Welcome to yet another informative and insightful interview segment of Bharat Mere Sath. Before we begin today’s
interview, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to all of our viewers who’ve supported us though this journey. Your
love, response and thoughtful insights is what motivates us to come up with such interviews and stories all whilst
ensuring that we offer only the most compelling and quality content to our viewers and readers.
In this interview segment, we were lucky to talk to Dr. Neelam Rathi, who is presently working at the prestigious ‘Aditi
Mahavidyala’ as a professor of Media & Journalism. Dr. Rathi has also written and published several insightful books
over the years some of which include the likes of the following:
- Hindi Natak Me Mithak Tatva
- Jayshankar Prasad ke Pramukh Natak
- Kisan aur Media
- Takniqi Madhyamo Dvara Hindi Sahitya Sikshan
Dr. Neelam Rathi has also been recognized for her contributions in the field of Media & Journalism along with her
contributions towards Hindi Literature and is the recipient of various awards and accolades which include the likes of
‘Uttam Shikshak Puraskaar’ which was awarded to her on behalf of the Government of Delhi, India.
Dr. Rathi has also presented her lectures in various universities and colleges across many international nations which
include the likes of England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherland, Portugal, Spain, Sri Lanka etc. and is also a
member of the ‘Hindi Salakar Samiti’ which is a part of the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India.
- Surbhi Sapru: We welcome you on our interview segment. We’re really happy and grateful that you were able to
spare the time out of your schedule to talk to us. My very first question for you is- How does it feel for you to be on our
show? - Dr. Rathi: Thank you Surbhi, I’m happy to be here today and speak with you. I’ve been following your channel as of
late and have watched your video segment called ‘Nari Shakti’ which is one of the reasons why I’m happy to have you
here with me today.
Surbhi Sapru: Today, I’d like to speak with you on the topic of Hindi Literature and Journalism but before that, I’d
first like to talk to you about the Hindi Language. Could you please share with us briefly what Hindi as a language
means to you and how much do you love Hindi as a language? - Dr. Rathi: Well, Hindi is a language that I’m extremely proud to know and speak. I’m a native speaker of the language
and it also happens to be our Nation’s National Language whilst being a language that could also be termed as the
Indian Subcontinent’s ‘Raj Bhasha’ (Official Language) due to its extensive use in matters of official and day to day
work.
The Honorable Prime Minister of our Nation, in his briefing to the public that was held on 15th August 2023
(Independence Day), made a statement on the key factors that could contribute to our Nation being recognized and
acknowledged as ‘Vikasit Bharat’ (Developed India). It included 5 integral points one of which was- “Being proud of
our rich heritage”. Language, especially our national language is also an integral and important part of the Nation’s
collective heritage.
Most people generally include historic monuments, culture and other aspects when asked to describe heritage however,
one cannot ignore Hindi when asked about our country’s culture and heritage. Our nation unfortunately befell under the
rule of the British regime a couple of centuries ago and for a long time, may people in the past believed in their mental
psyche that the reason why we, as a collective nation couldn’t ward off the British during their early and initial attempts
of seizing our nation could have something to do with the fact that maybe, our culture and heritage wasn’t strong
enough.
Many people forget that this is a language and a civilization that has been here for a very long time and trying to
disregard its value and credentials altogether could be seen akin to possibly terming a very long line to be inferior to a
line that is comparatively shorter. If you personally ask me, Hindi is a language that I absolutely adore and am
extremely proud of!
