Latest news with #YasminShaikh
The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Marathi wins in Mumbai's monsoon madness—and Maharashtrian mulgi gives competition to Malaika
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the state cabinet has decided to scrap government resolutions to introduce Hindi as a third language for Class 1 students. 'Our policy is Marathi-centric and Marathi student-centric,' said the CM. In English. I was planning to write this column in Hindi. Just to bug the Cousins T. They are easy to bug. Everything bugs these guys. Just asking. When did Mumbai, the juicy hapus mango, turn into a sadela karela —bitter and hard to digest? Promptly, the Cousins T called off a protest rally and announced a 'victory procession.' That should show 'em. They thundered: 'No 'linguistic imposition' in our schools, okay?' Please note: other impositions will be ignored. CM Fadnavis shrewdly backed down, adding, 'But as usual, when in power speak differently. When out of power, speak differently'—referring to senior cousin's recommendations in 2020 to adopt the National Education Policy. But when neither is in power, nor entirely out of power…? Speak in many tongues. Marathi is my mother tongue. I am proud of Marathi. It's a beautiful language. I love Hindi equally. Bambaiya Hindi, the most. It's a language by itself—chatpati as dahi missal and vada pav. Bambaiya reflects Mumbai's ethos at its richest: flavoursome, eccentric, untamed, and in a state of constant flux. Climb into any compartment on a local fast train… and feast your ears. New words, irreverent slang, abuses, and gaalis in multiple dialects—you'll hear them all. A new 'item' each day. Just like our laminated menus proudly displayed by handcart owners, offering everything from 'Jain sushi' to 'vegan momos' and 'anda-bhurji pizzas.' Delicious and wicked. Irresistible and entirely unhealthy—like the world's best street food, and street speak. From Yasmin Shaikh to Amruta Fadnavis If Cousins T are indeed serious about reconnecting toddlers to Marathi, perhaps they should appeal to Yasmin Shaikh, an acclaimed grammarian and Marathi language expert. Yasmin Shaikh, who lives in Pune, turned 100 recently. For seven decades she has championed Marathi and regards language as an inheritance that must be preserved. She spent years teaching Marathi in Mumbai's classrooms, and says with a light laugh that students would walk out on hearing her name, thinking they had mistakenly entered an English or Urdu class! 'Language has no religion,' says Yasmin, born Jerusha into a Jewish family. Cousins T should make sure the definitive book titled Shabdelkhan Kosh (a foundational reference on how to use Marathi), authored by this remarkable lady, is widely distributed to schools across the state. Meanwhile, our eyes are on the increasingly luscious First Lady of Maharashtra, Amruta Fadnavis, and her daring 'airport looks'—clad in form-fitting athleisure wear. The sort frequently sported by Malaika Arora and Shilpa Shetty. But not Madhuri Dixit. Or more conservative behenji stars. We love it! Here's a Maharashtrian mulgi, boldly flaunting her curves and breaking all the fuddy-duddy vahini rules—one figure-hugging outfit at a time. Mumbai is soooo Umrao Jaan. In my hyper-romantic eyes, I see Mumbai as the eternal courtesan — alluring, seductive, enigmatic. Like Umrao, Mumbai's mystique is eternal. Patrons, pimps, and fickle lovers have tried to possess her — with little success. Mumbai is not a heartless harlot ready to go to the highest bidder. She is Umrao Jaan. And like Umrao, Mumbai deserves better. On a side note: The red carpet event celebrating the re-release of the iconic film starring Rekha delighted social media, with the leading lady exuberantly cavorting with high-profile guests. Methinks the naach-gaana dented the mystique a wee bit. Some legends should remain elusive and out of reach. Mumbai's monsoon madness is on! It's great to rhapsodise over the lashing rain from the safety and comfort of home. The unspeakable mess out there has to be experienced to understand the stoic beast that's the Mumbaikar. I'm certain Mumbai's notorious potholes are visible to Shux and the crew of the ISS, even if borders remain invisible. Mumbai's road craters claim several lives a year. But the BMC, possibly one of the richest municipalities in the world, shrugs off all responsibility and swiftly passes the buck to 'corrupt road contractors.' Errr… guess who appoints them? Twelve new bills will be tabled during the monsoon session amid the usual hungama. Storm clouds are gathering ominously as the Mahayuti government prepares to face a tidal wave of accusations. Time to pull on those gumboots, open huge umbrellas, wear protective raincoats, and wade right into the swirling waters of dissent. Jai Maharashtra! Shobhaa De is an author, columnist, social commentator, and opinion-shaper. She has written 20 books. She tweets @DeShobhaa. Views are personal. (Edited by Prashant)
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
How a Marathi linguaphile kept her love for grammar alive for a century
PUNE/ MUMBAI: Language lovers often find themselves lost in the labyrinthine rules of grammar. But Yasmin Shaikh, an acclaimed grammarian and Marathi language expert, has always viewed grammar as 'delicate and poetic, akin to a well-composed verse'. Yasmin Shaikh views Marathi as delicate and poetic, akin to a well-composed verse. Mahesndra Kolhe/HT Photo Pune-based Shaikh, who turned 100 last week, has spent over seven decades immersed in the elegance and intricacies of Marathi grammar, championing it with unwavering devotion. She looks upon the language as an inheritance which must be preserved in its pristine form. 'I am a humble admirer of Marathi. It is my mother tongue, and my love for it is deeply rooted,' Shaikh said, sitting at her Baner home. 