Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Din: Here's how you can help kids learn spoken Marathi through fun games

Teaching kids a language can be tricky. Resort to child’s play, and let them learn spoken Marathi through these games

A common lament you may hear—or even utter—is, “Kids these days don’t speak Marathi.” There’s a simple solution: Teach them. And, there’s no better day than Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Divas, celebrated on February 27, to begin. We curated a few easy games you can play at home with kids. They won’t start speaking the language fluently overnight, but picking up on words and phrases will push them in the right direction.

Dumb Charades

You don’t need an explanation for dumb charades. It’s a game every family has played before. But to instil knowledge of the language, you can swap movie names with Marathi phrases. Write down easy phrases and a few sentences on chits. Example: Aaz khoop garmi aahe (It’s very hot today); mala sakalee chaha pahije (I need tea in the morning); or mala Marathi shikaayechi aahe (I want to learn Marathi). Each player can pick a chit, and enact what is written. Of course, you have to write it in Roman alphabets so that kids can read it as well.

Kon, Kadhi, Kuthey, Kaay

Have you ever played name, place, animal, thing? Give that game a spin to play who, when, where, and what in Marathi. How to play? Take a piece of paper and a pen. Draw one column for each category: Kon, kadhi, kuthey, kaay. Each person has to write one word and pass it on. The first person writes under kon (for example: kon – Neha), the next under kadhi (for example: sakalee), and the next one writes a word for kuthey (for example: kuthey—parkamadhey), and at the end write an action or object for kaay (for example: kaay—zaatey). The sentence that forms will be: Neha sakalee parkamadhey zaatey (Neha goes to the park every morning). This game can help kids learn sentence formation. You can make sentences easy or be as funny as you want, as long as it’s grammatically correct. 

Treasure Hunt

Hide small, everyday items or toys around the house, and let your child hunt for them. But all clues must be given in Marathi. You can keep them simple or up the difficulty level. Your clues could include statements like, palanga khalee bagh (look under the bed), swayampakagharaat zaa ani kapatat paha (go to the kitchen and look inside the cupboard).

Andhali Koshimbir

This is a game you can play indoors or outdoors. Andhali Koshimbir, or Blind Man’s Bluff in English, is a game kids across India have grown up on. You might be familiar with its rules—but yet again, you need to incorporate language-learning. You and your child can take turns being blindfolded to catch the other player. The non-blindfolded player has to simply instruct the other where to go. Here’s the spin: All instructions have to be in Marathi. You can say, mee ithe aahe (I’m here) or mee tujya ujvikadde aahe (I’m on your right). It’s a simple way to teach kids directions.

Memory Game

To improve your child’s vocabulary, play the memory game. Sit with your kid and decide on a category. Each of you has to take turns to say one word belonging to the category, and the next person has to repeat your word and add one of their own. You keep repeating and adding words, as you go. For example, if your category is animals, you can start with simha (lion), your child has to repeat simha, and then add waagha (tiger). The game ends when one of the players runs out of things in the category, or repeats a thing that’s already been added to the list.

Celebrating Marathi

Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Din is celebrated on February 27. It marks the birth anniversary of renowned poet Kusumagraj (Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar), whose works have profoundly influenced Marathi literature.

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