All posts by ppai

Alliterations in Marathi

Grammar

 घाई घाई घाई——-

 

खोताच्या वाडीत एक खानावळ होती, तिथे मालकाने भिंतीवार एक पाटी लावली होती “घाईला पण वेळ लागतो”. पण मराठी माणसाला कुठला धीर ! तो सारखा घाई गडबडीत असतो. त्याची ही लगबग त्याच्या भाषेत उतरलेली दिसते. माझी एक मैत्रीण होती. ती आपली सकाळची घाई नेहमी सांगे. ती महणायची, ‘ अगं सकाळी मी उठले आणि भराभर कामाला लागले. आठ वाज़ता बाई आली मी चटकन उठून दार उघडलं. तिला म्हण्टलं, भरकन आधी  भांडी घासून घे पाहू. मी इथे हातासरशी पीठ मळून घेतलं, झरझर पोळ्या लाटून टाकल्या. मग मुलांना उठवलं. मह्णट्लं पटापटा आवरून घ्या. पटकन  तुम्हाला बसपाशी सोडून येते. अगं ही मुलं रेंगाळत होती, त्यांना म्हण्टलं चटाचटा पावलं उचला नाही तर बस निघून ज़ाईल.’ हे रोज़चं होतं तिच. दिवस अशा घाई गर्दीत उडून जायचा.

 मराठी माणसाला राग हि चटकन येतो, तो तो भडाभडा बोलून हि दाखवतो आणि नंतर तडकाफडकी नातं हि तोडून टाकतो. किती ही घाई सर्व गोष्टींची. पटपट, पटापटा, भरभर,भराभरा, चटचट, चटाचटा, तसेच पटकन,चटकन, भर्रकन, खर्रकन, मटकन, खाडकन , ताडकन, भडाभडा ,भाडभाड, धाडधाड, धडाधडा असे किती तरी शब्द मराठी माणसाच्या आयुष्यातील गतीमानता दाखवतात. हीच गतीमानता मराठी भाषेच्या प्रगतीत हि दिसली तर किती बहार येईल.

 

पुष्पा पई

 

Wonder – Book review

Reviews

Wonder by R.J.Palacio

Published by Random House, A Children’s book that supports the first  amendment and celebrates the right to read.

The book is about August Pullman, a child with different facial structure caused by congenital defects. His eyes were almost on his cheeks, his ears were almost invisible and when he was born his jaw was very small. He had to brave lots of surgeries to make improvements on his face. With all this was going on he was home schooled. He had a few friends from the neighbourhood who understood his  problems. He was also friendly with a few boys his age and had a very good bond with them. His parents and his older sister( who had seen him going through all the pain, both physical and mental) loved him greatly. He also had a loving dog called Daisy. But now he had to go to actual school. 

This  novel is about his the ups and downs at the school and all the painful experiences of getting accepted by everyone especially those who thought he looked ugly and almost scary. The teachers were very appreciative of his efforts to overcome all the hurdles that came by. The book is described well on the cover page. R.J.Palacio has written a modern classic—a funny, uplifting, and incredibly moving novel to read in one sitting, and remember long after the final page.

This novel is also great because of the style she chose to write it in. All the important characters of the novel are allotted independent chapters to relate their perspective of the events. It helps with the smooth development  of the story. It also brings out the anxiety and desperation to conform to the societal norms and all the problems that come with trying to fit in.

It definitely is a great children’s book which deals with adolescent psychology and children with different needs. Loved it.

English is a funny language!

Grammar

I read a comment recently about English not being a normal language. This is not surprising given that the English language has more exceptions than the rule. These exceptions can be seen in all the aspects of the language; spellings, plural formations, verbal constructions and pronominal forms. In each of these cases, there are more exceptions than rules.

For example: With spelling, letter ‘a’ has five different pronunciations – about, father, fall, fat, fate, fare. ‘o’ is hardly pronounced as it is ‘ou’  in open, ‘o’ in offer and other has a different pronunciation. It is ‘u’ in woman and ‘i’ in women.

What is true about vowels is also true of consonants. ‘C’ is ‘s’ before  ‘i’, ‘e’, ‘y’ as in city, center and cycle. it is pronounced as k in other places as in cat, call, success. Interestingly first ‘c’ is pronounced as ‘k’ but second as ‘s’ because the second one occurs before ‘e’.  In combination with ‘h’, it has 3 pronunciations; ‘ch’ as in chart, ‘k’ in cholesterol and school and ‘sh’ in chef. The combination of ‘ea’ also has several pronunciations e.g. Heat, hear, hearth, heart, health, and words like bear have a totally different pronunciation. Combination of ‘ough’  also has several pronunciations like tough, though, thought and thorough.

There are several letters that are silent in this language but again no specific rules can be formed about them. ‘p’ is silent in receipt but not in reception; ‘b’ is silent in debt and doubt but not in other places. There are words like should, could, would where ‘oul’ is silent but we also have shoulder, mould where we pronounce them.

There is no specific letter for the sound ‘sh’. It is written with several combinations of different letters, e.g. ‘tio’ in nation, station, as ‘ciou’ in precious, conscious, as ‘sh’ in shut or shop , as ‘ch’ in chef, chauffeur etc.

All the geminates, which means letters that are written twice, are pronounced as single consonants e.g. rubber, daddy, occur, offer, suggestion, summer, sunny, happy, merry, mess, letter and fuzzy.

The reason for this erratic nature of English lies in its history.

English is basically made up of six different languages.  Original people of this land were Celts and spoke Celtic.  Around 600 AD some tribes from northern Germany and Denmark migrated to England. These tribes were the Jutes, the Angles, the Saxons. In 1066, the Norman conquerors brought French words and while leaving the country left behind their words to be added to the English language. Around 1500, printing technology was invented and many publishing houses were set up and a lot of books were published. Language was standardized. Grammars and Dictionaries written. Words were heavily borrowed from French and Greek. Colonial rule over a quarter of the world led to the influence of the languages spoken in those colonies.