'I believe it is my responsibility to protect and nurture it. Today, the younger generation's speech is heavily influenced by Hindi and English. Hence, we must strive to prevent its dilution and distortion. I cannot say if Marathi is as sweet as amrit, since I have never tasted amrit, but to me, Marathi is beautiful, rich and full of meaning.' She has spent over three decades teaching the language in schools and colleges; trained candidates for civil services; edited textbooks; authored the Marathi Shabdlekhan Kosh; was the member of the Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal when it was first set up in the early '60s; and contributed to many journals. While felicitating the centenarian on her birthday last week, Milind Joshi, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, said: 'Grammar is often seen as complicated, but Shaikh taught it with the grace and flow of poetry. She instilled linguistic awareness in society and made a significant contribution to the intellectual fabric of the state.' Born as Jerusha into a Jewish family in Pen on June 21, 1925, a town nestled in the Raigad district of Konkan region. Her father worked for the government and was frequently transferred. While the family moved often, her love for words remained a constant, her father supporting her literary quests. That early exposure to literature became the bedrock of a lifelong passion for language. She studied at Pune's SP College along with her sister, where she was mentored by legendary professors like SM Mate and KN Watwe. Their guidance sharpened her interest in grammar and linguistics. Graduating with top honours, she went on to teach in Mumbai, although it was in the classrooms of the city that her identity often evoked surprise. After marrying Aziz Ahmed Ibrahim Shaikh, manager of a theatre in Nashik, in 1949 she took on the name Yasmin Shaikh. The interfaith marriage—a Jew marrying a Muslim—challenged norms. In Mumbai, every academic year began with similar moments: as she entered the classroom to teach Marathi, some students, upon hearing her name, would walk out, assuming they had mistakenly entered a class of English or Urdu. 'Is this really a Marathi class?' they would ask aloud. The sight of a Muslim woman teaching Marathi grammar startled them. 'But once I began teaching, the same students were captivated and grew to respect me,' she recalled. 'Language has no religion. The language of the nation where you were born and raised becomes your mother tongue. I follow only one religion—that of humanity. I believe in sarva-dharma-sambhava—the equality of all religions.' The beginning of language Shaikh believes that every language begins as sound. In an article published in Loksatta she wrote: 'Before speech, humans communicated using hand gestures. Over time, these sounds developed into spoken dialects. But since dialects are fleeting and ever-changing, scripts were invented to preserve them.' She said, as spoken words, their forms, and the sentences began to take shape, a sense of structure emerged, which evolved into grammar. Interestingly, the Marathi language was devoid of a clear system of grammar until the arrival of the British. That is when the need to systematise Marathi grammar was felt. The British approached Dadoba Pandurang Tarkhadkar, a Sanskrit scholar of the time, and asked him to organize Marathi grammar. Tarkhadkar, heavily influenced by the Sanskrit grammarian Panini, adopted the Sanskrit alphabet as it was. As a result, letters that could not even be pronounced in Marathi found their way into the script, remaining merely symbols with no phonetic use. After Maharashtra was established as a separate state in 1960, a committee of experts was formed to work on the development of the Marathi language and literature. Shaikh was a member of this committee, which came to be known as the Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal. One of the committee's major goals was to bring consistency to written Marathi and ensure its precise use in official government communication. The committee was tasked with formulating new rules for written Marathi. In 1962, the state government officially accepted a set of 14 rules prepared by this committee, marking the beginning of formal regulation in the language. The committee also gave specific suggestions on how Marathi should be used in government communication. In 1972, four more rules were added, and a new set of comprehensive language guidelines was established. Shaikh later authored a book explaining these rules in detail, making the principles of standardized Marathi accessible to all. For many in the world of linguistics, she represents a bridge between tradition and modernity. Marathi language expert and researcher Dilip Phaltankar, who has been closely documenting Shaikh's work for years, said, 'Shaikh is not just a teacher of grammar – she is a custodian of linguistic culture. Her lifelong devotion has elevated the language into an art form—almost poetic in its precision and beauty. In an age when languages are losing their purity under the weight of global influences, she still stands as a quiet but firm sentinel of Marathi.' Remaining alert and sharp The centenarian today lives independently, blessed with a sharp memory and an alert mind. 'Entering my 100th year, I still find great joy in writing by hand. It gives me strength and a renewed purpose to live,' she said. 'As I am blessed with good health, I continue to research, read books sent to me, and respond to grammar-related queries from within India and abroad, often on the phone.' Her mantra for life is simple – stay happy. 'I tell older people to focus on the positives in life rather than dwelling on the negatives. I, too, have faced pain and hardship, but I chose to see the brighter side. Do what you love, stay engaged, and find joy in it.' Her family, she said, fondly called her Laughing Jerusha. 'And I still carry that spirit.' To this day, Shaikh responds to queries on grammar, keeps up with new publications, and encourages students with the same gentle firmness that once turned skeptics into her lifelong admirers. As Marathi continues to evolve, Shaikh's century of devotion reminds one that language is not just a tool of communication—it is an inheritance, and in her case, a lifelong love story. BOX: Knowing Marathi -Yasmin Shaikh authored the Marathi Shabdlekhan Kosh, a comprehensive dictionary of spelling and orthography, published by Hermis Prakashan in 2007, and revised in 2015. This work became a foundational reference on how to use Marathi. -Advocated for the use of 'standard Marathi' in literature and formal writing, emphasizing the need to avoid excessive borrowing from foreign languages in order to preserve linguistic purity. -Taught Marathi grammar and linguistics for 34 years at school and college levels. She was the head of Marathi department at SIES College, Mumbai, for six years. -Trained IAS candidates at the State Institute of Administrative Careers, Mumbai, for a decade, focusing on grammar and linguistics. -Edited Marathi textbooks for Balbharati and contributed to Karyatmak Vyakaran, a functional grammar book. -Served as a grammar consultant for the Marathi magazine 'Antarnaad' for 15 years. -She contributed to the Marathi Lekhan Margdarshika, a guide to Marathi writing, published by the Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha. -Published numerous articles on grammar and language critique in periodicals.
