While we stress on conserving the environment, we often overlook how several indigenous languages are disappearing due to the increasing influence of English. Bengaluru-based Sudeep Chatterjee, who has a passion for literature and linguistics, in an endeavour to promote stories in different Indian languages has co-founded an initiative, Lore, with his friends. It is a participatory platform to share and encourage stories, plays and other kinds of writing in various languages.
“We look for people to share stories in their native languages. We would love to know about the literature and literary figures of Manipur, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and more. We would share stories and gradually volunteer with the translation of these unknown stories to English. This is also a platform to write and present your own stories. We genuinely believe that art has no language. The stories are eternal, language is just a medium.”
In our busy lives, says Sudeep, we rarely find the time to read stories in our native languages. “ With each generation, hundreds of stories are being forgotten. Why are we not celebrating the literature of Indian languages?”
There were several inspirations that led Sudeep to start Lore. “I did a mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarakhand, where I met people from all over the world. We shared stories in different languages. I also went on a backpacking trip with my wife to Scotland where the institute Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) is working to save the Gaelic language.” This got Sudeep thinking, “I was struck by how passionate they were in saving the Gaelic language and here in India 400 languages are already endangered and we are doing hardly anything.”
Lore will have its first public event on September 3. Titled Figments: Enduring Stories and You, the event, explains Sudeep, will be divided into sections with “each presenting tales from the legends of Bengali, Hindi and English literature. This is our vision to celebrate the unexplored treasure of all the Indian languages on one platform. You can attend the session inone or all languages with one ticket. In Bengali, we have come up with a few untold pieces from Rabindranath Tagore and other authors. In English, you will be shocked by the known, yet unknown tales of the literary world. We are looking for originals and classics in Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Kashmiri, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Malayalam and others.” The event will be held from 5.30 to 8.30 pm at Lahe Lahe, Indiranagar. Register on BookMyShow, EventsHigh and Mera Events.