Just read Picture Postcards by Nirmal Verma. A short story set in Delhi but distinctly from a period when the city was much more manageable and higher education was more leisurely and somewhat posher than practical vengeance that we call degrees now a days. It picks up a day from the life of 3 male seniors who are meeting 2 girls one of whom is leaving Delhi may be for good. Setting is, as I wrote earlier, is Delhi from Connaught Place to Delhi University. Story captures the unformed, uncertain intensity of the cusp between college and career. But first and above all, for me, it is a Hindi story.
After so many years of 'English Medium' existence, foundation of mother tongue asserts effortlessly and I find it easier to catch and absorb the depiction in its intended nuances. Pleasure is more raw and on occasions, as happened with this story' more primal. Connect with the text is smooth and deeper. I wish that this happens with English too which is my primary 'working language'. On a different plane while the consumption of Hindi products is smoother, creation in the language is often a problem. May be this has to do with the timing of exposure. Immersion in Hindi came early till the age of seventeen to be interrupted by 'English medium'. Conscious creation it seems is a later development. Still poetry can be approached and created exclusively in Hindi.
