Language is most important for communication. It is used to inform others, to ask them to do certain things and to express feelings, moods, ideas, information, experiences etc. Language undoubtedly has a very important social purpose because it is mainly used for linguistic communication.

It’s worth noting that Chinese is the single most spoken language in the world today with around 1.2 billion people who consider it their first language. The written origins of the language have been traced back to 1250 BC in the late Shang dynasty. Along with Tamil, Chinese is one of the oldest surviving languages in the world.

The languages of India are divided into various language families, of which the Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages are the most widely spoken. Indo-Aryan language is a combination with Persian, Arabic, and Turkic elements in its vocabulary, with the grammar of the local dialects. They are Assamese, Sindhi, Gujarati, Odia, Marathi and Punjabi. The two largest languages that formed from Apabhraṃśa which in Sanskrit literally mean “corrupt” or “non-grammatical language”, that which deviates from the norm of Sanskrit grammar. Apabhraṃśa literature is a valuable source for the history of North India for the period spanning the 12th to 16th centuries. They are Bengali and Hindustani. On the other hand Dravidian languages are the four most commonly spoken languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. All four are official state languages of India, and Telugu, the most commonly spoken of all the Dravidian languages, is the third most common language spoken in India.

While most countries in the world have one national language, India has a different language for each of its 28 states. Each State has its Own Language

Hindi is recognised as an official language and all Union Government Records are written in Hindi and English. Other State Governments have records written in the State’s official language and English.

However, all Indian languages are phonetic. That means you can pronounce any word just by seeing it written. In every major Indian language, each syllable has a unique representation in script. It is truly “What-you-see-is-what-you-get” for the Indian language.

What’s more, many Indian languages share the same script (the written alphabet). For example, Sanskrit and Hindi are written in the same script – Devanagiri – but are still very different. Most of the Indian languages have their own script and are spoken in the respective states along with English.

Most Languages in India Follow the WYSIWYG Premise WYSIWYG implies a user interface that allows the user to view something very similar to the end result; while the document is being created. In general, WYSIWYG implies the ability to directly manipulate the layout of a document, without having to type or remember names of layout commands. The actual meaning depends on the user’s perspective, WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. WYSIWYG is a way of designing electronic documents so that content such as text and graphics is displayed on screen during editing in a way that corresponds exactly to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product.

Hindi is spoken as a mother tongue by about 40.22 percent of the population, mainly in the area known as the Hindi belt comprising Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.  It is the official language of the Indian Union, of the four states mentioned above, and of two other states namely, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Tamil (5000 years old) – Oldest Living Language in India. Part of the Dravidian family, which comprises of some native southern and eastern Indian languages, Tamil is the most widely spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu and is also one of the recognized national languages of India. Its spoken by at least 65 million people.

Assamese is the state language of Assam and is spoken by nearly 60 percent of the State’s population.  The origin of this language dates back to the 13th century.

Bengali is spoken by nearly 200 million people in the world – in Bangladesh and in West Bengal. It developed as a language in the 13th century and is the official state language of the eastern state of West Bengal.

Gujarati is the state language of Gujarat and is spoken by 70 percent of the State’s population.  It is Indic in origin and branched out from the Indo-European group of languages.

Kannada is the State language of Karnataka and is spoken by 65 percent of the State’s population.

Kashmiri is a language written in both Persio-Arabic and Devanagari scrip and is spoken by 55 percent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir.

Konkani, principally based on classical Sanskrit, belongs to the south-western branch of Indo-Aryan languages.  It is spoken in the Konkan region covering Goa and parts of the coastal regions of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. It is the official language of Goa, the smallest state in India.

Malayalam is a Dravidian language, spoken by the people of Kerala and Lashadweep.  It is an ancient language and is thousands of years old.

Marathi is an Indic language dating back to the 13th century.  It is the official language of the western state of Maharashtra.

Oriya, the state language of Orissa is spoken by nearly 87 percent of its population.

