LEARN HINDI, ENJOY BOLLYWOOD MOVIES, ENVOY TELLS MALAYSIANS

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- If Hindi is one of the world's sweetest
languages, than it's worth for Malaysians to learn, or at least, enjoy the
glamorous Bollywood movies.

"Hope more Malaysians will pick up Hindi and enjoy Bollywood movies. It's a
celebration of multilingual community," said Tan Seng Sung, Malaysia's high
commissioner to India.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the newly set-up www.simplehindi.com, at
the high commission's premises in Delhi recently, Tan said languages such Hindi
could bridge the cultural divide and deepen unity in the increasingly borderless
world.

Tan, who hails from Banting, Selangor, is also an ardent fan of Hindi movies and
his favourite actors include Bollywood actor-cum-director Aamir Khan.

The website is the brainchild of enterprising 33-year-old Malaysian lawyer and
Hindi tutor Saraswathy Shirke, who toiled nearly three years, along with Indian
linguistic experts, to develop the project.

Her website is certain to add to the flurry of diplomatic events that is already
linking up India and Malaysia closely -- beyond trade and tourism.

With Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visiting Kuala Lumpur from Oct 26 to
28, diplomatic ties between both Asian nations is set to be on a different
momentum now.

"Malaysia and India have enjoyed good cultural relations and there are lot of
cultural similarities between Malaysia and India. This (website) is an important
milestone," added Tan.

And, Saraswathy said: "We made Hindi learning simple and enjoyable. Our online
courses are designed to suit local needs. The trilingual dictionary will show
the ordinary usage of similar words in Hindi and Malay, and this provides a
sense of familiarity that is crucial for any learner."

Hindi is one of the official languages in India and widely spoken in the
northern and central belt of the diverse country. An estimated 500 million
people speak Hindi worldwide.
-- BERNAMA



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