Hindi Day Celebrated with Excitement and Enthusiasm, Sept 20, 2020
Hindi Day Celebrated with Excitement and Enthusiasm
Edison, NJ
September 20, 2020
A large number of Elementary, Middle and High School students assembled at a virtual event to celebrate Hindi as the official language of India and a critical language in USA. A number of Indian-American parents and community leaders also participated the event organized by Yuva Hindi Sansthan, a New Jersey based non-profit organization, its sister organization Hindi Sangam Foundation and Shikshayatan Cultural Center of New York on Sunday, September 20, 2020. The event was supported by Mauritius based World Hindi Secretariat, a joint venture of India and Mauritius, established to monitor progress of Hindi learning worldwide.
The event began by recitation of a poem by Purnima Desai, a member of the board of trustees, Hindi Sangam Foundation. She recited a poem, ‘Saraswati Vandana’ to pay respect to the goddess of learning, ‘Saraswati’. Desai, who also manages ‘Shikshayatan’, emphasized upon the importance of learning Hindi. “It is like respecting our mother. Every person of Indian origin should learn and communicate in Hindi with other”, she said.
Rohan Sharma, a NJ based student of class 10, surprised everyone by reciting parts of ‘Rashmirathi’ (the chariot of light) authored by eminent Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar. Rohan also provided the summary of the poem in English.
“Hindi, a major language in the world today, is increasing gaining popularity in USA”, said Upendra Chivukula, Chairman of Yuva Hindi Sansthan and a former NJ Assemblyman, who is currently serving as the commissioner of public utilities in New Jersey. He reminded the participants that the US government formally recognized Hindi as a critical language for the US national security. “It is the duty of all Indian-Americans to learn Hindi which is also the official language of India”, he pointed out.
Highlighting his connection with Hindi, Professor Indrajeet Saluja, editor of ‘Indian Panorama’, an online weekly magazine, underscored the importance of learning Hindi for all Indian-Americans. He said, “Hindi must be taught at a very early age in life. It is a good cause that would stay lifelong in learners heart and mind.”
The event coincided with the launch of Fall Semester 2020 program conducted by Yuva Hindi Sansthan and Hindi Sangam Foundation, its partner organization. “I want to learn Hindi because I wish to understand it when i visit India and hear people converse in Hindi”, said Maya, one of the students. A few students, like Rhea and Ria, belong to families of mixed heritage. They enthusiastically spoke in Hindi and expressed their desire to improve their Hindi proficiency.
“We will conduct our Fall Semester Hindi learning program in 12 sessions”, informed Sanjyot Tatke, lead instructor of the program. “We will focus on conversation but reading and writing will be integral parts of our teaching”, she informed. Sanjyot will be supported by three more teachers, Sandhya, Anju and Seema, for conducting the program.
“We will conduct year round programs to teach Hindi in USA”, said Ashok Ojha, president and program director of YHS Hindi Language and Culture Program. “We want our learners to be proficient in speaking, reading and writing Hindi so they could join future programs conducted by various government agencies, such as, the State Department”, he concluded.
Hindi Day is celebrated on 14th September every year to promote and propagate the official language. Hindi Day commemorates the adaptation of Hindi as the Official Language of the Union of India on 14th September 1949. In 1950, the Constitution of India declared Hindi in the Devanagari script as the Official language of India.