Punjabi is an Indic language and is spoken in the state of Punjab.  Although based on the Devanagari script, it is written in a 16th century script called Gurumukhi, created by the Sikh Guru Angad in the Indian state of Punjab and in Shahmukhi, a Persio-Arabic script in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

On top of that, there are dialects that change in every region. So, if you are in, let’s say Karnataka, a state in the southern part of India where the primary language is Kannada, you will see a variation of this language in North and South Karnataka.

What’s more, in regions close to the borders of particular states, there are completely unique languages or dialects, influenced by neighbouring states. That means, you will hear people speak a totally different language called Konkani on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Note that the primary language of Karnataka is Kannada and that of Maharashtra is Marathi.

Rajasthani refers to a group of Indo-Aryan languages and dialects spoken primarily in the state of Rajasthan and adjacent areas of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh in India. 

Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern-eastern India and the Terai region of Nepal. It is chiefly spoken in western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Sociolinguistically, Bhojpuri is considered one of several Hindi dialects. 

Sindhi is spoken by a great number of people in the North-west frontier of the Indian sub-continent comprising parts of India and Pakistan.  In Pakistan, the language is written in the Persio-Arabic script, while in India it uses the Devanagari script.

Telugu is also a Dravidian language and is the spoken by the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Urdu is the state Language of Jammu and Kashmir and it evolved with Hindi in the capital of India, Delhi.  Urdu is the language adopted by the majority of the Muslims in India.  Urdu is written in the Persio-Arabic script and contains many words from the Persian language.

Sanskrit is older than Prakrit languages. However, both are Indo-Aryan languages that co-existed for several centuries. Sanskrit is not the refinement of Prakrit languages as mistakenly believed by some. It is the refined and codified version of archaic Vedic language. It’s worth noting that when groups evolved at a habitat certainly there was some kind of communication perhaps Sanskrit and Tamil dominated from the History of India since 3000 BC.

Marathi theatre has always been regarded as one of the most culturally rich theatre traditions in the country. Right from the 18^th century the Marathi theatre has been present. It seems King Patwardhan of Sangli requested novelist Vishnu Bhave to write an evocative play for entertaining his guests and Bhave wrote ‘Sita Swayamvar’ which was performed on November 5, 1843, in that princely state. It was inspired by Karnataka’s folk theatre form of Yakshagana.

The Marathi stage has evolved in Bombay (now Mumbai) because this city has always been a business city; it had the infrastructure and money which helped the formal performers to grow. Because of the majority Maharashtrian workers community in the city who lived in the chawls the free time was used to practice dramas, keertans, pravachans and powadas. The artists used to practice in whatever space was available to them; sometimes varandahs, staircases and the open grounds. Lavanis such as “Mumbai Nagari Badi Banka, Jashi Ravanachi dusari Lanka” by Patthe Bapurao and Annabhau Sathe’s “Mazi Mumbai, Arthat Muumbai Konachi” were super duper hits those days. People flocked to the theatres to watch these lavanis.

Maharashtra has had long theatrical tradition, one of its early references is found in cave inscriptions at Nashik. Marathi theatre started flourishing in the middle of the 19th century. It includes forms like Sangeet Natak (Musical drama), Tamasha (folk dance), Ekpatri prayog etc. It continues to have a marked presence in the State of Maharashtra. Marhathi theatre is not famous outside Maharashtra; maybe because Marathi as a language is quite difficult and a lot of stress is laid on the richness of the language by the writers; the gamut of Marathi dramas ranges from humorous social plays, farces, historical plays, musical, to experimental plays and serious drama. We have seen the likes of Annabhau Kirloskar, P. L. Deshpande, Vijay Tendulkar, and Mahesh Elkunchwar, Bhalaji Pendharkar, Raja Paranjape, Annabhu Sathe, Vinda Karandikar, Arun Sadhu, P. K. Atre, Daya Pawar etc who were known and are known even today for their par excellence.  But, there is one big problem in staging a drama and continuing it for long time. We find Marathi dramas live a short life span, though some of them have great content. They are forgotten easily. Perhaps it is because Maharashtra faces multiculturalism and therefore the Marathi theatre takes a backset. Most importantly, Marathi theatre faces many political and social undercurrents. There is a sea change in terms of quality and context which are changing like never before. The conditions today cannot be compared to the previous decade.

