World Hindi Day: Youngsters take to social media to say ‘Hindi hain hum’

World Hindi Day, celebrated annually on January 10, marks the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was held in 1975. This is different from Hindi Diwas, which is observed on September 14 every year.

New Delhi

From tagging each other on memes created in Hindi to gramming Hindi poetry, youngsters say they have found a new means to revive their love for the language on social media. Some have been captioning their photos on social media in Hindi; for a few it helps express better whereas for others, it’s the new in-thing! And there are some who have even created pages/accounts dedicated to prose and poetry in Hindi.

“Jis bhaasha ko hum bachpan se bolte hai usme dil ki bhavnao ko vyakt karna aasan to hota hi hai, par use ek alag nazariye se dekhne aur usme memes banana bhi ek kala hai!” – Sanjay Kataria, a DU student

“Hindi ek aisi bhasha hai jisme main khul ke apne vicharo ko vyakt kar pata hun, kabhi kavita ke roop main toh kabhi koi nibhandh ke roop main. Har ek bhaasha ki apni khoobsurati hoti hai, aur Hindi ki khoobsurati alag hi hai,” says Sanjay Kataria, a student pursuing masters at Delhi University, adding, “Aaj kal social media par Hindi kahaniyo ke pages, Hindi kavitao ke pages mushoor ho rahe hain. Jis bhaasha ko hum bachpan se bolte hai usme dil ki bhavnao ko vyakt karna aasan to hota hi hai, par use ek alag nazariye se dekhne aur usme memes banana bhi ek kala hai! Mere bahut sare mitr Hindi ke memes banakar ek dusre ko tag karte hain.”

Reels on Instagram have youngsters lip syncing to Hindi music, poetry, dialogues and dancing to Hindi songs. And now millennials take pride in conversing, writing and speaking in Hindi. “Bachpan se maine Hindi medium mein padhai ki hai. Aaj main apne social media account pe photos ke caption Hindi mein hi likhti hun. Aur Hindi sahitya aur kavita ke social media ke bahut saare pages ko bhi follow karti hun. Achcha lagta hai apni bhasha ko ek naye rang roop me dekhna, padhna,” says Alka Nimesh, a PhD student at DU. She adds the popularity of Hindi reels, on Instagram, has grown by leaps and bounds in recent times. “Bahut log Hindi kavita, gaane aur chutkule ki video post karte hain. Aur in sab pe kaafi comments aate hain. Ye dekh kar ashcharya bhi hota hai aur achcha bhi lagta hai ki in pages ki following lagatar badti ja rahi hai. Isse pata chalta hai ki aaj ke yuva varg me Hindi ka mahatva badh raha hai; keval dikhave matra ke liye nahi par use aaj ke samay me samajhne ke liye,” adds Nimesh.

Alongside podcasts and social media videos, videos of Hindi poetry have been going viral especially due to the motivational content they have. “Hindi ke podcasts dheere dheere badhne lage hain. Mujhe Hindi kahaniya sunne aur sunane mein bahut anand aata hai. Ab jaise social media par Piyush Mishra ji ki kavitaye nayi peedi ko zabardast aakarshit karti hai,” says Roopika Jain, a student of Noida-based varsity.

Agreeing to the rising popularity of Hindi poetry on social media, Ankush Kumar, 26-year-old founder of Hindinama on Insta, says, “For me, Hindi is not just a language. Mere liye Hindi samman hai!” The description of this account reads: “Sahitya ko samarpit ek prayas.” And Kumar explains, “I started a Facebook page in 2006, with my friend Ujjwal Bhadana to bring to the forefront jo kavitayein hum aaj kal likh rahe hai, ya jo Hindi sahitya ki duniya mein ho raha hai. I started posting my poems, and gradually we started promoting not just Hindi literature, but literature of all languages, taki aur logon ko pahuch sake. The response has been great, too.”

“I’m trying to promote Hindi language and literature through my page. Aur Vishva Hindi Diwas ek acha avsar hai Hindi bhasha ki jaagrookta badane ke liye.” – Rashi Sharma, from parichay.bhasha

There are many more like Kumar, who run popular pages on social media, to promote the language in their own unique and distinct ways. For instance, parichay.bhasha posts poetry/verses on handmade posters. Delhiite Rashi Sharma, who is the founder of this page, says, “I’m trying to promote Hindi language and literature through my page. Aur Vishva Hindi Diwas ek acha avsar hai Hindi bhasha ki jaagrookta badane ke liye. Par vishwa ki sabse lokpriya basha ka prachar karne ke liye, keval ek diwas ki awashaykta nahi padni chahiye.”

The reason one chooses Hindi as a language to express could be many, but the sentiment that almost always gives one a feeling of pride is often the one expressed in the popular patriotic song Sare Jahan Se Achcha... Hindi Hain Hum Watan Hai Hindustan Hamara!