Surbhi Sapru: Like you just mentioned, one should be proud of their heritage and culture; and since you are a
professor and interact with young students on a day to day basis, I’d like to ask you- What do you feel is the overall
outlook of the youth on Hindi and how serious and passionate would you say today’s youth are when it comes to Hindi
as a language? - Dr. Rathi: When talking about Hindi or any other topic for that matter, When the Government’s ‘Sarab Siksha
Abhyaan’ was launched, it stated that no student would be failed or demoted in schools right up to the 8th grade. This
initiative had many positive and negative effects simultaneously. The biggest drawback being that many students these
days are not as studious right up till the 8th grade however, despite this fact, teachers are left with no other choice but to
promote them. There are many families out there who cannot constantly attend to their children due to the nature of
their jobs or work which is why, when their child reaches the 9th grade, they start facing several issues especially when
it comes to the grammatical aspect of languages, as they didn’t pay too much attention to it in the previous grades. So,
this is where the major problem starts to arise. This is one of the primary reasons why the Hindi that we know and
speak today isn’t as pure an accurate from a grammatical perspective these days as what it once was. This isn’t just
limited to Hindi, it can happen anywhere or everywhere, where the grammatical aspect of any language isn’t studied or
understood diligently. - Surbhi Sapru: In your experience, what would be the right method that could be utilized in order to improve this
present predicament? - Dr. Rathi: Well, if you ask me, I’d say that first, we must consider bringing about certain changes or improvements to
the ‘Sarab Siksha Abhyan’ wherein, the clause that states that no student should/ would be failed till the 8th grade
should be removed all together, thus ensuring that the students pay greater attention to their curriculum and strive to
study and work harder in school furthermore, genuinely weak students could undergo something that I’d like to call a
‘Bridge course’ wherein, the student would attend 2 months of lectures of from their previous grades so as to ensure
that their previous concepts are clear and have been brought up to mark before eventually allowing them to be
promoted to the next grade.
Sure, it sounds easier than it probably is, and I understand that such things might take some time to implement but, I
genuinely believe that if planned and executed using the right approach, it could bring forth a positive change. - Surbhi Sapru: When a child completes their high school and enters college, the curriculum and the level at which
Hindi is taught and studied changes further. At B.A levels, students study the work of great scholars such as Kabir Ji
and Tulsi Ji which is at a level above one that a student studies at high school. In your experience, do you think that this
is apt for students who’ve just come out of high school, or do you feel that the level of difficulty should be gradually
increased?
Dr. Rathi: As a professor myself and someone who has completed their honors in Hindi whilst in B.A, I’d say that the
present curriculum that a student encounters in college is apt. You see, when a student is in high school, they do come
across the literary works or Kabir Ji, Soor Das Ji and Tulsi Das Ji however, what changes in college is the level at
which it is incorporated in their course. As far as the difficulty in level is concerned, it isn’t something that is not
manageable by students I mean, sure, the curriculum that a student studying Hindi Honors comes across as a tad bit
difficult however, it isn’t something that a diligent student cannot manage. Most students who opt for Hindi Honors are
those who have mostly studied elective Hindi in high school.
The role of teachers also plays a vital part in a student’s life. Let me share with you an instance from my life. While
studying Hindi Honors in B.A, I had a lovely teacher who taught us ‘Kavya Shastar’ (Poetry Composition) in college
which as you might already know, is extremely difficult however, her style of teaching and delivering lectures in class
was so impeccable that it made me completely fall in love with the subject. So much so that at one point during my
Bachelors, I made up my mind to study it even in M.A however, opting for something other than Kavya Shastar was
also due to the fact that I had a wonderful professor during my M.A who taught us another subject that I completely fell
in love with and hence, decided to peruse my Masters in that very same subject. - Surbhi Sapru: So, now I’d like to ask you- In your experience, do you feel that the youngsters these days are avid
readers of Hindi literature and are passionate about it? Also, some poets say that writing stories and plays are easier
than writing poetry in Hindi. How true do you find this statement to be? - Dr. Rathi: Contrary to popular belief where most people would presume that the love and passion for Hindi literature
has drastically decreased amongst the youth, I beg to differ. You see, with time, the medium for the consumption of
literature has also changed. Sure, there still are books available however, the young generation also has other means of
consuming Hindi literature such as through E-books, audio books, classic television plays, radio programs and more.