Thus English has always been a developing language. It has borrowed words from all over the world. While doing so it has tried to retain the pronunciation and their spellings of most of the words, especially French and Greek ones. But a lot of the borrowed words have got adapted to the English Phonology. The script was first prescribed in 1500. It was reformed some time in the early 19th century, where both the spelling and pronunciation was designed as they were at that time. Since then words have been borrowed from all over the world with the original pronunciation and spelling; making it difficult for the learner of English language, a real challenging task.

Challenges I would list in the level of difficulty :

  •         Verbal constructions
  •         Plural formation
  •         Use of articles
  •         Degrees in adjectives
  •         Use of prepositions
  •         Question framing
  •         Reported speech
  •         Complex sentence formation
  •         Spelling and pronunciation

 

 

Helping Verbs in the English Language

Grammar

Helping/Auxiliary/ Modal Verbs

As a teacher of English as a second language, I feel that concept of Helping Verbs in the English Language is an extremely important topic. Without correct use of helping verbs, any conversation will sound silly or funny (like I am come, Did he completed the work?). Also, without the knowledge of helping verbs one cannot say “no” or negate anything or even ask for something nor make an inquiry. Hence this is an attempt to explain the role of Helping Verbs.

The first thing to understand is that English has only two tenses: the present and the past. Other than these tenses, there is a third form of verb called the participle. Participles help in forming modal constructions. Perhaps that’s why they are called helping verbs. 

Like there are two tenses, there are also two aspects – Continuous and Perfect.

Continuous –

This form means that an action is going on whether in the present or in the past, eg. ‘he is going’, ‘he was working’. In framing continuous structure, we need the verb ‘be’.

Verb ‘be’ has seven forms : am, is. are, was, were, being and  been.

In a continuous construction, one of the first five forms is needed. While forming this, we need to put one of the five forms as per the situation demands, before the main verb and then add -ing to make it a complete construction. eg. –  ‘He is go-ing’, ‘I am com-ing’. We should remember here that to make a proper continuous construction, it is obligatory that the main verb  precedes one of the forms of the verb ‘be’ and then followed by ‘ing’. If not, we end up with a construction like ‘I am come’, ‘I working’.   Both these structures are erroneous. The form of ‘be’ and -ing are like two crutches on which the continuous construction stands. In the absence of any one of them we get the incorrect constructions liked the examples mentioned above. 

 Perfect –

This indicates that the action has been completed recently or in the past. Here we need participles to form the verbal constructions.  While forming perfect construction, we need  the verb ‘has/have’. ‘Has’ represents the singular form and ‘have’ the plural. With has/ have we need to put the main verb in its participle form, eg. ’He has gone to school’. ‘Gone’  is the participle form of the verb ‘go’. We also need to remember that many of the participles look like past tense forms when they actually are participle forms, eg. ‘I have selected him as the captain of the team’. In this case, ’selected’ is the same form both in the past tense form and the participle.

 Interestingly, one can use both continuous and perfect  forms in the same sentence. eg. ‘It has been raining since morning.’ Since there is -ing after the main verb one needs  ‘be’ helping verb and since the verb ‘has’ is  the helping verb occurs in its participle form.

Negation and Interrogation –

In the introduction I have mentioned that one cannot ask questions or negate a statement  without the helping verb. Until now  all the constructions already consisted of  ‘helping verbs’. But in a statement like ‘He works for an international company.’ there is no ‘helping verb’. So we need  to posit some such that we either negate the sentence or confirm the statements and ask some questions. 

In this case, the verb ‘do’ acts as an auxiliary verb. This helping/auxiliary ‘do’ can be used in all the three forms ‘do’(present), ‘did’ (past) and ‘done’ (participle) as per the need. We should remember that the verb ‘do’  carries the tense marker and not the main verb. When we have to negate the statement ‘He works for a company’ , we have to say, ‘He does not work for a company’. ‘Does’ is the present tense form of the verb ‘do’. It’s obligatory to shift the tense marker from the main verb (‘works’, here) to ‘do’ in its  present tense form, which is ‘does’.

As teachers, we are influenced by grammars like Wren and Martin (which follows the model of Latin grammar) that makes us teach Future Tense. There is no future tense in English. There is only a reference to future time that is represented in several ways,  e.g., ‘He is leaving in an hour’, or ‘I will finish my work tomorrow’. Here ‘will’ is not in a future tense form but it shows my willingness to finish my work in the near future. ‘Will’ is a helping verb here which has its own present and past tense forms (will and would). All the helping verbs, like any other verb, show present and past tense forms. Some of them even have a participle form like ‘been’ of the verb ‘be’ and ‘Had’ of has/ have and ‘done’ of the verb ‘do’.

The other helping verbs, also called Modal Verbs are as follows:

Present         Past

Will                  Would

Shall                Would

Can                  Could

May                  Might

‘Do’ and ‘has’ also have their content meanings (action and possession respectively).   

In case of the interrogative sentences, there is rule in the language that if there is a helping word in the declarative sentence, the helping verb moves to beginning of the sentence. In the sentence ‘He is tall’, ‘is’ moves to the beginning of the sentence and the question becomes ‘Is he tall?’.  For the sentence ‘He works’, there is no helping verb. We have to add a helping verb which is ‘do’ in this case, making the sentence, at first ‘he does work’ and move the ‘does’ to the beginning of the sentence making it a question, ‘Does he work?’. When we have to add a negative to the interrogative, it is added to the helping verb and not to the main verb; ’Isn’t he tall?’ and ‘Doesn’t he work?’

 I hope it is clear now why I emphasize that the knowledge of Helping/Auxiliary verbs is necessary to acquire mastery over English language. I also hope you have understood what the different forms are and how they should be used in sentences, questions and negations.

Let’s go through the important points of the above discussion:

  1. There are three main helping verbs:
    1. ‘be’ with it’s seven forms (am, is, are, was, were, been and being.
    2. The verb has/have and had. Here ‘had’ acts both as past tense form and participle form.
    3. The verb ‘do’ in all its three forms present ‘do’, past ‘did’ and participle form ‘done’.
  2. The tense marker is always added to the Helping/Auxiliary verb. That prevents us from making erroneous structures. If there is no helping verb then we add the verb ‘do’ according to the situation.
  3.  In a negative construction the negative marker is added to the helping verb, eg. ‘He is not tall (he is tall)’, ‘He does not go to school (he goes to school)’. Here you must have noticed that -es shifted from goes to do-es.

