My mother tongue, Mother & much more..
“Indian English is a Prakrit, not a creole, says
linguist Peggy Mohan’, was the quote in the Sunday magazine of The
Hindu which triggered my thoughts on mother tongue and the importance given
in our community / society to mothers, sisters.
A Caveat: I moved to North
India for my graduate studies, before I turned 18. I had to learn another language.
It took a while to become fluent in that language, that too the college
variety. There was discrimination which
hurt. It aroused the feelings of my passion for mother tongue Tamil, which I
had ignored all along. I was groomed in English Medium and had Sanskrit as my
second language.
The discrimination hurt, caused
deep regret and I still carry it. This manifests itself in many forms including
a bias for my mother tongue. I believe that any attempt to specialise in a
language other than mother tongue should not be done in isolation.
The quote also resonated with
other ideas running in my mind. There were thoughts which you pick up over
reading thoughtful essays or books. Let me explore them
- I. The two books of the trilogy by “Guns, Gems
& Steel” and “The third Chimpanzee” by Jared Diamond were transformative
for me. The author through his powerful analysis and examples convinces that
the human species has essentially emerged through transformation by influential
factors predominantly local, played over the millennia. It has been the
survival of the fittest accentuated by the evolutionary process under influence
of multiple socio, cultural and environmental factors.
While this has resulted in significant changes in appearance, habits, behaviour, beliefs, amongst communities, to distinguish by religion or language or the artificial national borders when you look at the larger populace is futile. The future of our species lies in thinking we as one. Any other approach will be ‘cannibalising’ the other community in some form, directly or indirectly, as it happened with Neanderthals.
At the same time to find uniformity or conformance of uniformity through imposition of a single man or grups’ diktats, be it language or religion or dietary habits, means infringing on freedom of the individual and community as we know today - ‘the right to life’.
- II The next idea is the studies of anthropology and
the exploration of evidences as discovered through artefacts, fossils, language
and much more. Two distinct traits present amongst the Indian population are
traced back to eons ago, to the initial community who moved to this land of
opportunity. One has come from Eurasia and the other local / South Asia. Be it
the difference in the domesticated animals or the staple foods we like and
consume, or the various aspects of our development, languages we speak etc, there
are multiple supporting evidences for this trait through centuries.
But the recent Indian history, spanning say from the 17th century to first part of the 20th century, these communities had steered their progeny through substantial shift in beliefs and practices. Be it the ‘morals’ of Victorian era enforced through the colonisers authority or the duplicity of the democratic rights practiced by them or the multitude of missionaries who criss-crossed our landscape advocating their ‘superior’ practices especially amongst deprived class, there was a tumultuous impact on the core beliefs of our ethos.
That this has brought its benefits to many and pushed to further disadvantage many is an issue.
But the traces of origin, the beliefs and the habits some of which the community have hung on to is through their language, cuisine and religious beliefs for sure. That is challenged in the current context at the home. Alas my generation have crossed key milestones in our life span without paying due attention to it. Such an action is crass for our own and our progeny’s good.
III. The third idea is Matrilineal concept. This is one concept which has been captured in a completely different context by this quote ‘Indian English is a Prakrit, not a creole’. The author argues, that mothers were a liability at sea and in war zones. Therefore sea farers and warriors / raiders through lands. had to necessarily travel on their own to new lands. These men took wives and concubines at the conquered areas. Their sires who grew with both parents were influenced by both the languages of parents. Then were the official languages of the court / rulers which they had to learn as they grew up. Diction and the grammar evolved through such multiple influences as per the author. This is a startling perspective.
IV. The thread which I liked most and which brings in much emotions is the neglect of mothers by the intelligentsia. Given that till recently mother was the main care giver and their character, education and well-being was tantamount to the success of the off springs are to me clear indicators that the matrilineal system as practiced in some parts of India was superior and has helped preserve some of our practices.
Some
communities who practiced the matrilineal concept and gave a superior status to
their mothers and sisters, can again be faulted for ignoring their fathers and
their families. Given that the female live expectancy was higher, though by a
marginal 4 to 5 years, it was 20% over the male life expectancy!
But in the current century, when equality is
being hailed as the new solution, and democracy / freedom as the ultimate
solution to grasp utopian times, there are still multiple ideas waiting to be
explored. To me giving pre-eminence to mothers and fathers equally for upbringing
the children and the values which we inculcate in them for according the
importance to their mother tongue(s), cultural beliefs, practices of their
ancestors is the way forward.
Maybe I am not getting everything right. Am I?
