<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->My friend was visiting me last weekend and he told me that he and his fiancée have never talked in Kannada, not a word. Itâs always been English.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Imagine both people knowing the language and not speaking it! And ignoring Kannada of all languages. Very sad <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> If it was Urdu I could understand, but Kannada? It's music to my ears - mostly incomprehensible music, but beautiful music nevertheless.
If one's spouse won't take pride in the mother tongue, then how can one's children? Our languages are part of who we are as Hindus, if we won't cherish them then no one will. If our languages ever disappeared, then a huge part of us will die with them. It's another lesson in How to commit suicide.
One of my sister's top requirements in any person to be considered for spouse was that he should know Tamil and Samskritam. She would allow him to be <i>in the process</i> of learning Samskritam, but he must know Tamil. Of course he should speak in it with her and any children should be raised speaking it as their Mother Tongue. This was a highly important stipulation for her. It was up there with her requirements for 'good, kind, caring person' and, of course, Hindu and tee-totaller. (Initially, she also wanted someone more intelligent than herself, but I told her to keep it realistic. Anyway, if he had a good heart then that sort of thing is unimportant.) All's well as ends well, and she's very happy. There is always a Sundareshwara for every Meenakshi and a Mahavishnu for every Lakshmi, after all. Thank the Devargal he knows Tamil, I couldn't have been very happy otherwise either.
You too, Bharatvarsh: hold out for a proudly Telugu-speaking Hindu girl and bring up your many children, your larger number of grandchildren and your even more numerous great-grandchildren as glorious Telugu-(and Samskritam-)speaking Hindus. I first heard Telugu when I was little and have not forgotten to love it since. It is instantly and incredibly endearing. In my opinion, to hear it is to hear the music of Swargam. Sampoorna Ramayanam, Bhakta Prahlada I think it was, and Narthanashaala (?) - I was never the same after hearing Telugu spoken. I am so far gone, subconsciously I still think Rama spoke in Telugu after seeing SR <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> If it was Urdu I could understand, but Kannada? It's music to my ears - mostly incomprehensible music, but beautiful music nevertheless.If one's spouse won't take pride in the mother tongue, then how can one's children? Our languages are part of who we are as Hindus, if we won't cherish them then no one will. If our languages ever disappeared, then a huge part of us will die with them. It's another lesson in How to commit suicide.
One of my sister's top requirements in any person to be considered for spouse was that he should know Tamil and Samskritam. She would allow him to be <i>in the process</i> of learning Samskritam, but he must know Tamil. Of course he should speak in it with her and any children should be raised speaking it as their Mother Tongue. This was a highly important stipulation for her. It was up there with her requirements for 'good, kind, caring person' and, of course, Hindu and tee-totaller. (Initially, she also wanted someone more intelligent than herself, but I told her to keep it realistic. Anyway, if he had a good heart then that sort of thing is unimportant.) All's well as ends well, and she's very happy. There is always a Sundareshwara for every Meenakshi and a Mahavishnu for every Lakshmi, after all. Thank the Devargal he knows Tamil, I couldn't have been very happy otherwise either.
You too, Bharatvarsh: hold out for a proudly Telugu-speaking Hindu girl and bring up your many children, your larger number of grandchildren and your even more numerous great-grandchildren as glorious Telugu-(and Samskritam-)speaking Hindus. I first heard Telugu when I was little and have not forgotten to love it since. It is instantly and incredibly endearing. In my opinion, to hear it is to hear the music of Swargam. Sampoorna Ramayanam, Bhakta Prahlada I think it was, and Narthanashaala (?) - I was never the same after hearing Telugu spoken. I am so far gone, subconsciously I still think Rama spoke in Telugu after seeing SR <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->