Resources

• Slideshows

Dr. Shankar tackles a fascinating topic in this exploration of the language of non-violence, अहिंसा. The presentation is framed as a detailed walk-through the famous story, Siddartha and the Swan. The presentation concludes with two longer video clips related to ahimsa. The first video is a humorous clip from the Bollywood comedy about modern-day Gandhi-giri Lage… Read More

• Learning and Teaching
• Resources

The Hindi Urdu Flagship has just relaunched Dr. Jishnu Shankar‘s Hindi slideshow series. Now named Presenting Hindi, the series features a redesigned interface and new presentations (with more to come). The series covers a broad range of fundamental grammatical features and ‘topic-specific’ language categories such as health, economics, and politics. Each presentation makes use of real-world Hindi cultivated from current Hindi periodicals and print advertising; a number also incorporate video material from Bollywood films and Indian television.

• Interviews

As part of his visit to the Hindi Urdu Flagship, Bollywood lyricist and script writer Ali Husain Mir sat down with HUF associate director Syed Akbar Hyder and former HUF director Herman van Olphen to discuss his background in Urdu and the state of the language in modern India. The interview should provide good listening… Read More

• Slideshows

We return to grammar with this look at degrees of compulsion in Hindi. The presentation provides real-world examples (from Hindi news clippings) of how to होना (normal need), चाहिये (moral compulsion), and पड़ना (external compulsion). The presentation ends with a video from the class Bollywood film Taj Mahal. You can view the presentation online, or download it… Read More

• Slideshows

Dr. Shankar produces one of his best presentations yet with a line-by-line breakdown of a hilarious Coke television commercial. The video features a heroic Aamir Khan (of Bollywood fame) and some hilarious “local” dialect. You can view the presentation online,  or download it as PDF or a Powerpoint presentation.

• Slideshows

We turn now to a brief series on Hindi in economic contexts. The presentation begins with a few questions which guide you through an extensive look at economics-related advertisements and news articles. You can view the presentation online,  or download it as a PDF or a Powerpoint presentation.

• Learning and Teaching
• Resources

HUF is pleased to introduce our newest web feature, Kāvyārtha — an interactive guided tour of unique moments in Hindi poetry. In this collection of online articles, HUF director Rupert Snell focuses on poetic structure and aesthetics as a means of approaching the artha (the meanings and ends) of kāvya (poetry) in Hindi. The series begins with a focus on Braj and Awadhi, it will gradually expand to encompass Khari Boli and modern Hindi poetry.

• Slideshows

We return to grammatical concerns with this look at conditionals and counterfactuals (aka the past subjunctive). The presentation begins with a famous Ghalib couplet that features a counterfactual construction, it then provides a comprehensive breakdown of grammatical rules, and concludes with a series of useful drills. You can view the presentation online,  or download it as PDF or a Powerpoint presentation.

• Slideshows

Dr. Shankar’s look at environmental Hindi ends with a flourish: a line-by-line breakdown of a quirky, environment-themed cartoon dubbed in Hindi. Great practice for beginners! You can view the presentation online,  or download it as PDF or a Powerpoint presentation.

• Slideshows

Our exploration of Hindi in environmental contexts continues with this look at recycling paper in India. The presentation begins with some questions which guide you through a look at an in-depth government-sponsored recycling advertisement. The presentation concludes with a translation exercise. You can view the presentation online,  or download it as a  PDF or a Powerpoint presentation.