I found it.
It has been many, many months now since I started looking for a really good Indian news site - a site with comprehensive, cerebral, well-organized and well-formatted content.
Frustrated with BBC's laconic approach towards Asian news and ndtv's penchant for luridness I sat wondering how the hallmarks of journalistic brilliance had disappeared
Idly I seeked out the Hindu online and came across a page that looked like an enhanced digital scan of the paper in print. It wasn’t very encouraging but then, I chanced to click on a link to their beta site.
And my friends, I am happy to proclaim, there will be no looking back.
http://beta.thehindu.com/
This is the link. Read it. Tag it. Bookmark it.
If you are tired of front pages reporting bolly wood stories ,
if you abhor the sight of ten lines of a story squashed between 'pictures of hot celebrities' and an ad for money to India,
if you are one of those people who still believe what your teacher told you in school (Read the newspaper editorial , it will improve your English ),
if you still value analytical features over a flash news ticker ... then dear friend, your search is over.
I was mesmerized by the well-spaced layout and font, the subdued colours, the beauty of language, and the erudite columns.
Also featured is a lecture by Guardian editor "Does journalism exist?"
Quoting from that lecture on the subject of what constitutes good journalism is the following -
"they seemed to represent the best of journalistic virtues – courage, campaigning, toughness, compassion, humour, irreverence; a serious engagement with serious things; a sense of fairness; an eye for injustice; a passion for explaining; knowing how to achieve impact; a connection with readers. "
I hope and wish The Hindu online is well on its way to embody these virtues.
_
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
One for All
बचपन में पढ़ा था कि हिंदी हमारी राष्ट्र भाषा है | जबसे पढ़ा , तबसे लगता था कि कहीं भारतीय संविधान के किसी पन्ने पर , छोटे से अक्षरों में यही लिखा होगा - जैसे राष्ट्रीय पक्षी मोर, राष्ट्रीय खेल Hockey वैसे राष्ट्रीय भाषा हिंदी |
इसलिए मुझे भी बहुत गुस्सा आता था जब मेरे कुछ दोस्त हिंदी बोलना या सीखना टाल देते थे | मन में ऐसा लगता कि ये भी कैसे पढ़े-लिखे धीठ हैं जो अपनी राष्ट्र भाषा को ही नहीं स्वीकारते |
कहते शर्म आती है , लेकिन कुछ दिनों पहले तक मुझे पता नहीं था कि हिंदी केवल हमारी अफ्फ्सरी भाषा है | न तो भारतीय संविधान मे , न तो कानूनी नियमों मे कोई राष्ट्रीय भाषा परिभाषित है |
अब थोडा समझ में आता है , कि क्यों कुछ राज्यों मे इतना विरोध है हिंदी से | अब कोई उड़ीसा मे हो तो उसका Official काम तो ओडिया मे हो जाएगा | और व्यवसायिक काम के लिए तो आज कल सिर्फ english कि ज़रुरत है |
तो फिर उसे क्या पड़ी है कहीं और कि भाषा पढने की |
ज़रुरत तो नहीं , लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण है |
मेरे साथ कुछ Chinese , French और Korean काम करतें हैं | साथ मे एक देसी भी है | बाकि सभी को बहुत आश्चर्य होता है कि हम भारतीय english मे बात करतें हैं | वैसे तो हम २ - ३ भाषा जानते हैं लेकिन समन्वय के लिए English का हाथ पकड़ना पड़ता है | क्या ये अजीब नहीं कि जिस देश मे ८०० प्रकार की बोली हो उसके नागरिक आपस मे सिर्फ English बात कर सकते हैं |
और इस परिस्थिति को अगर बदलना है तो हिंदी को ही अपनाना पड़ेगा क्योंकि ४०% जनता हिंदी बोल सकती है |
बाकी भाषाओँ के अंक १०% से भी कम हैं | हिंदी सबसे सरल न हो, सबसे प्राचीन और सांस्कृतिक न हो, सबसे वैज्ञानिक न हो लेकिन सबसे प्रचिलित ज़रूर है |
लेकिन जैसे मेरे एक दोस्त ने कहा , ज़बरदस्ती करने से कोई नहीं सीखता - उस भाषा के प्रति दिलचस्पी पैदा करनी पड़ेगी | tv और Bollywood ने बहुत बढ़ावा दिया है, इसी रूचि को दुसरे माध्यम से बढ़ाना है |
और हिंदी को भी बदलना होगा | नए शब्दों को शामिल करना होगा | अगर "Jai Ho " को english मे अपना सकतें हैं तो हिंदी को भी थोडा आधुनिक होना होगा | आखिर उस भाषा का क्या भविष्य जिसमे "cool " के लिए शब्द न हो | :-)
It took me two and a half hours to write this in Hindi and I know reading it cannot be much easier. So here is the translation.
As a kid I remember learning that Hindi is our national language. Since then I believed that it was scribbled down somewhere on a page in the constitution. There were enough of "national” symbols around. National bird, peacock, National sport- hockey. This was just an addition to the list.
So, I always got angry when some friends of mine had this resistance towards speaking and learning Hindi. I always thought of them as educated and stubborn idiots to disregard their own national language.
To my great shame, I discovered not so long ago, that nowhere in the Indian Constitution or Law is a "national language" defined. Hindi is just an Official Language.