                       

Zindaginama – Book Review

Reviews

A review I had written on the konkani translation of the novel ZindagiNama.

ज़िंदगीनामा…….एक जिवो रूख

  ही एक कादंबरी. . एका गावाचो, ताच्या समाजाचो आणी संस्कृतायेचो इतिहास सांगपी कादंबरी. जगपाचे आसक्तीर जीव वुंवाळून वडवपी मनशांची काणी. खरी तर ही हिंदी भाशेची कादंबरी पुण तांतूत पंजाबी आणी उर्दू, तीय बी स्थानिक पंजाबी आणी उर्दू भरपूर आसा. कृष्णा सोबतीच्या लेखणीची तांक अशी कीं ती तिची एक आगळीच शैली (मुहावरे) घडयता. सबंद कादंबरी जीणेचें तत्त्व (फिलोसोफी) मांड्टा. भायल्यान येवपी सैन्यांची वावटळां मोडून आनंदान उमेदीन जगपी लोकांची देख दिता आणी ते  समर्थपणान सांगपाक ती भाशेचो स्वताचोच एक इडिअम रचता.
कादंबरीची सुरुवात गुरु गोविंद सिंहाच्या एका दोह्यान जाता. ते दोह्यांत अशें म्हणलां कीं जेन्ना सोंसपाची सीमा सोंपता तेन्ना तलवारी भायर काडप अटळ जाता. शिवाय कादंबरीक दोन प्राक्क्थनां (प्रोलोग) आसात. पयलें इतिहास सांगप जातलें हें सुचयता. ऐतिहासिक खात्यांनी मांडिल्लो आसा तो न्ही. पुण हो इतिहास लोक जीणेंत आसा, जन मानसांत भरून आसा.  आणी दुसरेंत एक दीर्घ कविता आसा जी संक्षिप्तान कादंबरीचो विशय मांड्टा. आणी फुडें कादंबरींत विस्तारान ते गावची कथा येता.
हे कादंबरीन साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार जोडला.
असल्या ह्या कादंबरीचो अणकार करपाचें धाडस करून  जयंती बाय नायक हाणीं व्हड्लें कौतुकाचें काम केलां. आणी जश्जशी हांव ती अणकारिल्ली कादंबरी वाचत गेलें तिच्या कर्तुबाचें अप्रूप दिसत गेलें. ती वाचताना बरवप्याचें कौतुक करप काय अण्कारप्याचें अशें जालें. पुण कशें आसा बरवपी inspirationच्या प्रभावाखाला बरयता, अणकारप्याक तें वयल्यान पागुरचें पड्टा. ते लिखाणांत भितर सरून समजून घेवन मागीरूच अणकारपाक हात घालूंक मेळटा. आणकार म्हण्जे एकाभाशेंत सांगिल्लो आशय दुसरे भाशेंत सांगप. वयर सांगिल्ल्या प्रमाणे ही भाशा जरी हिंदी आसली तरी तातूंत पंजाबी आणी उर्दू भास, तीय स्थानिक पंजाबी आणी उर्दू आसा. वयल्यान कृश्णा सोबतीन बरयिल्ली. ती समजून उमजून घेवन तांतूत्ल्यान व्यक्त जाल्लो आशय कोंकणींत मांडप हीच व्हडली तारेवयली कसरत. ज़िंदगीनामाचो सगळो सूर काव्यात्मक. भरपुरशी लोकगीतां, कवना. तांचो अर्थ साम्भाळ्टाना तांचो छंद (मीटर), लय हे सगळें ध्यानांत घेवन अणकाराप कितलें कठीण आसता तें अणकार करपी मन्शाक appreciate जातलें. हें सगळें जयंतीबायेन समर्थपणान करून दाखयलां.
अणकारांत एक मूळ संहिता (text) आसता. तांतूत एक विशय मांडिल्लो आसता. तिचो  आशय (content, meaning, अर्थ) आसता. तें सांगपाक एक भास आसता. अणकारपी ती मूळ संहिता नव्यानी अणकारीत भाशेंच्या मदतीन लोकाफुडें दवरता. हाचो अणभव आमका कादंबरीच्या नावातूंच पळौंवक मेळ्टा. ’ज़िंदगीनामा’ हें हिंदी भाशेंतलें नाव जाचो अर्थ आसा ’आयुश्याची काणी’ पुण कोंकणींत नाव दितना जयंती बायेन ती जीण कशातरेची हो अर्थ फुडाराक घेतला तो ’जिव्या, तट्टीत, उमेदी, जिवंत काळजाच्या धाडसी लोकांचो’ ’जिवो रूख’ आसा. दोनी भाशांची प्रकृती वेगळी आसा. ते लोकांच्या जीणेचो रसरशीतपणा आणी आक्रमक वृत्ती तांच्या भाशेंतुय दिसून येता. कादंबरीच्या पात्राच्या नावांतूच पळौवंक येता जशे वड्डेलाल, गण्डासिंग, हरबंसा, डोड्डो बोद्दो बी दाद्ल्यांची नांवां, बरकती, राबयां, सत्प्रभावी, हाकमा, बी ही चलियांची नावां. मुळाव्या भाशेची  सुन्दरत्ताय कोंकणीतूय आमका दिसता. तरी लेखिकेच्या भाशेची सुंदरतायेचो अंदाज  कॊंकणी वाचताना लक्षांत येता (देखीक: ’सुर्वेच्यो दोनी कविता बरवपी आणी अणकारपी दोगांच्या लेखणीची तांक दाखयता). ’गायतां गायतां शाह्नीचो गळो भरून आयलो तिच्या काळजांतल्यान जणू खोल कुपां वयर सरिल्लीं. तिच्या दोळ्यांतल्यान पावसाच्यो झरी उमळूंक लागल्यो,’ ’मुखावयल्या पर्वतावेल्यान बर्फाळ हवा जणूं वताचें ताक चाळूंक लागिल्ली. सैम देवतेच्या शक्तीचो दिश्टावो करून दिवपाखातीर देवान कितले तरी चमत्कार ह्या संसारांत घडयल्यात. ताणें ह्या मळबाक उत्तुंग आनी विशाळ केलां……’ ’पोजड्यो गाळियो घाल्यो ना जाल्यार तांची काळजा हुल्पतलीं कशीं आनी गोबोर जातलो कसो’. अश्यो जाय त्यो देखी पानां-पानांचेर पळौवंक मेळटात.
