A video clip has gone viral where Punjabi school students attempt to speak in Telugu. Standing in a line, the youngsters speak simple sentences in three different languages. One girl says, “What is your name? Aap ka naam kya hai? See Peru emiti?” The first two lines are English and Hindi and the last translated line is Telugu.
Across Punjab, schools have been teaching Telugu under the ‘Bharatiya Basha Summer Camp’ programme where two states are paired up and each have to be familiarised about the language, culture and food habits of the other state. The programme is being facilitated by the Ministry of School Education and Literacy. As per the guidelines, students should be able to learn at least five simple sentences of the regional language during the camp.
In some Punjab schools, Telugu numericals are also being taught. In the two Telugu states, under the ‘Ek Bharat Sresht Bharat’ programme, Punjabi and Haryanvi language and culture is being exposed to the government school students for the last few years. This is a more elaborate programme compared to the ongoing summer camp.
Andhra Pradesh is paired up with Punjab while Telangana is paired up with Haryana. As per past reports of AP education department, Punjabi alphabets and pronunciation were taught to the school students. In Telangana, a group of 50 school students from Haryana stayed in Hyderabad in April and they were taught basics of Telugu. They were introduced to Telangana festivals like Bathuakamma. In Telangana state, the basics of Haryanvi is being taught in around 26,000 schools.
“We have selected a few Hindi teachers who teach Haryanvi to the students. Since there is slight change in words and slang, the teachers learn it first and then teach the students,” said a senior official of Telangana School Education department. In the coming few days, a batch of school students from Telangana is all set to travel to Haryana to be a part of the exchange programme.
