textbooks did not have quotes from Tirukkural. And, I guess, same would be the case with Tamil textbooks.
And, by the way, I am from Bihar and this article was recommended to me by my best friend who happens to be from Tamil Nadu. I am learning Tamil from her; and she Hindi from me.
from: Vikash Vaibhav
Posted on: Sep 28, 2012 at 19:55 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/think-rationally-about-learning-hindi-and-it-will-make-sense/article3942784.ece

Justice Katju has rightly observed that Hindi should not be 'imposed' on anyone. However, Tamilians should not oppose Hindi for the sake of opposing. Hindi is a beautiful language & has a richness of its own. India is the only nation in the world having so many languages & diverse cultures - all of them unique at their own level, a matter of pride for all of us. If Tamilians can enjoy Hindi movies, what prevents them from learning Hindi ? When Justice Katju can quote from the Thirukkural, Silappathikaram, Manimelalai, Kambar's Ramayanam & Mahakavi Bharathiyar's poems, why can't Tamilians learn Hindi & read the immortal works of Premchand, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Harivansh Rai Bachchhan, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala etc. ? I can say with pride that apart from my mother tongue Tamil, I know Hindi, English, Bengali, Urdu etc. The Thirukkural says, "Knowledge is an inner fortress which even enemies can't destroy." The sooner we understand, the better for, knowledge never goes a waste.
from: S. Balakrishnan
Posted on: Sep 28, 2012 at 14:21 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/think-rationally-about-learning-hindi-and-it-will-make-sense/article3942784.ece

I agree with Justice Katju’s views on learning Hindi. Although Tamil is one of the oldest languages and is rich in literature, it is a regional language. Learning Hindi does not mean Tamil is given less importance. Since I am from Tamil Nadu, I love Tamil more than I love English and Hindi. But to communicate with people outside, Hindi is essential. We must learn Hindi with pleasure.

S. Pavithra,

Coimbatore

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/learning-hindi/article3946501.ece

I agree with Mr.Katju. I am neither from Hindi heartland nor from TamilNadu .I am from Odisha. Thanks to Hindi Channels ,I have a decent Hindi knowledge along with English and my native language. I stayed over 2 years in Gujurat , didn't face any problem.Hindi saved me . Now living in Pune and Here also Hindi is my savior .I had two tamil friends in Gujuart ,believe me one of them personally requested me to teach him some basics.Those who are comparing languages and very adamant of learning English , they should visit countries like Korea, japan,china and other EU countries.
from: anil
Posted on: Sep 28, 2012 at 16:32 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/think-rationally-about-learning-hindi-and-it-will-make-sense/article3942784.ece