Tag Archives: learning hindi
Shivrani Devi Premchand: A Shadow on The Stage Posted by Rachael on Mar 14, 2018
Most people familiar with Hindi literature (साहित्य/saahitya, masc. noun) readily recall the literary (साहित्यिक/saahityik) giant Munshi Premchand (or, Dhanpat Rai Shrivastav); yet, despite her contributions to Hindi literature and the Indian Independence movement, his wife Shivrani Devi, is much less renowned. Similarly, one of Premchand’s sons, Amrit Rai, composed a monumental biography (जीवनी/jeevani, fem. noun, or जीवन-चरित/jeevan charit…
Sridevi (1963-2018): In Memoriam Posted by Rachael on Feb 28, 2018
On February 24th, 2018, the Hindi film industry and the citizens of India lost one of their brightest stars and most lovable personas: the actress (अभिनेत्री/abhinetri, fem. noun) Sridevi passed away (गुज़र जाना/guzar jaanaa) in Dubai while visiting for her nephew’s wedding. Once they learned of her passing, people in every corner of the globe…
HindiVAALE! Posted by Rachael on Feb 13, 2018
While learning Hindi, you may have noticed the ubiquitous presence of the vaala/vaale/vaali (वाला/वाले/वाली) suffixes––by the way, a suffix is any word or particle that comes AFTER another word and changes its meaning. From Merchant and Ivory’s film Shakespeare-Wallah (or “Vala”) to the chaivaala (चायवाला) on the street corner who brews up just what you…
For the Love of Coffee: कॉफ़ी के प्यार में Posted by Rachael on Jan 23, 2018
I’m sure most of you have heard countless times about the obsession India (mostly North India) has with “chai” (चाय) or tea. But, as an American who LOVES coffee, I must desist from rehashing a trite discussion of the various forms of “chai” and instead devote this blog to India’s time-honored and burgeoning fascination with…
More Reading Comprehension in Hindi Posted by Rachael on Jan 17, 2018
This week, let’s continue to work on our reading comprehension skills with the third part of Mahadevi Varma’s (महादेवी वर्मा) short story, “Sister-in-Law” (Bhabhi/भाभी) from her collection of stories in Glimpses of the Past (अतीत के चलचित्र) (read parts 1 and 2 here). Like last time, try to read only the Hindi text first and…
Reading Comprehension in Hindi Posted by Rachael on Jan 15, 2018
This week, let’s return to where we left off last time with Mahadevi Varma’s (महादेवी वर्मा) short story “भाभी/Bhaabi” (“Sister-in-Law”), from her collection of memoirs entitled अतीत के चलचित्र/Ateet ke Chalchitra (Glimpses of the Past). If you haven’t yet read Part 1, you can do so here. Even if your priorities in learning Hindi do…
Mahadevi Varma, Revisited Posted by Rachael on Jan 8, 2018
जैसे आप लोगों को शायद याद है, कई महीनों पहले मैंने महादेवी वर्मा, एक बहुत मशहूर भारतीय लेखिका और कवि, के बारे में पोस्ट लिखा था (आप लोग इसे पढ़ सकते हैं, यहाँ) । लेकिन, महादेवी जी इतनी मशहूर हैं और इतने अच्छे तरीके से लिखती हैं कि एक ही ब्लॉग का पोस्ट उनके लिए…