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Hindi – Is it a Language that Unifies? Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Mar 31, 2022
The founding fathers संस्थापक पिता of India longed for a united country. They were tired of the divide and rule policies नीतियों of England. They reckoned if they demarcated the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh all would be well. However, what they did not account for was the close ties घनिष्ठ संबंध and bonds that…
The Tea Legacy Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Mar 31, 2022
Nagpur’s Best In a small cramped तंग परिस्थितियों stall in Nagpur a man stands over a hot stove, stirring a huge pot of tea. He takes a cup and scoops the tea चाय and pulls the cup high in the air allowing the tea to fall back into the pot. When the tea is ready…
Goa – Remnants of Portugal Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Mar 30, 2022
On the West coast of India lies the smallest state सबसे छोटा – Goa. Portuguese explorer Afonso Alberqueque conquered and ruled Goa. Goa is strategically रणनीतिक situated on the West coast with deep harbors for trading ships to dock in. This was important for the spice trade involving रणनीतिक ports in Africa and the Far…
Writing Hindi: Devanagari or Roman Script? Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Mar 29, 2022
School children in India learn सीखना Hindi from scratch. Walk near a Hindi medium school and you will hear chants मंत्र of ‘a’ ‘aa’ ‘e’ ‘ee’ ‘oo’ ‘ooo’ etc. These are the vowels. Then you will hear them chanting out the consonants. If you were to peek तिरछी inside the classroom you would see a…
Bandra – Then and Now Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Mar 28, 2022
Bandra, Mumbai is a bustling suburb on the west coast पश्चिमी तट of Mumbai city. Waves लहर from the Arabian Sea pound Bandra’s shores day दिन in and day out, bringing landlocked घिरा residents to her beaches सागरतट and waterfront तट promenades. I grew up in the sleepy suburb उपनगर in the seventies and eighties…
India’s Picasso – M. F. Husain Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Mar 11, 2022
I remember looking at a piece of art कला in Mumbai. This art was extraordinary in the fact that it did not look like the ancient Mughal paintings one often sees in India. This was a time when radical मौलिक artists were slowly emerging in the big cities. One such artist was M.F. Husain –…
What is in a South Indian Thali? Posted by Nicole Herbert Dean on Feb 28, 2022
We continue our series श्रेणी on the types of Indian Thali. As we know, the thali is a dish but also a plate. Thalis vary depending on the region क्षेत्र. There are vegetarian thalis and there are non-vegetarian thalis. Vegetarian and vegan thalis reign supreme सर्वोच्च in India, because a large portion of the population…