Marathi Theatre can be described as never-ending energy; live moments, live interaction, superb dialogues, and great backdrops of stage, superb background music scores, and a strong tradition of 150 years which can never die. Besides, Marathi dramas are sharp, witty and very rich in content. They make you think even hours after you’ve watched a show. Marathi theatre is evolving with newer ideas, newer concepts and much more experiments. The new breed of directors is experimenting with forms of theatre. No other place in India has so much of ‘commercial theatre’ like that in Maharashtra. If you have three movie shows in Plaza, the theatre bang opposite to it, Shivaji Mandir, has three shows of plays on the same day.

The various genres of Marathi scripts are also a reason for people to watch plays. Comedy, serious depiction of the society, political satires, musicals, romantic, tragedy, rags to riches stories and mission – it has it all. Marathi theatre fascinates its viewers with its large variety.

The cultural connection of Mumbai and Pune with its regional theatre shows that the stage is not dying, it is experimenting and it has long way to go. It has managed to carve a special niche and that’s reason enough to say that there’s plenty of hope for the art in the state of Maharashtra.

Both cinema and drama are based on story. Both drama and cinema depend primarily on performers who resent and communicate the story to the audience. A stage play or a screenplay is like reading a novel. Dramas are livelier and thrilling as you see the actor’s performance right in front. The audience can clap and applaud the actors on the stage. The actors also in response give their best dialogue delivery, voice modulation, gestures thus bringing in more energy in the theater. Drama is on the spot. There are not takes and retakes; it delivers effect on the spot therefore it connects with the viewers more honestly. Drama is more difficult for an actor.

Both drama and cinema share certain common features; they both use sets, props, costumes, music and other sound effects. Communication is the essence in both drama and cinema. Even in the silent era, films relied heavily on human speech that was understood through contextual instinct; a combination of gesture, facial expression, and lip reading; and inserts of printed, projected text. If a drama is dull or boring viewers crate a commotion whereas if a cinema is boring they simply walk out of the theatre. Bothe cinema and drama have their fan following. Everybody cannot enjoy drama; an audience that has been raised on films, do not enjoy dramas.

Marathi theatre has come a long way. While Gujarati, Hindi or English theatre is ‘merely weekend theatre’, catering to the thinking and upper class, Marathi theatre is all about the masses mainly because of the way it gets people to relate to the script. Mumbai and Pune are hubs of Marathi plays. In Mumbai and Pune, there are these niche classes of people who usually do not miss watching a play every week. Mumbai is the economic capital and Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra state. There are at least 15-20 theatres in Mumbai which host only Marathi plays right from Prabhadevi to Thane: Rabindra Natya Mandir, Shivaji Natya Mandir, Ranga Sharda, Dinanath, Gadkari Rangayatan and many more theatres are witness to the love Mumbaikars have for this art form. And in Pune: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Tilak Smarak Mandir, Bharat Natya Mandir, Sudarshan Hall, Moreshwar Hall, Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Mandir etc are famous for Mrathi drama lovers. Mumbai and Pune showcase the love for performing art relatively much more, compared to other cities like Bangalore or New Delhi which relatively have fewer auditoriums.

The amount of theatre that is being done on the commercial as well as parallel stage in Marathi cannot be compared to any other regional theatre today. It is facing some technical, political and financial problems today, which I am sure, will be sorted out sooner or later. The Marathi theatre scene is the most happening in the whole of India.

Last week I saw the movie Dr. Prakash baba Amte – The Real Hero starring Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni & Mohan Agashe in lead roles. The Marathi film is a biopic based on the life of Dr. Prakash Amte – son of Baba Amte. The movie shows stark realities of lives of advasis – the Madia tribe from Gadchiroli district. The movie shows Dr. Prakash Apte, his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte and his colleague’s limitless struggle with the naive Madia tribal, struggle with wild animals, struggle with Naxalites and corrupt government officials for bringing in the basic requirements for the existence of the tribal people. Many scenes in the movie are chilling. The Amtes (Prakash and Mandakini) are oblivious of their destination in life. They see the pathetic conditions of the advasis who live like animals. In fact, the tribal people don’t even know that they are human. Both husband and wife decide to make Hemalkasa their home, they live with the Madia tribe people serving them.

