Author: Caribbean Hindustani

Visham bhimull, National Council of Indian Culture Trinidad and Tobago Abstract __________________________________ Much of the colonial Indian diaspora, like India, have recognized Modern Stand- ard Hindi (MSH) as the authoritative form of the Hindustani language. The nation- alistic move by India to adopt the Khaṛī Bolī vernacular of Delhi as the standard of Hindustani seemed…

The Indo-Caribbean experience: I virtually grew up by my Nani’s (maternal grandmother) spoiled to the core. My very first language, which was spoken at her house, was Trinidad English Creole. It was mixed with smatterings of Bhojpuri as expressions like “Māi kirīyā, ah go nak yuh dong” with the gesture of knocking her chest, and…

The domains of Hindu influence The Ramakien, literally “Glory of Rama”; is Thailand’s national epic,derived from the Buddhist Dasharatha Jataka. “King Rama VI was the person who shed the light first on the Ramayana studies in Thailand, by tracing the sources of the Ramakien, comparing with the Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana. He found that Ramakien was…

Islam: Empire of Faith

Here is a classic song done at weddings to tease the bridegroom. It was originally done by the Ganesh Kirtan group, a group of women who sang folk songs. It is a taunt to the bridegroom calling him an inexperienced king (double entendre for a virgin) and warning him not to pick the limes in…

Motilall Marhe is a key resource person from the Netherlands’ Dutch Surinamese Hindustani diaspora. His book “Sarnámí Byákaran” (Sarnami Grammar) is a key reference text for Caribbean Hindustani.