Yesterday I was literally dragged to a Marathi Musical of Song and Dance called 'Marathi Bana' ( Marathi arrow) by my mother who refused to take no for an answer. I was as usual reluctant about any entertainment in the Marathi medium. 'I dont like it' ' It isnt of the level of my liking' 'I dont understand a thing' were my usual excuses... But I'm glad I went...
It was a beautiful performance. All acts were well coordinated and perfected, you were not given a chance to get distracted by anything. But all this is superficial, the performance was a professionally handled, well rehearsed art form. Then what it is that made it different?
It struck a chord... It brought those goosepimples... It made me proud... of who I am... Marathi!
As a child learning in English medium Parsi and Convent schools, English was always the language of comfort. Perfecting English and leaving Marathi far behind was commonplace. So what? Who needs Marathi in this world? It is true I know, and I know my Marathi will not improve but I now believe that more than the language what matters is what you retain within you. Language is just a part of what makes you who you are. The traditions, the customs passed on for generations; the rich heritage in the form of folk songs, folklores, dance forms make up our past. The different Gods and Goddesses, their stories, their bhajans, their bhakti is what runs in our blood... It is our heritage... We were born with links and ties which cannot and should not be severed... Being aware of who you are... of which family you are born into and being proud of it makes us complete...
It is true that today we are very adaptable which is a good trait no doubt, but somewhere all of us are forgetting our roots. It is right to give up orthodoxy and it is right to question customs you dont agree with... But it is also right to say your morning Marathi prayer, it is also right to celebrate Ganeshchaturthi, it is also right to visit your Kuldaivat (Family deity).
Today given a choice I know I will still speak in English, not wear a nine yard saree nor go for Marathi movies but I know that deep down inside I am a Marathi Manus (Marathi Person) and very proud to be one... And if anyone objects or raising a finger at my roots I will draw swords...
Jai Maharashtra!
13 comments:
And guess what staying in Raleigh has done to me..I listen to Marathi songs and I am updated on marathi movies and dramas!!Ask Anupam!!We discuss these as well.
माझी परिस्थिती राजीव आणि अनुपम सारखीच आहे. मला वाटतं तुझा विचार बरोबर आहे, पण सर्व लिखाण नाही. भाषा ही फक्तच पुराण नाही. भाषा म्हणजे आजीच्या गोष्टी, तरुणपणीच्या कविता, सदाशिव पेठेतील पाट्या, रिक्षावाल्याशी भांडण! मझा मराठीपणा तिथे आहे. आणि तुझासुद्धा!
Nice blog. I don't understand how people neglect their own mother tongue. Neglecting is fine but some people take great pride in hating their own language and culture. I've always been very critical of my friends who don't even know how to read or write Telugu(I'm telugu by the way). I'm glad that you've realised the greatness of your mother tongue atleast now :).
sandhya.. same here...guess wht..i hate these K serials.. but i enjoy watching Zee Antakshari..have blogged something on it..which you may feel nice to read about..
u were absolutely bang on when u spoke about ur experience of watching the marathi play... these days we tend to forget our culture..but if we do manage to nurture and cling on to our culture in some way or the other, we will ensure our children also get the right kind of culture that we would want them to later in their lives..our next generation i mean...it was a lovely blog...
Marathi Bana means being proud of Marathi, it is a way of living which identifies with Marathi culture. Not a Marathi arrow (?!*%#), you iconoplast!
Enjoyed reading your blog, "Subah ka bhula, Sham ko laut aya"
sandnya..
the thoughts about being attached to your roots and being your true self, are appreciable.
however, i do sense a feeling of chauvinism in the entire concept..
why do we at all need to learn marathi/hindi or for that matter any other language. the basic purpose of any language is to express and communicate ideas...and so long as that is done, it shudnt matter what language we use...hence, its wrong to be attached to any language just because i m born with it...
and the problem with being too proud of whatever we are, is that it hinders futher development and improvement....such pride later also manifests itself as a hindrance to social change....take the examples of reformers like Raja ram Mohan Roy and radicalists like MeeraBai.
my 2 penny thoughts
Ashish
ive a very strong feeling that indian langauges including hindi are a lost world and they will only be lost more and more with the influence of globalisation of india
and i think we should move ahead with our english and make it our naitonal language
countries which hav other national languages actually do worth to tht language! but we dont
our entire educational and official world is english
and i hv no feelings for any indian languages, though on paper i know 4 indian languages!
i can so relate to this.
Marathi Bana means the Marathi tradition/ culture .. not a Marathi Arrow.. u'r mixxing Banaaa and Ban (which means an arrow) ...
looks like the show hit the right cord with you.. its meant to educate new-age generations and get them in touch with what being a maharashtrian is all about..
u are very correct abt all that u wrote...
i would also like to add:
there's no other language that bridges off the gap between people so easily, for instance, you can easily come to 'arey-ture' salutation in marathi (which sounds quite a disrespect kinda in other languages).
Correction Guys...
Marathi Baana does not mean Marathi Arrow... As someone pointed out Sandnya is confusing it with "Baana". But then it also does not mean "Marathi culture or tradition"...
The exact meaning would be "Marathi Attitude"... :-)
hey guys...
my apologies for mistaking Baanaa for Baana... I stand corrected... I appreciate your comments...
I liked your way of writing.. I'm doing a case study about "Marathi Bana" with few more friends of mine. Your writings will be useful for us. If you have anything more to share with us (snaps / Videos / extra info), please mail me at casestudy@dineshsoni.com
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