become Doctors, Nurses, Businessmen, professionals in the fields of
Computer and Internet Technology, etc. And then there are those like
Arun Prakash, a Bellaire, Texas teacher whose labor of love has now come
to being in the form of 'Namaste Ji', the first-ever Hindi textbook for students
in the U.S.
The Houston Chronicle reports, ' The novice teacher invented his own lessons,
writing them by hand until he got a computer equipped with a Hindi font...
as India becomes a bigger economic power, interest in its native tongue
is growing and Texas state, with the fourth largest Hindi-speaking population
in the US, is poised to become a leader in Hindi instruction....''
Have to admire Arun Prakash for his ingenuity and steadfastness : it took
him eight years to get 'Namaste Ji' into the Hindi Urdu Flagship Program
at the University of Austin Texas, and now all he needs is some financial
momentum and the open hearts and voices of the governing boards.
From the look of things in the current US political climate, diversity of this kind
is not just an election issue but also at the root of a need for a deeper
understanding and knowledge of the world outside, post-9/11 and beyond.
Read the whole Houston Chronicle article about Prakash here
and also check out the neat 8 min. video below. It gives a brief
glimpse into the University of Austin campus and its beautiful surroundings,
the Program and the students.
Live and learn, and learn to live. A little at a time.
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