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The Importance of Being Multilingual
I am proud to call myself multilingual and even prouder to raise multilingual children. I can speak Marathi, which is my mother tongue, along with Hindi, English, Bengali, and to some extent, Dutch. Growing up in India, being multilingual was not just a skill but a way of life. Our country is a treasure trove of languages, with their unique dialects, expressions, and traditions.
From a young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of learning languages. We had Bengali neighbours, and I naturally picked up the language, becoming fluent at a young age. Alongside the language, I developed a love for Bengali culture — their festivals, food, and traditions fascinated me. Hindi, being widely spoken and taught in schools, was relatively easy for me to learn. Bollywood movies also played a small role in reinforcing the language. Marathi, however, remained my primary language. Growing up in Nashik, a culturally rich city in Maharashtra, Marathi was the heartbeat of my everyday life. Even after moving continents, Marathi remains the language I am most comfortable with.
As a child, I had friends from various parts of India, many of them from southern states. My parents often encouraged me to learn at least one South Indian language, which would have been amazing. However, all I managed to pick up were a few humorous curse words! There was a brief attempt to learn Kannada when my father moved to Bangalore, but our family did not relocate, and the opportunity slipped away.