अणकाराची दोन आंगां आसतात एक भाशा-शैलीचें, दुसरें सामाजिक आनी सांस्कृतिक परिस्थितीचें. वयर सांगल्याप्रमाणे ताजो अणभव पावलागणीक येता. शाह्चे उलवप दादल्याचें भारदस्त, बायलाचें उलवप भावनांनी चिंब आशिल्लें. सुर्वेच्या पानांनीच आजो भुर्ग्यांक काणी सांगता ती भाशा-शैली, फुडें गांवांत घडिल्ल्या झगडी-झुजां, खून-दरोडे हांची चौकशी करूंक आयिल्या दरोग्याची भास, कोर्टांत्ल्या तपासाची भास, शाळेतलो शिक्षक आनी ताच्या विद्यार्थ्यांचे उलवप, कोर्टाच्या भर दरबारांत उबें रावन विधवा बायलेन शाह बद्दलचें आपलें प्रेम कबूल करप (पान४८-५०ते), प्रत्येक फावट वेगळी विशेश शैली वापरप समर्थ लेखनाचो नमूनोच म्हण्चेशें म्हाका दिसता. विशेश म्ह्ण्जे जयंती बायेन तें बरोब्बर मैच करत कोंकणीत मांडला. तिणे कोंकणीक एक नवी शैली दिल्या. कृष्णा सोबतीपशेन आपली एक शैली, आपलो एक इडअम घडयला.
कादंबरीचे आजाप हांगांच सोंप ना (बात यहीं खतम नहीं होती). अणकाराचें दुसरे आंग आसा सामाजिक आणि सांस्कृतिक परिस्थितीचें. ती तर सामकी आलायदी, वेगळी. तांच्या घरांफुडें आंगण आसता. शाहाच्या फुडें मात्शें व्हडलें. गांवकरी सलाम करूंक, आप-आपल्यो केशी, तक्रारी, सांगूंक थंय येतात आणी शाह थंय आपले ’मंजी’चेर बसून सगली चर्चा करतात. शहानीक मेळूंक जाय जाल्या वयर घराचे माडीयेर वचून तिका सलाम सांगतात. माडीयेक छत आसता. थंय सगळ्यो बायलो बसून सूत कताई करतात, शगुनाक लागपी वोडण्यो विणटात, ताचेर फुलकारी करतात. अशी हांच्या घरची मांडणी. आमगेल्या पशेन पडवी नाल्यार वोल्तेरां नासतात. आमची चौखीची घरां, बाय़लांचो वावर थंय.
 संगपाचें अशें कीं तांचीं घरा वेगळीं, न्हेसप पांगरप वेगळॆं ( जोडे म्ह्णजे आमी जाका पंजाबी ड्रेस म्हंण्टात ते, पांगुर्पाक वोडण्यो, आमचेपशेन लुगडी पओलका न्हय, दादलेय धोतर खमीस घालनात. सुरवार-कुडता घालतात पुण महत्वाची ती पगडी ती तांच्या मान सन्मानाचि प्रतीक), सण-वार वेगळे तांचे सण म्हणजे बैसाखी आणी लोहडी. बैसाखी पीक-फसल कोठारांनी भरता तेन्ना आणी लोहडी संक्रांती वेळार लोहडीचें वर्णन पान३६-३७ चेर पळौवंक मेळ्तलें. चाली रीती वेगळ्यो बरें वायटाच्यो सम्जूती वेगळ्यो. सांगपाचें असें की सामकी वेगळी परिस्थिती जाल्या जयंती बाय कित्लो अडचणी आयल्या जातल्यो तिका असंख्य उतरांचो शोध घेवप्च्यो पड्ल्या जालो. कोंकणंत सांगताना त्यो अडेच्यो दिसूंक जाय ना. कोंकणी वाचकांनी तीं मन्य करून घेवंक जाय. तीं मूळ संहिते कड्ल्यान पयस वचूक जाय ना. एक ना दोन. असंख्य वेळार हें आपल्याच्यान जावचे नाशें दिसलां जातलें. कादंबरी वाचताना कळटा कीं अणकार करताना ती जिन्दगीनामामय जाल्या जातली. Hats of to you Jayanti baay.
सगल्या छापील पुस्तकांची ही कथा. बरेच कडें मिस प्रींट पळौवंक मेळटा पुण ती क्षुल्लक बाब. कित्याक हुस्केवप कोंकणीचें कशें जातलें म्हण अश्यो साह्त्यिक रचना मुखार आयल्यार कोंककणीक केन्नाच मरण ना
(चल धुवे,लस्सी घालून प्रद्क्षिणा काड अग्नीदेवाची! हो खोशिये दीस. युगा-युगां येत रावूं! सवाशिणीं व्ह्टयो फळत रावूं! व्हकलो सव्यार चडत रावूं! सात पुत्रांच्यो आवयो जावपाचें भाग्य मेळत रावूं! हया आणकारांत भासूय सामकी वेगळी आणी संस्कृतीय वेगळी म्हण्जे जेवेण-खाण वेगळें, न्हेसप-पांगरप वेगळें, चाली-रीती वेगळ्यो, बरें वायटाच्यो समजूती वेगळ्यो. ’
’चुलीचेर कालचे रातींसाकून उडीद शिजताले. मक्याच्यो दाट भाक्ऱ्यो भाजून ताचेर तूप घालून आनी मातयेच्या गाडग्यांनी लस्सी लोणी घालून पोलिसांक दनपारा पावती केलां. आनी आता महरी काकी तांदूळ भड्डून फिरनी करपाचे बोवाळात आसा.’ ’दूद-मलाय धनाढ्य शाहाच्या वांट्याक आमका मात सदांच ताक लस्सी’.
ही एक अणकारीत कादंबरी. साइत्य अकादमीच्या भौमानेस्त सदस्या आणी नामनेस्त लेखिका कृष्णा सोबती हाणी बरयिल्ल्या कादंबरीचो हो अणकार.
 ज़िंदगीनामा…….एक जिवो रूख
  ही एक कादंबरी. . एका गावाचो, ताच्या समाजाचो आणी संस्कृतायेचो इतिहास सांगपी कादंबरी. जगपाचे आसक्तीर जीव वुंवाळून वडवपी मनशांची काणी. खरी तर ही हिंदी भाशेची कादंबरी पुण तांतूत पंजाबी आणी उर्दू, तीय बी स्थानिक पंजाबी आणी उर्दू भरपूर आसा. कृष्णा सोबतीच्या लेखणी तांक अशी कीं ती तिची एक आगळीच शैली (मुहावरे) घडयता. सबंद कादंबरी जीणेचें तत्त्व (फिलोसोफी) मांड्टा. भायल्यान येवपी सैन्यांची वावटळां मोडून आनंदान उमेदीन जगपी लोकांची देख दिता आणी ते  समर्थपणान सांगपाक ती भाशेचो स्वताचोच एक इडिअम रचता.
