Hindi Dialects

Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara has opened a Pandora's box in terms of dialect used in the movie. More so when songs are in a different dialect, and movie is in different.

Some are saying that it has the language which will only be understood in UP and Bihar(the notorious siamese twins), and others(IndiaFM) are saying it is a plain Bihari dialect. Unfortunately, all are wrong.

Though I can not reach out to all, let me explain it to my friends who visit this blog. There are many dialects in Hindi, and I am not going to get in detail of these lest it will take reams of pages.

Khadi Boli - Dialect used in text books, taught in schools, which we urbanites speak. It has no accent, and words used are easy to pronounce. Madhushala by Harivanshrai Bachhan is in Khadi Boli. Munshi Premchand wrote in Khadi Boli and Awadhi too.

Braj/Bundel Khandi - Used in near Mathura, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi(all UP), Gwalior, Sagar(MP), Bharatpur, Dhaulpur(Rajasthan) - the Braj and Bundel Khand region of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. "Maiyya Mori, Mai Naahin Maakhan Khaayo" by Surdas is the most popular work in Braj Bhasha.

Hariyani or Bangroo - Spoken in Haryana, Meerut, Buland Shahar, Rajasthan, Northern Madhya Pradesh. The major proponent of this Dialect was Amir Khusro. Omkara dialogues are in this dialect.

Awadhi - Spoken predominantly in rural centers Central and parts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Urban centers speak Khadi Boli. Lucknow, Kanpur, Rae Bareli, Faizabad, Allahabad. However, as we move east of Lucknow, we begin to get a little mix of Bhojpuri as well both in words and accent. Tulsidas' Shri Raamcharit Manas is written in Awadhi. The dialect in Lagaan, Nadiya Ke Paar and songs in Omkara is are Awadhi .

Another confusion I must lay to rest is that Amitabh Bachhan has never spoken Bhojpuri in movies, except in the forthcoming Ganga. It has always been Awadhi.

Bhojpuri: Spoken predominantly in Nortehrn and Western Bihar, and some parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Many Bhojpuris have settled across in Fuji, Guiyana, Trininad & Tobago, and is as prominent NRI community as are Gujaratis and Punjabis.

Maithili: It is spoken in larger parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and has some penetration Bengali too.

There are many other dialects like - Magahi(Bihar), Kannauji, Bagheli(Uttar Pradesh), Chhatisgadhi, Malvi(Chhattisgadh, MP), Marwadi, Jaipuri, Mewadi( Rajasthan), Nepali, Kumauni, Gadhwaali, Chamoli, Kyonthali, Kullai, Jaunsari, Sirmauri (Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Nepal).

Howevre, most of these also have achieved the status of a separate language now. Also, as it appears, the name of the dialects have been derived from the region they are spoken.