I now understand why some states have this opposition to Hindi. After all someone in Orissa can get by with Odiya for his official work and English for his professional circle. What urge would he then have to go learn a language that belongs to another state?
It may not be necessary, but it is of importance.
I work with few Chinese, French, Korean and one other India guy. The others are always astonished when the two Indians talk only in English. Individually we can speak 2 or 3 languages but alas only English can link us. Isn't it ironic that for a country with 800 dialects, its people rely on English to talk to each other?
And if this has to change, like it or not, we have to adopt Hindi. 40% of the population is fluent in it. Other languages barely mark up to 10%. Hindi may not be the easiest or the most culturally rich or the most scientific, but it is the most widely spoken.
But as one of my friends says, you cannot shove it down people's throats. TV and Bollywood have kindled interest. This has to be encouraged and kept alive. And finally Hindi has to adapt to the modern times and broaden its vocabulary. After all, if Jai Ho can be imbibed into English, what future can a language have if it does not even have a word for "cool".
_
इसलिए मुझे भी बहुत गुस्सा आता था जब मेरे कुछ दोस्त हिंदी बोलना या सीखना टाल देते थे | मन में ऐसा लगता कि ये भी कैसे पढ़े-लिखे धीठ हैं जो अपनी राष्ट्र भाषा को ही नहीं स्वीकारते |
कहते शर्म आती है , लेकिन कुछ दिनों पहले तक मुझे पता नहीं था कि हिंदी केवल हमारी अफ्फ्सरी भाषा है | न तो भारतीय संविधान मे , न तो कानूनी नियमों मे कोई राष्ट्रीय भाषा परिभाषित है |
अब थोडा समझ में आता है , कि क्यों कुछ राज्यों मे इतना विरोध है हिंदी से | अब कोई उड़ीसा मे हो तो उसका Official काम तो ओडिया मे हो जाएगा | और व्यवसायिक काम के लिए तो आज कल सिर्फ english कि ज़रुरत है |
तो फिर उसे क्या पड़ी है कहीं और कि भाषा पढने की |
ज़रुरत तो नहीं , लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण है |
मेरे साथ कुछ Chinese , French और Korean काम करतें हैं | साथ मे एक देसी भी है | बाकि सभी को बहुत आश्चर्य होता है कि हम भारतीय english मे बात करतें हैं | वैसे तो हम २ - ३ भाषा जानते हैं लेकिन समन्वय के लिए English का हाथ पकड़ना पड़ता है | क्या ये अजीब नहीं कि जिस देश मे ८०० प्रकार की बोली हो उसके नागरिक आपस मे सिर्फ English बात कर सकते हैं |
और इस परिस्थिति को अगर बदलना है तो हिंदी को ही अपनाना पड़ेगा क्योंकि ४०% जनता हिंदी बोल सकती है |
बाकी भाषाओँ के अंक १०% से भी कम हैं | हिंदी सबसे सरल न हो, सबसे प्राचीन और सांस्कृतिक न हो, सबसे वैज्ञानिक न हो लेकिन सबसे प्रचिलित ज़रूर है |
लेकिन जैसे मेरे एक दोस्त ने कहा , ज़बरदस्ती करने से कोई नहीं सीखता - उस भाषा के प्रति दिलचस्पी पैदा करनी पड़ेगी | tv और Bollywood ने बहुत बढ़ावा दिया है, इसी रूचि को दुसरे माध्यम से बढ़ाना है |
और हिंदी को भी बदलना होगा | नए शब्दों को शामिल करना होगा | अगर "Jai Ho " को english मे अपना सकतें हैं तो हिंदी को भी थोडा आधुनिक होना होगा | आखिर उस भाषा का क्या भविष्य जिसमे "cool " के लिए शब्द न हो | :-)
It took me two and a half hours to write this in Hindi and I know reading it cannot be much easier. So here is the translation.
As a kid I remember learning that Hindi is our national language. Since then I believed that it was scribbled down somewhere on a page in the constitution. There were enough of "national” symbols around. National bird, peacock, National sport- hockey. This was just an addition to the list.
So, I always got angry when some friends of mine had this resistance towards speaking and learning Hindi. I always thought of them as educated and stubborn idiots to disregard their own national language.
To my great shame, I discovered not so long ago, that nowhere in the Indian Constitution or Law is a "national language" defined. Hindi is just an Official Language.
I now understand why some states have this opposition to Hindi. After all someone in Orissa can get by with Odiya for his official work and English for his professional circle. What urge would he then have to go learn a language that belongs to another state?
It may not be necessary, but it is of importance.
I work with few Chinese, French, Korean and one other India guy. The others are always astonished when the two Indians talk only in English. Individually we can speak 2 or 3 languages but alas only English can link us. Isn't it ironic that for a country with 800 dialects, its people rely on English to talk to each other?
And if this has to change, like it or not, we have to adopt Hindi. 40% of the population is fluent in it. Other languages barely mark up to 10%. Hindi may not be the easiest or the most culturally rich or the most scientific, but it is the most widely spoken.
But as one of my friends says, you cannot shove it down people's throats. TV and Bollywood have kindled interest. This has to be encouraged and kept alive. And finally Hindi has to adapt to the modern times and broaden its vocabulary. After all, if Jai Ho can be imbibed into English, what future can a language have if it does not even have a word for "cool".
_
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
