Jagmohann Sharma
Mother tongue is the first language, the native tongue which a person inherits right from the birth. The love for it can stem from a deep connection to it, a sense of belonging and a desire to preserve the cultural heritage. Every person in this world has one mother language and 21st February is dedicated to this being celebrated as The International Mother-Language Day. Everyone should celebrate it with pride because mother language is an important part of our identity and loving it can help us understand our own self, our culture, traditions and our roots too. So on this occasion everyone should reaffirm a commitment to love his or her mother tongue. So what if a person has two mother tongues instead of one?
Yes….it’s me, feeling proud to have two mother tongues and the reason behind this is not just that I have two mothers in real life . Yes……!! Dear reader, you read that right, two mothers as well as two mother tongues, just like Mother Devki and Mother Yoshada. As a prelude, I consider this an opportunity to take you back to 1947 partition days. My ancestors came to Poonch from across the border which is now under the illegal occupation of Pakistan (POJK). The names of areas I have heard from my parents like Bagh, Palandari, Rawlakote, Pajja Thorad and many more and the native language of those areas is Pahari Poonchhi. Both my moms also belong to that community ; None of the three parents was Non-Poonchhi.That’s how and why my first mother tongue happened to be Pahadi Poonchhi which I call my Devki-Maa Boli. Being born and brought up in the heart of Jammu city, I grew up with Dogri speaking people all around. My parents used to talk to each other in Pahari Poonchhi only. However when it came to their children, the interaction was in Hindi, Urdu, Dogri, and even Punjabi but very rarely in Pahaadi Poonchhi. But the real impact of home, School, neighbourhood and a few friends was that I got inclined towards Dogri the most. The lap of Dogra society in which I was growing up became my Yashoda Maa, that is Dogri. Despite being a son of two mothers from my Devki Ma Boli community; the Poonchhi, I became the son of Yashoda Maa Boli that is Dogri and it became my identity. The lap of Dogri society in which I was growing up was now my Yashoda Maa – Son of Duggar soil and Mohan (My Nick name) was an identity attributed to this aspect.
I always loved and lived Dogri which nurtured me, pampered me, brought me up, and equipped me with reading writing speaking and translating skills in Dogri. With all the blessings of Dogri, for about last 17 years it has been the source of my livelihood and my family’s bread and butter. Dogri gave me everything that a mother can give to her child. After completing about five decades of my life, a deeper ponder- upon shook me in and out. I felt it pitiable that my own children were unable to speak flawless Dogri and this bitter truth didn’t prevail at my home only. It was a common issue in every second household in any urban milieu. I realised that a very few families prefer conversing in Dogri in day to day life. Seeing many people around feeling proud in speaking English or Hindi and hesitating to speak Dogri in public forums became a point of concern for me and I really wanted to do something about it. I am not a language scholar or an expert in Dogri Literature but just knew how to read, write and speak the language. So to do something on ground level I came up with an audiobook for children “Kahaani Suni Sanaayi”. It was the first ever e-audio book in Dogri. Encouraged with peoples response I started a platform named Watch-O-Suno Dogri, and then started a series of various activities to attract more and more children towards Dogri language. At the same time I hold a deep desire to do something for my Devki Maa Boli; the Poonchhi. It is still a dialect and as per my knowledge has no specific or a well decided uniform script as yet. For this purpose I have started working on its script in Devnagari so that some literature, poetry and other writings get documented in Pahadi Poonchhi. With God’s grace if i get successful in doing so, I shall feel myself freed from Matri-Rinn (Mother-Debt) of my Devki Maa Boli.
Being a son of two mother tongues makes me feel proud and joyful in many ways. Due to this our family has become a small constellation of vivid cultures, rituals and traditions. On auspicious occasions, on one hand, we prepare Dogra delicacies with Ambal, Kyoor, Chachha, Maahni etc and at the other hand, we love making sweet chillas called Maanies and Saag Waali Poonchhi Curry. Upon a child’s birth we on one hand have Sutra as a Dogra ritual and on the other hand perform Khundi, a Poonchhi ritual, too. In marriage functions we have Poonchhi Sitthnies, welcoming guests with Sajna Ni Khaatar folk song and Hide and Seek ceremony to lure bride and groom for Mehandi ceremony. At the same time Dogri folk songs Ghodhiyan and Suhaag are integral part of marriage related rituals. Our children are now well aware of typical Dogri words and sayings like Khechal, Upprotali, Niggar, Bankada, Khouddal, Khalaar, Shashopanj as well as with Poonchi words like Aggalmeeta, Kajiya, Taamar, Jaani-Khaya, Oplaata and many more.
Loving your mother tongue is a matter of cultural identity and personal pride and when you are a son of two mother tongues, the pride obviously expands manifold for sure. It allows you to deeply understand and appreciate your own background and history .
When someone talks specifically about my real mother tongue, there erupts a crisis of Identity. In general if asked about my mother tongue, I just don’t get satisfied by telling only one of the two – my Devki Poonchhi and Yashoda Dogri. It is the same feeling when somebody asks me who is your real biological mother & the one who nurtured you with equal love and affection. It really hurts me and is difficult to answer. I feel the word mother is beyond all heights of love, grace, honour, and regards. Binding it with adjectives like real or foster, is an insult to the word mother. Whomsoever you call mother whether it is one giving you birth or even foster one or Mother Nature, Mother Earth, or even holding a river in high esteem by calling it a mother, you owe a lot to it and in no way can disconnect yourself from a relationship and responsibilities towards it. The same is the case with the mother tongue.
I find myself unique in having mothers as well as mother tongues in a pair and feel that uniqueness should be my devotion towards both of these. A renowned broadcaster and language activist, Raman Kesar, who is doing a lot for the cause of mother languages and language identity crisis in the society, once suggested me to mention Pahadi Poonchhi as my mother tongue in the next census. He holds the view that just ignoring the real mother tongue is a threat to the mother languages and one should get it registered with pride. But on the other hand Major General (Retired) Govardhan Singh Jamwal, who always appreciates my little endeavours, corrected me when, once, I said that basically I am not a Dogra. He advises that every single person in Jammu region should consider himself as a Dogra and feel proud of it. Sub-Divisions of dialects should not make a division among the Dogras adds Mr Jamwal. Anyways, views of both of these intellectuals are of great respect for me and both are very right in their own perspective. My case however is very close to my heart where there is no space for logic. Here an old Bollywood song just moves the strings of my heart “Hum Tere Bina Bhi Nahin Jee Sakte Aur Tere Bina Bhi Nahin Jee Sakte.”
On this day I just want to say “let me be the son of both the mother tongues; Mother Devki the Pahari Poonchhi whom my ancestors inherited to me and Mother Yashoda the Dogri whom I have been loving and living since birth, who brought me up, in whose lap I played, who gave me an identity. I am not a language scholar to contribute towards enriching both of these but no mental or logical analysis can stop me from just expressing my gratitude to both of these.
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