An Indian Is, As An Indian Does.

We live in an interesting era. New-age Indian authors are on the rise. The market is flooding with

authors churning out English books that revolve around campus fiction, contemporary fiction,

murder mysteries, local everyday drama, and the commercial story sorts. They give an almost

accurate picture of society as it exists today. The real and sometimes pretentious situations; the

fictionally honest thoughts; and the simply elaborate settings gel remarkably to make up for fun

breezy reads that (usually) are highly appreciated. And adding awesomeness is the fact that Indian

writers no longer write to impress the Western audiences / readers. They write for the masses of

their own country. Hence the clichd content, sometimes. But one of the highlights of their writing

is the prolific use of Hindi or Hinglish or vernacular words /phrases that seem to register and

appeal more to the readers.

A movement started by some of Indias renowned and elite authors has finely trickled down to the

young authors who do complete justice to the language and its sense (and by that I mean maintain

the boundaries of decency and not irk the reader). Pick up any recent contemporary fiction offered

in the last few years and you are sure to come across some of the most widely used

terms. Bhagwan, Guru, jungle, chutney, bungalow, Namaste, pajamas, veranda, pundit, loot,

bindaas, masala, curry, tandoor, Yoga, Mantra, Nirvana and many such every day terms no longer

feel alien when seen used in an English statement. And not just these. The liberal use of profanity

too has occupied a prime spot in scripts nowadays. I dont think anyone any longer thinks twice

before using words like saala, chor, chup, kamina, badmash, etc.

As I see it, it is a marriage of convenience. The graceful flow of a sentence beautified with the

sprinkle of vernacular words that portray just the right feeling at the right time, at least to the

Indian at heart. (As long as it doesnt offend any specific language/nation/person.)

You know how satisfying it is to call someone saala chor than just thief! You can actually feel

the emotion and the adrenaline rush associated with the statement.

Vernacular words seem to infuse a new life into the unadventurous simple language. It feels exotic,

given the fact that India and our umpteen Indian languages are truly colorful in nature. It feels as

if such generous borrowing from the Indian languages is only making the English language a bit

richer. It is hard-hitting. It is effective. And it comes from the heart.

And talking about Indianization of words it is a well known fact that we have proudly

chutnified the language of the firangis by adding an English prefix or post fix to Indian words.

Yes, that's our beloved Hinglish. If I remember right, Oxford included some eighty Indian words

(including Hinglish) in its 11th Edition of the Concise Dictionary, recognizing the fact that the

worlds third-largest English speaking community belongs to India. Im sure constant use of other

choicest words might earn them a place in the dictionary as well.

But thats not all. Some authors indulge in literal translations (from the local dialect to English),

bringing in humor to the most serious of situations. The generalized question tag (Isnt it? Hai na?

Kyu ji?); the repetitive words (take take, morning morning, madamji madamji, fast fast do); the

local lingo (one-by-two chai, tiffin box, four twenty (a thief/thug), band-baaja, naach-gaana)

are some of the ways of making the situations more bright, cheerful and yes, close to your heart. It,

after all, reflects the Indian character.

As someone rightly pointed out, the increased usage of Indian languages (words and phrases) is

contributing significantly to changing the interface of the English language, adding spice, fun,

color and variety to a truly global language. Perhaps the best is yet to come!

Till then I guess we are on the write track folks. Just keep them, words, coming.