Sanskrit is an ancient language that dates back to the Bronze Age. It is the language at the root of many languages of the Indian subcontinent, including Hindi, and it is used in ancient literary texts and sacred texts of the Hindu and Buddhist religions, particularly the Vedas. The holy and poetic nature of the language is hinted at in the meaning and origin of …
Every fall, cities and towns throughout India are illuminated with string lights and oil lamps as people give gifts and share sweets. This is Diwali, or as it’s also commonly known, the Festival of Lights. Diwali, pronounced either [ dih-wah-lee ] or [ dih-vah-lee] has a few variant spellings. There’s Divali and Dewali, as well as Deepavali and Deepawali. At its core, the name Diwali …
How many words from Hindi and Urdu do you know? Well, if you’re one of the approximately 70 million speakers of Urdu and 425 million of Hindi, then, well, you know a lot—and that’s only counting native speakers. Millions more speak Urdu and Hindi as a second language all around the globe, making them, combined, one of the most spoken languages. But even if you …
These days you can’t turn on the television without being bombarded by panels of pundits spewing their two cents. But what exactly is a pundit? The word has an interesting history that sheds more light into its contemporary meaning. It’s also had its share of fun—when used by a secret society at Yale. What is a pundit? When we talk about a pundit, we are …