A song for Hindi: A 10-day virtual antakshari session to celebrate the language

The antakshari encourages users to explore rare Hindi words

Can merry-making ever skip the off-tune glories of community singing? From movie songs and folk music to Indian pop, sing-alongs have a way of thought-transferring song charts. Shrill, soft or sweet - all voices are habitually on the same page. And raising a toast to that celebratory spirit, Cheers2Bhasha - an initiative aimed at preserving Indian languages - is upholding Hindi with a game of antakshari.

Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14, and that's when Lopamudra Mohanty, founder of the platform, introduced the concept to the users. The parlor game of the ending letter comes with a twist, she tells us. "I began the Reel saga with the song, Lakdi ki kathi. The word that I ended with was ‘dauda'. So the next person who wants to pick the cue, must use that ending word in the first line of their song.

Lopamudra Mohanty

The idea is to build connectivity and enjoy the spoken language." Participants must add #Cheers2Bhasha in their posts, and also tag interested friends to expand the circle. Mohanty adds, "Language can be honoured in any form. So if someone is not comfortable with singing, they can recite a poem. To make the game inclusive, we are accepting songs/recitals that adhere to the theme of the last entry." The storyteller urges everyone to give credit to the makers of a piece, as they did their due for the bhasha.

Mohanty encourages netizens to highlight uncanny words and phrases in a song and shed light on their etymology. "In sync with the weather, yesterday, our song was Rimjhim gire saawan. The word, sulag-sulag, is a sensate usage. Such connotations should be discussed." Given that there's a Hindi song for every real-life situation, we are nudged to hop on this train of trills.

Till: September 24
Log on to: @lopamudra- thestoryteller