I have wings
Can you impose a language on the
birds? Can you make the pigeons in Delhi coo in Hindi, for example? Will they
arrest the pigeons as antinational creatures for refusing to coo in Hindi?
In ‘The Last
Lesson’, a short story written by French writer Alphonse Daudet [1840-1897], the
protagonist, a very young student in a French school, wonders whether the
Germans will make the pigeons sing in German since his province of Alsace has
been conquered by Bismarck. One of the very first things that conquerors do is
to impose their culture and language on the new subjects. The conquest is
complete only when the subjects give up their own idols and embrace the new
ones. The imposed ones.
One of the
reasons why I never learnt Hindi properly though I lived in North India for the
most part of my life is that I had wings. I was a pigeon that knew only one
language. Coo. Coo-coo. Coo coo coo.
Can you take
away that language?
You can take
away my food. You can take away my dress. You can take away my properties.
You can’t
take away my language. My coo coo coo.
My coo-coo is
my passport to a wider world. Birds don’t need passports and Visas. Because
they have wings. They fly and hence they don’t see the border fences erected by
human beings. They don’t have to see them, of course.
The best
thing about birds is their wings.
I have wings.
PS. Instigated by the latest prompt
of Blogchatter blog Hop: If you
could fly, where would you go?
I have wings. I always had them. But
they were clipped all along. By politicians of all sorts most of whom wore
religious garbs. I still live in a country where wings are clipped day after
day with words. By an eloquent speaker. Words bereft of wings.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteWhat in interesting idea... of course the English did their best to wipe out the use of Gaelic and Scots when they invaded the Bonny Land (and Welsh in Wales and the Irish Gaelic...) and continued that trait throughout all their colonial activity; many English (and to be fair, some Scots too) who go to 'foreign parts for holiday' get all hot and bothered if the natives don't speak English... I detest that attitude. Language is so much part of culture and how we identify.
On another note; the Currawong of Australia, a bird of beautiful voice, has been identified to have different dialects according to region and, in the example I saw, the community found on Lord Howe Island did not appear to understand what their cousins from Victoria were singing. If not different language, at least very different dialects. So I wonder if pigeons have 'accents'?!! YAM xx
That's interesting about a bird having dialects. I wonder whether such variations occur among other species too.
DeleteHomogenisation of language and culture is an integral part of empire building. India is becoming an empire, Rama Rajya.
Surely, a language is way of communication which he/she develops from the surroundings when he/she grows up. It should be at consent and eagerness of one person if he/she wishes to learn any other language. Let him fee the need, if he feels it, let him learn, otherwise don't push him. Example of bird was really interesting. They don't see borders. Good piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteLanguage is also a medium of power. Taking away one's language is tantamount to enslaving one. When Hindi is imposed on non-Hindi-speaking people, it is a process of enslavement.
Delete'The Last Lesson' still remains the first lesson to come to mind
ReplyDeleteThe first lesson of our last year at school 😊
DeleteVery nice information!
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