Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, the annual global convention for the Indian Diaspora begins on 7th of January in Bengaluru. The theme this year is ‘Redefining Engagement with the Indian Diaspora’. Away from the limelight, a noted linguist and Hindi activist has been tenaciously working on engaging India and the Indian Diaspora for over three decades. Quietly and consistently he is building bridges through the study of Hindi diaspora literature.
Dr. Vimlesh Kanti Verma is a globally respected teacher of Indology and Hindi. His engagement with the Indian Diaspora began when he was deputed to serve at the Indian High Commission in Suva, Fiji Islands. His interest in diaspora literature took him around the world. He studied the literature of the Hindi Diaspora of Fiji, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius and South Africa. He has authored five books on the subject, all published by the crème de la crème of publishers. Beyond this, perhaps, his most notable contribution to making “Vasudaev Kutumbukam” happen, has been inspiring, mentoring and empowering very discreetly numerous writers and poets to express themselves fearlessly in whatever form of Hindi they feel comfortable in. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Dr. Vimlesh Kanti Verma is a lone voice championing for acceptance of languages as a tool for social communication and not as a tool for exclusion. A detailed conversation with him is informative and engaging, and above all inspiring. An excerpt from the interview-
How did you get interested in Indian Diaspora literature?
I joined the Indian High Commission in Suva, Fiji as First Secretary, Education and Hindi, in 1984. Soon after I arrived, meetings began with senior officials of the ministry, social activists, religious leaders, educationists and India lovers. In the meetings everyone spoke to me in English. I noticed though that amongst themselves Fiji Indians spoke to each other in a language I could understand. It was Awadhi with some variations. One day I joined the conversation since I can speak it too. Language is a bond that nurtures cultures. Their eyes lit up and the handshakes became warmer. They began to see me as one of their own.
I had read a few books on Fiji to prepare myself for my role at the Indian High Commission, but I had absolutely no idea that in Fiji they had a unique linguistic style of Hindi. Fiji Baat, as they called the language, was developed in Fiji over the years. It has words from Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Khadi boli - the regions from where indentured laborers came to Fiji, 1879 onwards. The language also incorporates words from English and Kaiviti, the original language of the inhabitants of Fiji. As a linguist I wanted to study it more. I met people who wrote poems, essays, stories in Fiji Baat and journalists and reporters who wrote for the weekly Hindi newspaper ‘Shantidoot’ and hosted radio programs in Fiji Baat. Shantidoot’s column in Fiji Baat, ‘Thora Humro Bhi To Suno’ was very popular not just in Fiji, but in the entire Pacific region.
I was now curious about the Hindi forms that would have developed in countries like Suriname, Mauritius, Trinidad, South Africa- in countries where people from the Indian diaspora had arrived as indentured laborers from India many years ago. When I went to Suriname I saw that they had developed their Hindi as ‘Sarnami’ with basic Awadhi. Sarnami had words from Dutch since it was a Dutch colony and from Sranan Tongo, a local language. Mauritius developed yet another form with French words and South Africa called their Hindi, Naitali. In all these countries I saw an unwavering passion for India and Hindi. All these forms of Hindi sound different because they incorporate the culture they live in, but the inherent structure of Hindi remains the same.
Why did you decide to work on the literature of the Hindi Diaspora?
In the Hindi creative writings of the diaspora of Fiji, Suriname, Mauritius, Trinidad and South Africa, I found a treasure that had been largely unexplored in India. Foreigners had studied these language forms, made dictionaries too, but in India they remained largely overlooked and unnoticed. Many Hindi scholars dismissed them saying the Hindi of these regions is ungrammatical or not ‘proper’ Hindi. Many India based puritans made fun of it. I did not agree with their views. It is important to understand that the purpose of language is to communicate. Over time it develops its own grammar and is accepted as a language form. We also need to remember that just as there is Bambaiyya Hindi (Hindi developed in Mumbai) and Hyderabadi Hindi (developed in Hyderabad), Fiji Baat, Sarnami and Naitali have been developed as a form of Hindi too. The only difference is that the latter have developed outside India. We need to study these styles. Dismissing them is dismissing a culture.
Many writers of these regions have not seen India but are attached to her. Ramcharitmanas, Sursagar and the writings of Kabir are still close to them, they have drawn strength from reading and reciting them through generations. These people have nurtured Hindi over centuries, kept her alive and thriving. Hindi is not a necessity for them; it is the language of their ancestors who reached new shores thousands of kilometers away from their home. Creative writings of the diaspora in these regions reflect this journey and the bond. Their creative writings are critical- linguistically and socially.
Why is it important to study the literature of the Hindi diaspora?
If you want to understand a society you need to study its creative literature. Creative writings are documents on the society, its feelings, concerns, challenges, aspirations, progress and evolution. Folk songs are its oral history. These documents are a mirror of their thought and expression. If we want to engage with the Indian diaspora we need to read their literature, understand and appreciate it, and give it its due place alongside writings of Hindi in India. We need to respect it, look at it with a fresh perspective and evaluate it with an open mind. When we address the Indian diaspora we always ask them for something, whether it is to invest or support us in other ways. What do we give? Understanding them through their own writings, giving their writings a platform, publishing them is respecting their values, feelings and their love for Hindi and for our country. This may also mean translating their works from Fiji Baat, Naitali or Sarnami into Hindi.
Why did you focus on Hindi creative writings?
Expression in one’s own language is always finer than that in an acquired language. This is why creative writings by the diaspora in Fiji, Suriname, Mauritius and South Africa in their own forms of Hindi carry a natural flavor and flow of thoughts. This is the reason why Prof. Subramani’s novel ‘Dauka Puran’ in Fiji Baat, was welcomed and celebrated not just in Fiji but everywhere where members of the diaspora live. Everyone identified with it. It seemed their own. Similarly, in Suriname the writings of Hardev Sehtu, Dr. Jeet Narain or poems of Haridutt Lakshman in Sarnami, became very popular in the regions as did those of South Africa.
You have five published books on the subject. Please tell us about them.
Fiji mein Hindi, Swaroop Aur Vikas was published in the year 2000, thirteen years after I started work on the subject. This book is about the form and state of Hindi in the country. Twelve years after that, Sahitya Akademi published ‘Fiji ka Srijnatmak Sahitya’, an anthology of creative Hindi writings of Fiji. This was followed by ‘Suriname ka Srijnatmak Sahitya’, an anthology of creative Hindi writings of Suriname. In 2016 Sahitya Akademi published ‘Mauritius ka Srijnatmak Sahitya’, an anthology of creative Hindi writings of Mauritius. For each anthology I collaborated with an expert from the country. I then worked on an anthology on the collective writings of Fiji, Suriname, South Africa and Mauritius, ‘Pravasi Bhartiya Hindi Sahitya’ published in 2016 by Bhartiya Jnanpith. This is a comprehensive, authentic and research oriented documentation of creative Hindi writing of Indian diaspora of the above countries.
What can be done to strengthen ties with the Indian diaspora?
Cultural diplomacy is the most effective indirect tool to strengthen diplomatic ties between two friendly nations. Through my works I have introduced writers of the diaspora to the readers of India. When we accept, understand and begin to appreciate each other’s perspective we strengthen ties. I think their writings should be a part of syllabus for those studying Hindi literature at various levels in colleges and universities. Writings in Hindi all over the world enrich the Hindi language. I think taking this decision would benefit India politically, culturally and diplomatically. In fact the same applies to us within India- the more we read the literary works of writers writing in Tamil, Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati the closer we will come to each other and stronger we shall stand. The intent to pro-actively understand the other is vital.
