The Upanishads are a repository of some of the finest and most intricate thoughts and sayings in the Indian philosophical and spiritual tradition. Of these, traditionally, four sayings (vākya), one from each of the Vedas, are said to sum up the essence of all the...
One of our student coordinators, Varsha, shares her thoughts about the importance of learning any language. रफ़्तार से दौड़ती यह ज़िंदगी और इस ज़िंदगी में ‘ज़बान’ की अहमियत बहुत कम लोग समझ पाते हैं । ज़बान ही तो है जो कभी नज़रों में उठा देती है और कभी नज़रों से गिरा...
In this blog Srotoswini delves into the idiosyncracies of Hindi as spoken in Mumbai! “…ye saala men log, humesha humari vaat laga deta hai!, ” – a woman, complaining about her daily life at work. “…arey bantai, mai kabse idharich khada hai. Tereko time pe aane...
Of all the life’s experiences the most profound one that we have is that of love. Very little needs to be said about what love is to humans, that bittersweet drug, that most of us get a taste of at least once in our lives. What makes love unique though is not just the...
In this blog Mira talks about spending a year in Florence on exchange. Sette Via Montebello. Sette Via Montebello. I muttered these words under my breath over and over, for fear that something would distract me, and I may forget them. It was autumn of 2004, and I had...
Blog 3: How Hindi Language Structure Relates to Eastern Philosophies Understanding actions, कर्म (karma), and their consequences, has been one of the major points of discussion, and investigation, in the various, religious, spiritual and philosophical traditions and...
Part II: Hindi Sentence Structure–A Deeper Look In the previous installment we looked at a few examples of how Hindi sentence structure differs from English. Let’s take a closer look at some specific examples of concepts that are expressed differently in Hindi:...
Part I: Why learning Hindi can be a challenge for native English speakers Languages can be a window into the culture that speaks them. In this three-part blog, we will be exploring how Hindi is more than a language – it embodies a worldview that relates back to...
We could be heroes! Me and you! That song is pretty good in another context, and in my opinion also fitting to language learners and teachers. To be sure, I am using the word hero to mean a person who is admired, especially for having done something difficult or...
Mr Rakesh Saraf shares his experience of learning Urdu with Zabaan. My father was a scholar in Urdu amongst his other interests in life. When he passed away early in 2009, he left me many books. Amongst them was a veritable treasure trove of Urdu literature, including...
