Tag Archives: Hindi Language

Anatomy and Non-Verbal Communication Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Apr 22, 2021

As with any country, India has her own cultural expectations सांस्कृतिक अपेक्षाएं. Although it is a little more complicated जटिल with so many cultures residing रहने वाले under one country. Indians master the art of maneuvering पैंतरेबाज़ी easily between cultures संस्कृतियों from an early age. Besides the various dialects that Indians speak, there are some…

The Poetry of Nagarjun Posted by Rachael on Aug 9, 2019

This week, I’ll be discussing a Hindi and Maithili writer (लेखक/lekhak) who is not well-known (नामी/naami) outside of India but certainly should be. The author known as “Baba Nagarjun” (बाबा नागार्जुन) and “Yatri,” (यात्री) whose real name was Vaidyanath Mishra (वैद्यनाथ मिश्र) (~1911-1998), was born in the village (गाँव/gaanv) of Satlakha in Bihar (बिहार). It…

Hindi Words Hiding in Plain Sight Posted by Rachael on Jul 27, 2019

The assumption goes that Romance languages (रोमांस भाषा/Romance bhaashaa, plural: भाषाएँ/bhaashaae) are easier for native English speakers (अँग्रेज़ी मातृभाषी/angrezi matribhaashi, lit: those for whom English is a mother tongue) to learn as they do not possess a greatly dissimilar alphabet (there’s no need to learn another script, लिपि/lipi) and possess many words (शब्द/shabd) in common…

The Evolution of Hindi Numerals Posted by Rachael on Jul 20, 2019

What many refer to as “Arabic numerals,” (अंक/ank=numeral) actually have their origin (मूल/mool) in the Indian subcontinent, from whence they eventually spread to Persia and the Arab world. Although modern Arabic numerals (i.e., 1, 2, 3, etc.) are in common use throughout India today, it is useful to learn their forms in Devanagari as you…

Ayurveda: Traditional Indian Medicine Posted by Rachael on Jul 13, 2019

Ayurveda (आयुर्वेद=the knowledge of life and longevity), a traditional medical system (पारंपरिक चिकित्सा व्यवस्था/paaramparik chikitsaa vyavasthaa) from the Indian subcontinent, has been popular in some circles in the West since the 1960s; in the United States, for example, we can now find Ayurvedic products, schools and practitioners of this ancient (प्राचीन/praacheen) system of “alternative medicine”…

Traveling Green in India Posted by Rachael on Jul 6, 2019

For many people, traveling (सफ़र करना/safar karnaa or यात्रा करना/yaatraa karnaa) often and extensively is a lifelong aspiration and perhaps even hobby (शौक/shauk), as traveling can be challenging, exciting and potentially life-altering. With all of these positive aspects of traveling, it’s easy to forget that our actions as travelers (यात्री/yaatri) and tourists (पर्यटक/paryatak) may negatively…

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