कादंबरीची सुरुवात गुरु गोविंद सिंहाच्या एका दोह्यान जाता. ते दोह्यांत अशें म्हणलां कीं जेन्ना सोंसपाची सीमा सोंपता तेन्ना तलवारी भायर काडप अटळ जाता. शिवाय कादंबरीक दोन प्राक्क्थनां (प्रोलोग) आसात. पयलें इतिहास सांगप जातलें हें सुचयता. ऐतिहासिक खात्यांनी मांडिल्लो आसा तो न्ही. पुण हो इतिहास लोक जीणेंत आसा, जन मानसांत भरून आसा.  आणी दुसरेंत एक दीर्घ कविता आसा जी संक्षिप्तान कादंबरीचो विशय मांड्टा. आणी फुडें कादंबरींत विस्तारान ते गावची कथा येता.
हे कादंबरीन साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार जोडला.
असल्या ह्या कादंबरीचो अणकार करपाचें धाडस करून  जयंती बाय नायक हाणीं व्हड्लें कौतुकाचें काम केलां. आणी जश्जशी हांव ती अणकारिल्ली कादंबरी वाचत गेलें तिच्या कर्तुबाचें अप्रूप दिसत गेलें. ती वाचताना बरवप्याचें कौतुक करप काय अण्कारप्याचें अशें जालें. पुण कशें आसा बरवपी inspirationच्या प्रभावाखाला बरयता, अणकारप्याक तें वयल्यान पागुरचें पड्टा. ते लिखाणांत भितर सरून समजून घेवन मागीरूच अणकारपाक हात घालूंक मेळटा. आणकार म्हण्जे एकाभाशेंत सांगिल्लो आशय दुसरे भाशेंत सांगप. वयर सांगिल्ल्या प्रमाणे ही भाशा जरी हिंदी आसली तरी तातूंत पंजाबी आणी उर्दू भास, तीय स्थानिक पंजाबी आणी उर्दू आसा. वयल्यान कृश्णा सोबतीन बरयिल्ली. ती समजून उमजून घेवन तांतूत्ल्यान व्यक्त जाल्लो आशय कोंकणींत मांडप हीच व्हडली तारेवयली कसरत. ज़िंदगीनामाचो सगळो सूर काव्यात्मक. भरपुरशी लोकगीतां, कवना. तांचो अर्थ साम्भाळ्टाना तांचो छंद (मीटर), लय हे सगळें ध्यानांत घेवन अणकाराप कितलें कठीण आसता तें अणकार करपी मन्शाक appreciate जातलें. हें सगळें जयंतीबायेन समर्थपणान करून दाखयलां.
अणकारांत एक मूळ संहिता (text) आसता. तांतूत एक विशय मांडिल्लो आसता. तिचो  आशय (content, meaning, अर्थ) आसता. तें सांगपाक एक भास आसता. अणकारपी ती मूळ संहिता नव्यानी अणकारीत भाशेंच्या मदतीन लोकाफुडें दवरता. हाचो अणभव आमका कादंबरीच्या नावातूंच पळौंवक मेळ्टा. ’ज़िंदगीनामा’ हें हिंदी भाशेंतलें नाव जाचो अर्थ आसा ’आयुश्याची काणी’ पुण कोंकणींत नाव दितना जयंती बायेन ती जीण कशातरेची हो अर्थ फुडाराक घेतला तो ’जिव्या, तट्टीत, उमेदी, जिवंत काळजाच्या धाडसी लोकांचो’ ’जिवो रूख’ आसा. दोनी भाशांची प्रकृती वेगळी आसा. ते लोकांच्या जीणेचो रसरशीतपणा आणी आक्रमक वृत्ती तांच्या भाशेंतुय दिसून येता. कादंबरीच्या पात्राच्या नावांतूच पळौवंक येता जशे वड्डेलाल, गण्डासिंग, हरबंसा, डोड्डो बोद्दो बी दाद्ल्यांची नांवां, बरकती, राबयां, सत्प्रभावी, हाकमा, बी ही चलियांची नावां. मुळाव्या भाशेची  सुन्दरत्ताय कोंकणीतुय आमका दिसता. तरी लेखिकेच्या भाशेची सुंदरतायेचो अंदाज  कॊंकणी वाचताना लक्षांत येता (देखीक: ’सुर्वेच्यो दोनी कविता बरवपी आणी अणकारपी दोगांच्या लेखणीची तांक दाखयता). ’गायतां गायतां शाह्नीचो गळो भरून आयलो तिच्या काळजांतल्यान जणू खोल कुपां वयर सरिल्लीं. तिच्या दोळ्यांतल्यान पावसाच्यो झरी उमळूंक लागल्यो,’ ’मुखावयल्या पर्वतावेल्यान बर्फाळ हवा जणूं वताचें ताक चाळूं लगिल्ली. सैमा देवतेच्या शक्तीचो दिश्टावो करून दिवपाखातीर देवान कितले तरी चमत्कार ह्या संसारांत घडयल्यात. ताणें ह्या मळबाक उत्तुंग आनी विशाळ केलां……’ ’पोजड्यो गाळियो घाल्यो ना जाल्यार तांची काळजा हुल्पतलीं कशीं आनी गोबोर जातलो कसो’ .अशी जाय त्यो देखी पानां-पानांचेर पळौवंक मेळटात.
अणकाराची दोन आंगां आसतात एक भाशा-शैलीचें, दुसरें सामाजिक आनी सांस्कृतिक परिस्थितीचें. वयर सांगल्याप्रमाणे ताजो अणभव पावलागणीक येता. शाह्चे उलवप दादल्याचें भारदस्त, बायलाचें उलवप भावनांनी चिंब आशिल्लें. सुर्वेच्या पानांनीच आजो भुर्ग्यांक काणी सांगता ती भाशा-शैली, फुडें गांवांत घडिल्ल्या झगडी-झुजां, खून-दरोडे हांची चौकशी करूंक आयिल्या दरोग्याची भास, कोर्टांत्ल्या तपासाची भास, शाळातलो शिक्षक आनी ताच्या विद्यार्थ्यांचे उलवप, कोरटाच्या भर दरबारांत उबें रावन विधवा बायलेन शाह बद्दलचें आपलें प्रेम कबूल करप (पान४८-५०ते), प्रत्येक फावट वेगळी विशेश शैली वापरप समर्थ लेखनाचो नमूनोच म्हण्चेशें म्हाका दिसता. विशेश म्ह्ण्जे जयंती बायेन तें बरोब्बर मैच करत कोंकणीत मांडला. तिणे कोंकणीक एक नवी शैली दिल्या. कृष्णा सोबतीपशेन आपली एक शैली, आपलो एक इडअम घडयला.
