Marathi Din or मराठी भाषा दिवस is celebrated on February 27th, every year across the Indian states of Maharashtra and Goa. This day is regulated by the State Government and celebrated on Birthday of eminent Marathi Poet Vi. Va. Shirwadkar. Marathi belongs to Indo-Aryan family which is ranked 4th , as native language in India . Marathi ranks 19th in the list of most spoken languages in the world. It has lot of influence of Sanskrit language and is derived from a language called Maharashtri which was used in Satavana period .
The beauty of this language lies in its flexibility and the way words from other languages fit in. It also has wide range of its dialects just like the Sahyadri ranges. They say tone of pronunciation changes after every 12 miles . There are more than 54 dialects in Marathi but basically it is divided into Varhadi , kokani , malwani and standard marathi . Lot of words used in marathi are farsi , urdu , british and has two scripts modi and devnagari . Marathi distinguishes inclusive and exclusive forms of ‘we’ and possesses a three-way gender system that features .
Chakradhar Swami of the Mahanubhava sect compiled by his close disciple, Mahimbhatta, in 1238. The Līḷācarītra is thought to be the first biography written in the Marathi language. story ek hoti chiu , ek hota kau is passed from one generation to other till today . Marathi is said to be some 2000 years old. Dadoba Panduranga in 1836 developed Marathi grammar and he published his own book called Maharashtra Bhasheche Vyakaran. Corrections were made in this book till its 7th edition 1850.
Sources of knowing history of Marathi language are called as “grantha , tambrapattas, bakhar , shilalekh .” Marathi gained prominence with the rise of the Maratha empire beginning with the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji ( ruled 1674–1680). Under Shivaji, the language used administrative documents became less persianised. Whereas in 1630, 80% of the vocabulary was Persian, it dropped to 37% by 1677.
The power of Marathi literature enriches our lives in many forms, be it a simple language or any form of literature they have a rythm in it . lavni , bharud , powada , abhanga , aryas, are unique forms flourishing from 12 century till now . Pasaydan written by Sant Dnyaneshwar in 12th century remains unique until now.
First half of the 20th century was marked by new enthusiasm in literary pursuits, and socio-political activism.Marathi made great strides by the 1990s. A literary event called Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All-India Marathi Literature Meet) is held every year. In addition, efforts are made to get the classical language status to Marathi language
I found the nature of Marathi language is like a river who accepts every one without any restrictions .With time language has changed so much as new technologies are being introduced . Todays youth love to handle things which are easy to access. We use lot of Minglish and Mindi because our mother tounge has that ability unlike others. Change can only happen if you experiment new things . New technology can be introduced only if we try because it is going to blossom day by day new forms of Literature can be found in youth only.
Happy International Marathi language day to all of you .
(Proudly written in english so that my friends across may understand the beauty of my language )
-Shraddha Jagdale (cyber law consultant , graphic designer , web devloper & content writer )
