Hindi Diwas: An artistes’ collective will celebrate the Hindi language in Mumbai this weekend

Nishant Narang (left) and Namit Das perform at a previous event

There is no phonetic ‘f' sound in Hindi; it's ‘phool', not ‘fool'," actor and musician Namit Das sighs over a call from the Mumbai airport. Das has just wrapped up a long weekend, with performances and early morning airport check-ins. Yet his frustration isn't so much about the gruelling schedule but rather about how the richness of the language seems to have eroded with time. This Saturday, on the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Das will take stage with artistes like Gopal Datt, Puneet Sharma, and Shachi Pathak, who, like him, hold the language dear.

Gopal Datt will join the celebration. Pics courtesy/Instagram

Growing up under the influence of parents Chandan Dass, a renowned ghazal singer, and Yamini Das, a trained vocalist and actor, he fondly remembers dinner table conversations centred on Hindi literature and poetry. "Dad, being a Bengali, had to learn Hindi, but my mom was quite the purist," he laughs. "She is trained in Hindustani classical music and was always adamant about perfect enunciation and pronunciation, down to the finest detail."

In collaboration with Nishant Nagar AKA Khwaab, Das will take a bold turn, and showcase a fusion of Hindustani poetry and modern ambient sounds at the event. "Khwaab and Namit, the duo, came into being last year when I met Nagar for a show in Lucknow where we played an experimental one-hour set. We realised it was a good way to introduce the audience to classical works," he reveals.

This sentiment echoes in the project room of Kommune, a creators' collective where co-founder Roshan Abbas and community lead Pradumn Chourey conceptualised the event. "We all have memories of growing up studying Premchand, Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar', and learning terms like sangya [noun] and sarvanaam [pronoun] in school, but how many of us really remember what they mean?" remarks Chourey, adding that the event will be a trip down memory lane for the audience.

Roshan Abbas (right) Pradumn Chourey performs at a previous Hindi literature event

Despite this familiarity with the language, it's intriguing as to why many people, including this writer, were drawn to JK Rowling or Charles Dickens rather than Hindi literature for their first read. Chourey, a native of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh, believes it is an urban phenomenon. Abbas agrees, "In the heartlands of India, students are still encouraged to pick up books by Mahadevi Verma, Shrilal Shukla, and other literary giants. When kids in Mumbai enter a bookstore however, Hindi literature is absent. Publishing in Hindi literature has failed to grow at the pace it should have."

Nevertheless, the duo believes the language is experiencing a revival. "There was a time in the mid-2010s when English speaking artistes dominated stand-up comedy, poetry and storytelling circuits in Mumbai. But with time, voices from India's tier-2 cities have emerged boldly. They share a love for Hindi," Abbas elaborates. In Das's words, "The idea is not to be up in arms for the purity of language, but to give people the freedom to embrace it in their own unique ways."

ON September 14; 7 pm
AT Rangshila Theatre, New Aram Nagar, Versova.
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COST Rs 499 onwards