‘Kids should take interest in Hindi; it’s a beautiful language’
Aditya Dogra
Many might think that the interest of Hindi language is waning among the youth, but Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) ambassador Anita Verma begs to disagree. On the contrary, she is making sure that people learn and love the language worldwide.
Beginning her career as a teacher in Municipal Corporation of Delhi schools, it was her love for Hindi that made her promote the language in different spheres. She wrote books for children, worked in media, and taught students the value of mother tongue. Verma’s passion was noticed by ICCR and she was sent to the First Republic of Armenia as a Hindi teacher. “When I went to Armenia, I realised that students were learning 40 different world languages, but not Hindi. It was hard to instil interest in people who couldn’t differentiate between Hindi and Hindu,” says Verma.
Verma’s first batch comprised 10 students.“My tenure in the Yerevan State Linguistic University was supposed to be of two years, but with the rise of interest, it was extended by a year. My students embraced the language and took keen interest in Indian culture. They translated my poems in Armenian and Russian. They even learnt to drape saris. Such was the effect of Hindi,” she says, adding that it was no less than an
When I went to Armenia, I realised that students were learning 40 different world languages, but not Hindi
ANITA VERMA
ICCR AMBASSADOR
achievement that “At the end of my term, I had over 50 students. I also created a dictionary which had translation among three languages — Hindi, English and Armenian. I taught them stories from the Ramayana. It’s a great feeling to see them sing our national anthem!”
For her contribution in Yerevan, Verma was presented the International Foreign Language Teaching award by the ministry of Armenia. The embassy of India published her poetry book for children and translated it to Armenian. Thereafter, she went on to teach Hindi in University of Bucharest for two years. “My articles on Romania got published in local newspapers, too,” she says. While she has done her bit for her mother tongue, Verma doesn’t want to stop here. She says, “I want kids to take more interest in their mother tongue. Hindi is a beautiful language and I’m always up for teaching it.”