English Vinglish!

Ah, my favourite Sridevi, the legend who made this movie worth watching and left us with the thought that English is only a language to communicate, not a measure for your intelligence or social/ financial status.

My parents studied in vernacular medium schools. In these schools, students start studying English from class 5 onwards and Hindi, even later.

Daddy taught himself well and could speak and write fluently in English and Hindi while in high school. He was sharp, hardworking and sincere. He also had Persian as his foreign language in NDA and was a "shayar"! With the men in his regiment he picked up Punjabi and some Dogri!

Mummy could have a decent conversation in Hindi or English but she was most comfortable speaking in Assamese.

I can write and speak fluently in Hindi, English and even Assamese. I can read and understand (even write if required) in Bengali and Marathi. I can understand Punjabi and some Marwari also. Staying in many different states, having friends from all over the country has been a boon! My latest craze is to learn Korean.

Thanks to Daddy's constant motivation and efforts, I was always good at expressing myself. But I was increasingly becoming self conscious when I had to speak in English.

As a teenager, I was an introvert. I hardly spoke, but wrote a lot. Despite my parents and my teachers' best efforts to motivate me to speak in English in front of people, I wouldn't open my mouth! I was scared of making mistakes and being ridiculed for the same.

The two people who helped me get my confidence back and to speak English fluently and correctly are Kalyani and Honey- my closest friends in my growing years! We shared the good, the bad and the ugly experiences of adolescence with each other. We stayed close to each other so we spent a lot of time together. These girls told me one day, "We won't speak to you unless you speak in English. If you make a mistake we'll help you correct it!" That's what friends are for I guess😍 Thanks to these precious friends, I had the courage to come out of my shell and converse with people in English. Courtesy FB, we are still in touch!

Looking at me today no one would believe that what I really dreaded as a teen was having a simple conversation in English with people.

I don't subscribe to stereotypes. I am an Assamese but I can speak, read and write Hindi well enough to confuse people. Most people think I must be from Uttarakhand! I wasn't fluent in Assamese till I went to Pune - funny right? But I learnt, picked up fast!

English is called the international language and is spoken in many non English countries the world over. It is undoubtedly a requirement if one wants to study or work abroad, especially USA, UK, Australia or New Zealand.

Since it is a foreign language, non English speakers are bound to make mistakes. Unfortunately, there's a tendency to look down upon and make fun of such speakers. Speaking English has become a status symbol and this was well brought out in the Hindi movies 'Hindi Medium' and 'English Vinglish'. There would be many others I am sure.

Don't judge yourself or others just because they aren't fluent in English. It's just a language, a medium of expression, a skill that can be learnt.

Don't be scared of making mistakes because those mistakes are our real teachers! Never let the fear of failure stop you from trying or learning something new. Never compete with others. Compete with yourself and strive to be a better version of 'you' every time ! Accept that you are human and are bound to make mistakes. Accept and love yourself, accept and love others, the way they are.

In my favourite band, BTS, there's only one member, their leader RM / Kim Namjoon, who is fluent in English and he generally speaks at all forums - Award functions, interviews etc - on behalf of all 7 members. Apparently he taught himself English by watching the famous American sitcom "Friends "! He is even trying to teach the other members to speak in English so they can also communicate with their non Korean, English speaking fans. If that's not inspiring enough, I don't know what is!

My two cents on this - no matter which language you speak, learn to speak it correctly. Make mistakes and learn from them. Nobody is born perfect! Speaking English well is not a yardstick to evaluate a person's intelligence or talent. It's just a skill which can be beneficial in bridging the language barrier in an increasingly shrinking world. Besides, no harm in learning a new language, right??