कादंबरीचे आजाप हांगांच सोंप ना (बात यहीं खतम नहीं होती). अणकाराचें दुसरे आंग आसा सामाजिक आणि सांस्कृतिक परिस्थितीचें. ती तर सामकी आलायदी, वेगळी. तांच्या घरांफुडें आंगण आसता. शाहाच्या फुडें मात्शें व्हडलें. गांवकरी सलाम करूंक, आप-आपल्यो केशी, तक्रारी, सांगूंक थंय येतात आणी शाह थंय आपले मंजीचेर बसून सगली चर्चा करतात. शहानीक मेळूंक जाय जाल्या वयर घराचे माडीयेर वचून तिका सलाम सांगतात. माडीयेक छत आसता. थंय सगळ्यो बायलो बसून सूत कताई करतात, शगुनाक लागपी वोडण्यो विणटात, ताचेर फुलकारी करतात. अशी हांच्या घरची मांडणी. आमगेल्या पशेन पडवी नाल्यार वोल्तेरां नासतात. आमची चौखीची घरां, बाय़लांचो वावर थंय.
 संगपाचें अशें कीं तांचीं घरा वेगळीं, न्हेसप पांगरप वेगळॆं ( जोडे म्ह्णजे आमी जाका पंजाबी ड्रेस म्हंण्टात ते, पांगुर्पाक वोडण्यो, आमचेपशेन लुगडी पओलका न्हय, दादलेय धोतर खमीस घालनात. सुरवार-कुडता घालतात पुण महत्वाची ती पगडी ती तांच्या मान सन्मानाचि प्रतीक), सण-वार वेगळे तांचे सण म्हणजे बैसाखी आणी लोहडी. बैसाखी पीक-फसल कोठारांनी भरता तेन्ना आणी लोहडी संक्रांती वेळार लोहडीचें वर्णन पान३६-३७ चेर पळौवंक मेळ्तलें. काणी एका गांवाची म्हण्जे गांवांत वस्ती करून अशिल्ले सगळ्या तरेचे लोक आयले. मेस्त, लोहार शेतांत काम करपी कुणबी-मुणकार, वस्त्रांक रंग लावपी रंगरेज़, अशे हर तरेचे लोक शाहच्या उपयोगाक पडपी. शाहूय तांची कळजी घेवपी बरें कितें जल्यार तांकां खाणां बी दिवन तांची तुस्त करपी. गावांत हर तरेच्या धर्माचे लोक पुण मुसलमान चड. शेरांवालीच्या आनी ग्रन्थ साहेबाच्या दरबारांत मत्था तेंकवपी पीर फकीरांच्या दरबारांतूय मत्था तेंकयतात. आंगवणी सांगून आशीर्वाद घेतात. लोक गीतांतूय जंय शेरांवली ची स्तुती आसा थांय पीर फकीरांचीं कवनां पळवंक मेळटात. सांगपाचें कारण अशें देवळांत देवतेची भेंट घवपी आमका कॊक्ण्यांक समजूचे अशेंच तरेन जयंती बायेन तें सांगपाचो प्रयत्न केला. आमी मणगणीं, पायस खाता तर ते तांदूळ भाड्डून केल्ली फिरनी, तशेंच सुरबुस शिजयिल्ल्या शिताचेर भरपूर तूप आनी साखर घालून वयर कातरिल्ले बदाम उडौन घोस्तान खातात. हें सगळे कोंकणींत सांगपाक जयंती बायची कित्ली भंबेरी जाल्या जातली विचार करून पळयात.आमचे म्हर्यांत आयिल्ली जिंदगीनामा तोखेवप कांय ना तें. चाली रीती वेगळ्यो, बरें वायटाच्यो समजूती वेगळ्यो.
सांगपाचें अशें कीं ही अशी सामकी वेगळी परिस्थिती आसल्यान जयंती बाय कितल्यो अडचणी आयल्या जातल्यो. तिका असंख्य उतरांचो शोध घेवचो पडला जातलो. कोंकणींत सांगताना त्यो अडेच्यो दिसूंक जाय ना. कोंकणी वाचकांनी त्यो मान्य करून घेवंक जाय. तीं मूळ संहिते कड्ल्यान पयस वचूक जाय ना. एक ना दोन. असंख्य वेळार हें आपल्याच्यान जावचे नाशें दिसलां जातलें. कादंबरी वाचताना कळटा कीं अणकार करताना ती जिन्दगीनामामय जाल्या जातली. Hats of to you Jayanti baay.
तरी वाचतकेर दिसलें की जयंती बायेन कादंबरीतल्या सामाजिक आणी सांस्कृतीक परिस्थितीचो, अणकारपीची गरज म्हण परिचय करून दिवंक जाय आशिल्लो म्हनजे कांबरी वाचताना कितें एक्स्पेक्ट ताजो अंदाज करूंक येता.
सगल्या छापील पुस्तकांची ही कथा. बरेच कडें मिस प्रींट पळौवंक मेळटा पुण ती क्षुल्लक बाब.
कित्याक हुस्केवप कोंकणीचें कशें जातलें म्हण अश्यो साहित्यीक रचना मुखार आयल्यार कोंकणीक केन्नाच मरण ना.
(चल धुवे,लस्सी घालून प्रद्क्षिणा काड अग्नीदेवाची! हो खोशिये दीस. युगा-युगां येत रावूं! सवाशिणीं व्ह्टयो फळत रावूं! व्हकलो सव्यार चडत रावूं! सात पुत्रांच्यो आवयो जावपाचें भाग्य मेळत रावूं! हया आणकारांत भासूय सामकी वेगळी आणी संस्कृतीय वेगळी म्हण्जे जेवेण-खाण वेगळें, न्हेसप-पांगरप वेगळें, चाली-रीती वेगळ्यो, बरें वायटाच्यो समजूती वेगळ्यो. ’
’चुलीचेर कालचे रातींसाकून उडीद शिजताले. मक्याच्यो दाट भाक्ऱ्यो भाजून ताचेर तूप घालून आनी मातयेच्या गाडग्यांनी लस्सी लोणी घालून पोलिसांक दनपारा पावती केलां. आनी आता महरी काकी तांदूळ भड्डून फिरनी करपाचे बोवाळात आसा.’ ’दूद-मलाय धनाढ्य शाहाच्या वांट्याक आमका मात सदांच ताक लस्सी’.
ही एक अणकारीत कादंबरी. साइत्य अकादमीच्या भौमानेस्त सदस्या आणी नामनेस्त लेखिका कृष्णा सोबती हाणी बरयिल्ल्या कादंबरीचो हो अणकार.

