-Satyakam Ray

During my stay in Bangalore, I took a public bus once from Silk Board to my place. I came across a young couple sitting just in front of me. They usually discussed everyday matters, which I could hear. The conversation medium was Hindi. I wasn’t paying much attention to the chat and was looking out the window.

Suddenly, one word was raised in their chat, and it sounded odd to me. The pronunciation of the food item Vada pav caught my attention. It usually starts with the letter ‘W’ and should sound like ‘Wada pav.’ As an Odia, I often mispronounce the ‘W’ as ‘V’ and struggle to pronounce the ‘S’ correctly when calling someone else’s name. Very few people are aware of this subtle variation. Even non-Odias sometimes laugh at us for our not-so-perfect Hindi. My doubts were confirmed when the girl’s phone rang in the middle, and she answered it perfectly in Odia. I learned that the boy was also an Odia. Then, why were we both talking in Hindi all the time?

The answer to the question is Hindi-mania among Odias in general. The trend started 8-10 years ago. Even if the group is odia, the conversation would be in Hindi. Many attempt to mimic the North Indian dialect and behave in a certain way. This type of incident happens in Bhubaneswar and other small towns of Odisha. People living outside Odisha are also more prone to Hindi mania.

Almost everyone, except South Indians, accepts Hindi as the national language. Conversing in Hindi is acceptable, but one must also respect the region’s native language. If an Odia is surrounded by fellow Odias, speaking Hindi to them isn’t very sensible. If another non-Odia speaker is present during the conversation, it’s advisable to speak in Hindi or English, depending on the context.

Identifying as mainstream North Indians often forces a few odias to behave differently. For a few, the Hindi-mania trend has become a status symbol. Gen-Z individuals in Bhubaneswar typically hold this view. The cultural change people are experiencing as a wave is also reflected in Hindia-mania. There are other factors, but Hindi-mania is one such aspect.

On the national level, this behavior pattern of ignoring the mother tongue is almost absent in other regions. Bengalis will speak in Bengali, English, or both. Telugus speak Telugu, and Tamils speak only Tamil. The North Indians speak various Hindi dialects. People in South Delhi primarily speak English and limited Hindi. However, the few modern-day Odias tend to forget their native language, and several well-to-do Odias feel insecure when speaking it. The author does not know the reason.

‘Toh’ is a common cliche among Hindi-speaking northern Indians. In everyday use, they often say, “Toh kya hua.” Thez ‘toh’ has changed to ‘ta’ in Odia conversation. The Odia Gen-Z, or millennials who are primarily fluent in Hindi, often use ‘ta’ as a cliché in discussions.

Of course, Hindi and English are also necessary. Both languages can coexist alongside Odia. It’s worth noting that Odia is one of the few Indian languages recognized by the Constitution of India. Our forefathers fought hard to secure their separate identity from the Bengalis.