Thread by @ksinamdar

I was educated in English. Marathi was spoken primarily at home. It was in the last year of my college that I picked up a novel by the great Marathi litterateur, GoNi Dandekar - Kuna Ekachi Bhramangatha. By the time I reached the last page of the novel, I had an epiphany. 1/n

https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1363496196963115011

English (and other European languages) may have the world’s best literature, but literature that talked about me and my environment could be found in Marathi and in Marathi only. It propelled me to learn my mother tongue seriously. I must thank my parents who were avid 2/n

readers and also enthusiastic book collectors. When I came into contact with the Marathi playwright, Chetan Datar, this urge to know the subtleties of the language grew manifold. I started exploring #Marathi through poetry and music. I think it was exactly this that led me to 3/n

create the #MarathiAbhimaangeet. I am amazed when people say that language is just a means of communication. It is as crass and immoral as saying that women are mere objects of desire. #Language is much more than that.; 4/n

It is the reservoir of society’s collective wisdom; It is the vehicle of culture; it is the marker of our civilisation. These were the reasons that prompted me to establish the Marathi Asmita Cultural Foundation. The aim is to revive and conserve Marathi. 5/n

To conserve power, you have to use less of it; to conserve a language, you have to use more of it. We are carrying out various activities through MACF. We published, KUSUMANIL, a collection of letters written by Kusumavati Deshpande and poet Anil in the period of 1921-27 6/n.

We are now working on #AmrutachaVasa a project on Marathi poetry which will be the biggest ever project on poetry in any language of the world. The reason I have written this thread in English is that languages belong to all of us. I truly believe that Marathi belongs to all 7/8

Indians alike. We may not speak a particular language that is not our mother tongue. But if we have love for language in general then every language adds value generously to our worldview. 8/8. @palkisu thanks for your segment.