Archive for April, 2009
Guru Posted by kunthra on Apr 29, 2009
Sometime in your life you’ve probably heard the word guru (गुरु) used to refer to someone who is an expert in something. In Hindi the word guru (गुरु) is used to describe someone who is an authority figure in a particular field (like yoga) or someone who has much wisdom (like a teacher). There is…
Yoga Posted by kunthra on Apr 26, 2009
Namaste (नमस्ते)! Even if you haven’t ever tried yoga (योग), you’ve probably heard or seen something about it on tv. Yoga (योग) is a form of exercise to help you not only to get in shape, but to unload any stress that you may be repressing. It’s a mind-body form of exercise that can be…
Gudhi Padwa Posted by kunthra on Apr 24, 2009
Gudhi Padwa (गुढीपाडवा ) celebrates Raama’s (राम ) return to Ayodhyaa (अयोध्या ) after killing Raavana (रावण ). Raama (राम ) is a legendary king of Ayodhyaa (अयोध्या ) who fights Raavana (रावण ) the king of Lankaa (लंका). According to the legend Raavana (रावण ) holds Raama’s (राम ) wife Siitaa (सीता) captive and…
Bollywood Posted by kunthra on Apr 22, 2009
Namaste (नमस्ते )! We’re going to talk about the Indian film industry. You’ve probably heard this word somewhere. I’ll give you a hint: it rhymes with the word Hollywood. The Indian version of Hollywood is Bollywood (बॉलीवूड ). Bollywood (बॉलीवूड ) takes its name from the city of Bombay, which is present day Mumbai. Like…
Half Consonants Continued Posted by kunthra on Apr 20, 2009
Namaste (नमस्ते )! We’re gonna continue with the rest of the half consonants. d – ड, ड् : हड्डी (haddii) bone n – ण, ण् : डण्डा (dandaa) stick t – त, त् : सत्कार (satkaara) honor th – थ, थ् : तथ्य (tathya) diet dh – ध, ध् : ध्यान (dhyaana) meditation n –…
Half Consonants Posted by kunthra on Apr 18, 2009
Most Hindi consonants have a half consonant. I’m going to list the Hindi consonants and their half consonant equivalent. Then I’m going to give examples of Indian words that have these half consonants. I’ll transliterate the English pronunciation of these words and the meanings for these words. For some of these words, you’ll see a…
Visarga and Other Special Dotted Characters Posted by kunthra on Apr 15, 2009
There’s something called a visarga. A visarga comes after a vowel and takes the pronunciation from the vowel it follows. Here are some examples: ka = k + ah क : = क + अ kaa = k + aah का : क + आ kih = k + ih कि : क…