Seekho Rajasthani/सीखो राजस्थानी is the first ever structured course that facilitates the learning and teaching of the Rajasthani language. It is a long-overdue response to the absence of Rajasthani from educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities, owing to its exclusion from the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Even the 2011 Census estimates that there are nearly 5 crore speakers of the language in Rajasthan, the only way to learn it so far has been as mother tongue.
Join the Course
JOIN THE SUMMER CAMP
Seekho Rajasthani
सीखो राजस्थानी
An introductory course to spoken and written Rajasthani with:
20 VIDEO LESSONS
10 TUTORIALS WITH GUIDES
EVALUATION & CERTIFICATION
Duration: 25 days, starts 26th July, 2021
Fees: 25GBP
What you sign up for:
- Course lecture videos
- A dedicated tutor who will assist you throughout the duration of the course via weekly sessions
- Exercises accompanying each lesson
- Games to assist with the process of language learning
- A set of external links to music, films and literature which will assist the student in familiarising with the language and the culture
- Evaluation through the period of the course and at the end of the course, along with a course completion certificate which also mentions the grade you have achieved
FAQ
The only prerequisite is a knowledge of spoken and written Hindi. The course will equip the learner in conversational and basic written Rajasthani.
Academics, researchers, social workers, members of the Rajasthani diaspora or anyone at all with an interest in the language can take this course.
That’s a great question. Yes, Rajasthani has many forms. Even within the geographical region which speaks a certain dialect, there are local and often hyperlocal variations. There is, however, an underlying similarity between them.
The current course will use one of the most widely spoken dialects as its base—Marwari. It is prevalent in vast swathes of Rajasthan—nearly 64% of the population speak this language (or one of its sub-dialects) as per the 2011 Census. Moreover, learning one dialect allows a reasonably easy transition to any of the other forms of Rajasthani.
Each lesson will comprise a video, associated exercises as also suggestions to other online content in Rajasthani—including folk songs, movies, recipe videos, etc.
Learners are assigned a tutor, who will lead them through any difficulties with the course material and also provide essential practice with speaking and listening. The tutorials will take place over video calls on Zoom or some other platform.
We will soon also be launching a sequel to this course for a more advanced training in Rajasthani for scholars and academics, which will also provide grounding beyond contemporary Rajasthani.