Jindaginama 1 Jindaginama 2

Poems for my granddaughters

Miscellaneous

Ode to a 5 year old

Oh you are a big girl now, five year old, clever and strong;

Now you sometimes can tell, what is right n what is wrong.

Growing up means knowing the difference, when in doubt ask your parents,

Enjoy your birthday   with all your friends , with all the goodies and beautiful presents.

 

Spring

There is a big tree

    In front of my window.

It is full of flowers

    that spring has painted yellow.

 

Bunny

The bunny has two big ears

so everything around him

    he clearly hears.

The bunny has two big teeth

so that he can eat

carrots and turnips

    so very sweet.

 

Mallika

There is a little girl called Mallika

    who loves to read books

But she does not like stories

    of Monsters and crooks.

 

Baby Birds

There was a little nest

    with brown spotted eggs

Soon there were chirps

    from four little heads.

Mom brought them food,

    of grains and worms.

Dad taught them

    how to walk and jump.

Soon they were ready

    to fly

So mom and dad helped them

    to soar in the sky.

Now they are little

    birdies flying around,

singing on the branches

    with wings newly found.

 

 

 small verse 

The sky is blue 

    The earth is brown,

The trees are green,

    so’s the grass around.

 

 

 Monkey and the house

Once there was a monkey

     who lived on the tree,

he built a big house

  with a big golden key.

but have you ever heard,

      a monkey build a house

like all the birds,

      or even a little mouse.

so this monkey very soon

     lost the golden key

and couldn’t enter the house

     he built on the tree.

 

God’s gift

God has given us

   two legs with heels and toes,

so that we can run around

   and walk to and fro.

God has given us

    two wrists and ten fingers,

so that we can work with them

     and help ourselves n serve others .

God has given us

     two eyes shiny and bright,

 so that we can see around

     the colorful things beautiful n bright sunlight.

God has given us

       one tiny nose,

so that we can smell the fragrance

        of flowers like rose.

God has given us

      one big thinking head,

so that we can learn about

     the things in this big wide world. 

 So let us use this

      precious God given gift,

and pray for strength

      never to go adrift.

 

 People

Some people are white

    some are brown,

    some are black

       with a curly crown.

              some are yellow,

                 with smaller eyes

                     and live in this world,

                         on the eastern side. 

  but all  have  the same body with……

    two hands  to work with

        two legs to walk around         

         two alert ears to listen to sounds

               two eyes to look around.

                  same blood, same flesh,

                      same dreams, same wishes.

                          thus though we all look different

                             we are all the same, same, same.

       

Aatma vishwaas

Translations

This marathi poem was sent to me for translation into Hindi. Posting both versions of the poem here.

Marathi –

स्वत:च स्वत:वर प्रेम असाव…..

आरशात पाहताच
स्वत:च्या रुपावर
भाळुन जाव
‘छान दिसतेस’!
अस कुणी कश्याला
म्हणायला हव?
आपण आहोतच छान
हे आपल आपल्याला कळायला हव

असेल नाक अपरं
रंगही नाहीच केतकी
कोणाला वाटते उंच
कोणाला ठेंगणी ठुसकी
पण दुसर्याच्या मोजमापात
स्वत:ला कश्याला
बसवायला हव
स्वत:ला पाहून
एक गिरकी घे ऊन
स्वत:च आनंदून
जायला हव
आपण आहोतच छान
हे आपल आपल्याला कळायला हव

सदाच कशाला
स्नो पावडर
कोरीव भुवया
मेक अपचा थर
निसर्गान दिलेल
शरीर सुंदर
निरोगी मात्र
असायला हव
आपण आहोतच छान
हे आपल आपल्याला कळायला हव

नसो नसेल तर
रेशमी साडीचा पदर
साधाच असेल
सलवार कमीज
दुपट्टा त्यावर
असल्या गोष्टी
असतात वरवर
त्यान कशाला दु:खी
व्हायला हव
आतल मन मात्र
आकाशा सारख
निरभ्र असायला हव
आपण आहोतच छान
हे आपल आपल्याला कळायला हव

विश्वास असेल आपल्याला आपल्या वर
विरोधाचा सुर सुद्धा होईल सुस्वर
कर्तुत्वाच एक फुल उमलेल तुझ्या वेलीवर
प्रसन्न टवटवीत गुलाबासारखे तेव्हा मात्र हसायला हव
आपण आहोतच छान हे आपल आपल्याला कळायला हव……..

