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Swami was a bright student but his parents had one problem. He was more interested in Sanskrit and Hindi than English. When his father suggested him to learn German he argued why not Sanskrit. Unlike many people who commonly replace Hindi words with English, Swami would always try maintaining the integrity of language. He would never use sentences like, "main books padh kar time spend karta hoon" or "eleven am tak office aunga". He did not like when parents told their children to say "pillow" instead of "Takia" or "morning" instead of "savera/subah". Sometimes he would argue with them but all in vain. His father did not like this incline of Swami towards Hindi but he could never come up strongly against Swami's viewpoint as Swami was equally good in English. One day his father said, "You do not use any English word while speaking. English is very important for Indian and International career. When will you understand this? Can you not just say 'Cot' instead of 'Khat', or 'Shop' instead saying 'Dukan'." Swami said, "What if I the words I am using are originally from Sanskrit or Hindi? I will tell you only seven out of many words that have Sanskrit or Hindi origin. While speaking English it is okay, but why should I use the modified form while speaking in my language". The seven words Swami told his father are as follows:  Bungalow: The meaning of this word is house in Bengal Style. This word has been derived from the Hindi word baṅglā (बंगला) Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bungalow  Shampoo – Derived from the Hindi word cāṃpo! (चाँपो) Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/shampoo  Photo: https://www.gusj.com/ Cot: The word ‘Cot’ has originated from Hindi word “khāṭ” (खाट). Interestingly, the word cottage has been derived from ‘Cot’. Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cot http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cottage  Bandana: According to oxforddictionaries.com, this word has originated via Portuguese from Hindi. As per merriam-webster.com, this has originated from the Hindi word bāṅdhnū and ultimately from Sanskrit word badhnāti. Wikipedia suggests this word has originated from from Hindi बन्धन, bandhana, "to tie" Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/bandana http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bandana https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandana  Orange: The word finds its roots from Sanskrit nāraṅga (नारंग). Hindi word for the color ‘orange’ is nāraṅgi (नारंगी). Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orange  Sugar: The original word is from Sanskrit and that is śarkarā (शर्करा). The word exists in different forms in other languages as well. In Hindi this word becomes śakkar (शक्कर) Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sugar  Photo Source: http://www.healthline.com Sandal: The 'Sandal' referred here is not the footwear but the ‘sandal’ from sandalwood. Sandal is originally derived from the Sanskrit word candana (चन्दन). Hindi word is also chandan (चन्दन). Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sandalwood Swami continued, "Other than the derived versions there are many words used without a change and they are very popular. In fact there are at least two movies I can remember based on original Sanskrit words." (I think Swami was referring to the movies 'The Guru' and 'Avatar').
Swami said, "Raga, Mantra, Karma, Nirvana, Ashram, Avatar, Tantra, Yoga, Yogi, Guru, Jungle and many other words have been adopted (in the English language) without a change." After this argument his father started believing that it was not worth arguing with Swami anymore. |
Author - Architलाभस्तेषां जयस्तेषां कुतस्तेषां पराजयः I येषामिन्दीवरश्यामो हृदयस्थो जनार्दनः II Archives
February 2021
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