Kashmir Kaur –
Vibrancy, pride and success are some of the many words that describe Wellington’s Hindi Day celebrations in Lower Hutt on Saturday September 26, 2015.
‘Hindi Divas’ (Hindi Day) is celebrated every year on September 14 throughout the world to mark the adoption of the Devanagari script that is used to write Hindi by the Constituent Assembly of the Indian government.
Its actual observance however is subject to the convenience of communities in various cities and centres of the world.
Superlative Language
Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in New Zealand and is spoken by around 500 million people worldwide.
Wellington Hindi School organised the ‘Hindi Day’ with the support of the World Hindi Secretariat and Bank of Baroda.
Officials from the Hutt City Council, Indian and Fiji High Commissions and Bank of Baroda were among the guests at the function.
Children perform
A very captive audience was entertained by poems, songs, play and a Bharata Natyam performance by former student Krisha Narayan and her friends. The attendees, from across cultures, were also enlightened by speakers who reflected on how learning and using Hindi was helping them in their daily lives.
Eight-year-old Arnav Singh thought it was “cool to be bilingual.” He emphasised in his speech that knowing Hindi helped him to have meaningful conversations with his non-English speaking grandparents.
“I also learn better about our culture and epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana,” he said.
Wellington lawyer Kamil Lakshman shared her insights on how Hindi was helping her in her role as a legal advisor.
School service
Wellington Hindi School is a community based language school offering Hindi language and culture education to children. Established in 1992, the School has grown to account for three branches with about 50 students and ten teachers who are passionate and enthusiastic about promoting Hindi language and culture. Besides teachers, the School often engages talent from the wider community to work with them.
Further details can be obtained from Coordinator Sunita Narayan. Email: sundev@paradise.net.nz
Photo:
Wellington Hindi School children rendering ‘Meri Billi Kaali Peeli’ (‘My Black and Yellow Cat’)