Hindi translation –

खुद को खुद से प्यार होना चाहिये
आइने में देखते ही
खुद पर फ़िदा हो जाना चाहिये.
’क्या खूब दिखती हो’
यह भला कोई क्यों कहे,
मैं सुंदर हूं
यह खुद ही समझ लेना चाहिये.

नाक भले हो छोटी
और रंग न हो गोरा गोरा (केतकी/ चंपा जैसा)
कोई कहे लंबी, कोई नाटी मोटी
पर दूसरों की माप तौल में
हमें क्यों खुद को तौलना चाहिये.
खुद को खुद ही पहचान
खुश हो जाना चाहिये.

क्यों चाहिये हमेशा
स्नो पावडर
सुगढ़ भौंहें
मेकप की परत
प्रकृति ने दी यह देह
निरोगी ज़रूर होनी चाहिये.
हम हैं ही अच्छे
यह खुद ही को पता होना चाहिये.

न हो भले ही रेशमी साड़ी
सीधी साधी सलवार कमीज़
ऊपर से एक ओढनी न्यारी
यह सब तो हैं बातें ऊपरी
उनसे हो क्यों हो दुखी मन
वह तो आसमान की तरह
साफ़ होना चाहिये.
हम हैं बहुत खूब
इसका हमें एहसास होना चाहिये.

खुद पर हो विश्वास तो
विरोधी सुर बन उठेगा/जाएगा सुस्वर
अपने ही सुकर्मों की लता पर
महकेगा फूल तब
ताज़गी भरे गुलाब की तरह
मुस्कुराते रहना चाहिये
हम हैं ही बहुत खूब
यह अपन को पता होना चाहिये

Alias Grace – Book Review

Reviews,

Alias Grace is a novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It is a period novel and is based on a double murder case that occurred sometime in 1843. For this incident, two people were arrested and tried in the court of law in Toronto. One of them was a 16 year old girl Grace Marks  and the other was a 23 year old man McDermott. Together they were accused of killing their master,  Mr. Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper,  Nancy Montgomery. The arrested persons worked as servants in Kinnear household. Both of them were proved to be guilty and partners in crime. McDermott who was a stable man,was hanged to death and  Grace who worked as the assistant to the housekeeper,  was given life imprisonment considering her tender age.  Grace was  released after 28 years of imprisonment for her good behavior and later lived in the US under several names. Hence Alias Grace…

Even though the novel talks about a true incident, it is a piece of fiction and the fictitious part begins with the introduction of a psychiatrist Dr. Simon Jordan who was interested in finding out how the brain works when someone acts like Grace at such a young age. Was it because of insanity or was something else at work there? Did she really commit the murder or was she wrongly implicated in the crime? Jerremiah the peddler who is Grace’s friend from earlier days and acts as a hypnotist. Dr Du Pont tries to hypnotiZe Grace to peep into her brain in which we find Grace identifying herself her friend Mary Whitney,  the errand boy at Kinnear house who lived on Kinnear estate and later  marries Grace after her release from prison etc seem to author’s fabrication.

The novel is unique in several ways. She experiments with it’s craft. In words of Grace she talks about  telling her story she says, When you are in the middle of the story it isn’t a story at all, but only a confusion, a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass,like a house in whirlwind,or a boat crushed by icebergs and swept over the rapids and aboard are powerless. It is only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all.when you are telling it to yourself or someone else. (Grace). That’s what we all experience in her storytelling style.  It begins with a poem that describes the incident in a very cryptic way. And then the novel begins. Again, each chapter  begins  either with thoughts  from  some famous thinker and/or  some extracts from courtroom reporting or newspaper clipping reporting the happenings and confessions by the accused, opinions of the people  attending the proceedings of the case etc. These extracts act either as pointer to or  some comment on the story to come in the chapter.Towards the end, one of the chapters is in the form of letters informing us of the happenings after  Dr. Jordan left his half done task. It is through these letters that we are acquainted with his mother and his professor. Atwood also presents the story in the form of a quilt which has a different design that can interpreted in different ways when you look at it from different angles. Grace waves this quilt while telling her story to Dr. jordan.  Each chapter begins with the hope that reader would know  whether Grace is guilty of the crime or not but always disappoints towards the end starting again with the new chapter with same hope to no avail. The novel ends with authors note merely suggesting that she might have been an accomplice but leaves you to your own interpretation. To help readers to form an opinion, she mentions that Grace marries her acquaintance immediately after her release but marries several times later with different names.

There are several sub plots in  the story.

She weaves  an interesting tale of Dr. Jordan being seduced and  trapped  in a clandestine relationship by the lady of the house where he lodged  and  had sessions with Grace. Her husband who has abandoned her was away. He is not able to shake her off and ultimately runs away from her relinquishing his job as the investigator of Grace’s role in the murder, even though he knew  that future of his career depended on it.

The story of Governor’s wife  and her attempt of getting daughters married to the eligible bachelor and providing them opportunity to meet the Dr. Jordan  to let him woo them but when one day he disappears,  marries one of them off to  the clergy who considers himself above sex, love and marriage.

The story of errand boy who fell in love with Grace when lived at Mr. Kinnear’s and waited for her release from jail  to marry her.

The story of Grace in which she tries to weave her tale as she thinks might interest Dr. Jordan. It is through her tale that Margaret Atwood depicts the life in Canada around 1843, like layout of the house, structure of the social hierarchy, sanitary system, use of wood as fuel in kitchens, fetching of water from wells in buckets and use of pumps for drawing it, plight of women and their vulnerability, their prevalent value system at the time.

Atwood writes in fluent and luscious style, develops her tale in very enchanting  manner. She is a master in portraying her characters. All of them- Mr.Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery, Jordan, the owner lady of his lodge, her servant, Dora the Clergy, Governor’s wife and her daughters, Dr. Jordan’s mother, the boy who later marries Grace, all of them come alive on the pages in the novel. .

I was under its spell for several days!!