The movie shows journey of the husband and wife doctor couple. It portrays their understanding, their thinking, and their similar aims and objectives while supporting each other. Both have forgone money, status, careers etc living in the deep jungle amongst most pathetic conditions. The movie shows both Dr.Amtes and their colleagues accepting life as it comes; all of them devoted to shaping the lives of the tribal people. Dr. Prakash Amte has been shown doing gynecology and ophthalmology operations. Dr.Amte uses his knowledge and reading to help patients in dire need of medical help. While watching the movie one thinks today’s medical world is highly clichéd.  The medical specialization has created a situation of “too many cooks in the kitchen”. Today’s academic medical centers are full of specialty teams, which cover all facets of health care. The composition of these teams includes a wide array of practitioners, ranging from allied health professionals, to student doctors training to obtain their medical degree.

Today’s patients are finding themselves caught amongst experts with numerous opinions surrounding their various medical ailments. They listen to too many specialists for their ailments. What happens when these recommendations begin to conflict? When reality sets in, the patient does not know who to turn to or how to proceed forward. This movie has shown two methodical medical practitioners using their common sense and expertise. I really appreciated his fact while watching the movie.

Dr. Prakash Amte is the son of Magsaysay awardee and legendry Baba Amte, he and his wife, Dr. Mandakini Amte were awarded the Magsaysay Award for ‘Community Leadership’ in 2008 for their benevolent work in the form of the ‘Lok Biradari Prakalp’ amongst the Madia Gonds in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

Nana Patekar has played Dr. Prakash Amte effortlessly. His dialogue delivery, voice modulation, facial expressions, eye movements, and body language every bit of his screen presence is awesome. His dialogue delivery in Marathi is as dynamic as in Hindi. The dialogues written by Adv. Samruddhi Porey are heart-touching and full of wisdom. The cinematographer Mahesh Anye has done an incredible job with lighting and breathtaking photography. Patekar has portrayed Dr. Praksh Amte with incisive emotions. There are innumerable scenes in the movie which will dampen your eyes. I think no other actor would fit the role of Prakash Amte on screen. And, beautiful Sonali Kulkarni has supported Nana Patekar with equal brilliance and intensity. Both Patekar and Sonali Kulkarni make a wonderful screen pair.

We all live our life cribbing for countless and unfulfilled needs and demands; we live a monotonous routine, and are never contended in our lives. And, there are people like Baba Amte and his sons Prakash and Vikas Amte who have worked towards making the world a better place to live. The father Baba Amte has literally fought all his life for fiving the leprosy patients a better life. And, his sons Vikas and Prakash have also dedicated their lives for social causes. They worked and lived to serve others, to make the world a little better; by doing so, all that they gained is a little peace of mind – little happiness. I think that has led them into self actualization.

The director of the movie, Sammruddhi Porey and the entire unit’s efforts need to be lauded for showing Dr. Prakash Amte’s compassionate mindset, stretching his limits with utmost reality to bring the small changes in the tribal land. The cast and crew of the movie have gone out of their way to depict reality. They have shot the movie with real tribal people and animals which is a dangerous and painstaking task. Apart from this, the dialogues are intelligently written, dialogue and description is where the experience of screenplay for the audience lives in;
the feel and consistency of the dialogues and placements of them are simply superb. Nana Patekar and Sonali Kulakrni have delivered them precisely. The screen play is very well edited and some scenes in the movie have rib-tickling humor which makes the movie more appealing. This is must watch movie for all.

• Produced By : Samruddhi Porey
• Directed By : Samruddhi Porey
• Star Cast : Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni,Mohan Aagashye, Ashish Chougule,Vikram Gaikwad, Bharat Ganeshpure, Tejashri Pradhan, Aniruddha Wankar,Vinayak Patwardhan,Kunal Gajbhare,Sushant Kakde,Sukumar Day, Prasad Dhakunkar, Naina Rani, Krishna Dharme,Vinod Raut
• Cinematographer :Mahesh Anye