Living phoren, talking desi
The notion of Indian kids growing up overseas without any ties to their culture is being challenged by a new breed of NRI kids. They are not only aware of what is going on back ‘home’, they speak their mother tongue fluently and even participate in literary events in the language.
Sananda Chatterjee, a marketing executive who lives abroad speaks fluent Bengali, her mother tongue. She says that it was her parents and grandmother who insisted on her learning the language. “My parents had a rule that we always speak Bangla at home. As I am very close to my grandmother, who speaks only Bangla, my diction has improved.”
Abhishek D’Souza, an engineering student in New Zealand, not only speaks Kannada, he has also acted in a few plays overseas. “It’s great to open myself up to a whole new world of literature that I would have missed out on otherwise,” he says.
Being involved in cultural activities overseas is how one is at ease with their language, says Sananda. “I love Bangla music and have written and acted in Bengali plays,” she adds. This has a two-fold advantage, she continues, “You are not only immersed in the language during the play, and you also spend time with those who speak the language and this helps.”
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