World Hindi Day 2013

World Hindi Day was commemorated last Thursday, January 10 in Mauritius and other countries. On the occasion, the propagation of the languagWorld Hindi Day 2013

World Hindi Day was commemorated last Thursday, January 10 in Mauritius and other countries. On the occasion, the propagation of the language in different parts of the globe and its adaptation to the changing world as well as the contribution of the Hindi cinema in the promotion of Hindi was highlighted.

World Hindi Day is observed every year since January 10 in Mauritius after the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur in 1975 while the first celebrations of Hindi Day took place in Delhi in 2002. 

The World Hindi Secretariat (WHS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources and the Indian High Commission along with other local institutions celebrated the World Hindi Day at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture (IGCIC), Phoenix, on Thursday last. The main theme of the celebrations was: ‘Chitrapat aur Hindi’ - the propagation of Hindi worldwide through popular Hindi movies - A tribute to Hundred Years of Hindi Cinema.’

This year, to mark the occasion, Prof. Herman Hendrik Van Olphen, a renowned Hindi scholar from the University of Texas, Austin, was the chief guest. In his keynote address, he stressed that “the battle for the promotion of Hindi belongs to everyone.” He also outlined the evolution of Hindi in the United States during the last five decades.

“Some 50 years ago, there was little presence of Hindi in the States and less than ten universities offered programmes in Hindi. In 1958, the teaching of Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Hindi was considered and with the increased arrival of Indian immigrants, the presence of Hindi was strengthened. Presently, there are government aids for the teaching and/or learning of Hindi, Bangla and Punjabi in the US. Hindi is being taught in summer and at the University of Texas, Hindi and Urdu are being taught six hours per week since 2006,” shared Prof. Van Olphen with the audience entirely in Hindi and the correct pronunciation. 

For Dr Vasant Bunwaree, Education Minister, Hindi has become a major international language and appealed to parents to encourage their children in learning Hindi. “Hindi has a journey of more than 1,000 years and it is keeping pace with the fast-changing world be it in the field of education, technology, business and entertainment. It is not going to help if Hindi does not move with time and evolve with technology. My Ministry wants languages to move in this direction where technology makes learning and teaching more interesting,” he said.

The celebration comprised live musical and dance performances by local artistes. Lastly, a film depicting the evolution of Hindi and its propagation through popular media, that is Indian cinema (which is also celebrating its centenary this year), was also shown.

Vishwa Hindi Patrika

The 4th issue of the annual magazine Vishwa Hindi Patrika of the (WHS) was also launched on that day. A printed copy as well as the electronic version of the magazine on the website of the WHS was also presented. 
Also, a special page on the website entitled ‘Har Diwas Hindi Diwas’ which talks of any event related to Hindi on any other day was launched. 

100 years of Hindi writing

Mauritius is considered as one of the countries which have contributed immensely to the propagation of the language. This year marks the centenary of Hindi writing in Mauritius. The World Hindi Secretariat will stage several activities to commemorate this event on March 2, 2013.

Winners of International Hindi Short Story Competition

The World Hindi Secretariat had launched the International Hindi Competition of short stories last year. The names of the winners were announced on the occasion of the World Hindi Day. There were three winners from Mauritius: Bhawna Horeesorun (tie at the first place), Farook Rujal and Vinaye Goodary.

Hindi-French Dictionary

A Hindi-French Dictionary by Vijaye Kumar Beeharry, O.S.K, was launched on the occasion of World Hindi Day. The dictionary of 150 pages contains some 10,000 words and expressions and provides not only a literal translation of the words, but gives the different meanings of the words in different contexts.

Published on: Friday 18 January 2013
Link:http://www.defimedia.info/news-sunday/nos-news/item/25356-world-hindi-day-2013.html