Now as far as your second question is concerned, well, you see, it isn’t like one is greater than the other form of
literature. They’re both quite challenging in their own manner which is why neither should be consider greater than or
inferior to the other. Scholars also note various co-relations between the Hindi Gadas and Padas which are deemed as
the base for both of the aforementioned literary forms. When you look back a couple of decades ago, we used to have
numerous Kavi Sammelans that were organized at the Red Fort wherein, esteemed poets would recite their original
compositions in front of the live audience literally for hours however, today, I believe that there has been somewhat of
a drop in the level of poetry compositions compared to that which was seen in the past. Poets these days don’t seem to
remember their own compositions and rely upon reading them using their notebooks or diaries furthermore, neither are
their compositions as lengthy or captivating as they once used to be. - Surbhi Sapru: Has social media and the need for constantly posting posts in a short span of time also affected the level
of Hindi literature? I’d really like to know your perspective on this. - Dr. Rathi: Well, Surbhi there are some pros and cons to how the age of social media has affected Hindi Literature and
its publication and I’d like to go through some of them here.
The biggest benefit that social media has provided to writers and literary scholars is the power to share their respective
works without having to face any major hurdles or barriers. During the time when social media didn’t exist, writers
were mostly at the mercy of publishers. If publishers didn’t publish their work, a lot of times, even the most
extraordinary writers would go unheard and unnoticed. Now, thanks to social media, writers and literary scholars can
effortlessly share and post their work on social networking platforms. Thanks to social media, we are now able to
discover exceptionally talented young writers from across the nation.
Now talking about the adverse effects of social media on Hindi Literature- Since social media has allowed us with the
freedom to post and share our content without any hassle, a lot of times content that one posts online may not
necessarily be ‘quality content’, contrary to a writer’s personal belief. Likes and comments on posts may present a
writer with the false notion that their content is ‘top notch’ however, that may not necessarily be the case. Publications
read a writer’s content before allowing it to be published which ensured that only the best literary works were brought
out to the general masses to consume but, because of social media, that integral ‘screening process’ can now be
bypassed by any writer who supposedly considers their work to be ‘impeccable’ or ‘extraordinary’. - Surbhi Sapru: A lot of times, young students and writers aren’t very open to receiving constructive criticism on their
work and neither are they open to someone incorporating minor tweaks and edits to their written work for the further
enrichment of their work. What would be your suggestion to these young writers and students? - Dr. Rathi: Well, honestly, I haven’t encountered such instances amongst the students that I’ve taught over the years
and there is a probable reason as to how that hasn’t happened yet. You see, before asking my students to present their
work on a particular topic, I aim at first providing the students with a brief insight as to what points should be
incorporated within their work that would truly make it as something that could be worthy of being termed as ‘quality content’ furthermore, I mentally prepare my students to be open to possible corrections irrespective of whether they’ve
incorporated the essential points that I have stated beforehand. This approach ensures that the students are mentally
prepared for any possible tweaks or edits to their work. - Surbhi Sapru: Should a writer express their personal miseries and tribulations in their literary works that are to be
published? Is it right for a writer to publicly express their pain and misery in their work? - Dr. Rathi: Often, in Indian literature, you would find that personal miseries aren’t directly conveyed by writers in their
literary works and there is a strong reason behind that. Writers have a big social responsibility towards the society as
literature constitutes the power to influence the thoughts and emotions of its readers which is why, impactful and
meaningful literary works are seldom encouraged and promoted. Loosing self-control in the midst of turbulent times
and penning them in one’s literary work does not seem to be very intelligent hence, it is always advised that a writer must
first overcome their times of difficulty and only when they’ve successfully ferried across the turbulent times into
peaceful waters, should they consider writing about their ‘past miseries’ however, that too has been done in a very
splendid manner by some brilliant writer in the past. Very often, these writers would create fictional characters in their
work however, their miseries wouldn’t be fictional, it would in fact be that of the writer itself.
There is however, one exception to the aforementioned rule which is that if the writer’s misery and the consequent
overcoming of their misery has been something that has brought about a great impact and positive change amongst the
social and economic psyche of the general masses, then doing so could in fact be considered important or wise. Dr Neelam Rathi has provided some thought provokingly intellectual insights into other aspects revolving around
literature, Indian Culture, heritage, history and more. We urge all of our readers to click on the link below Neelam Rathi’s Society Insights | Exclusive Interview Reveal! (youtube.com)