Ahmed TauseefAurangabad: A slice of young men and women with Marathi background learning basics of English at one of the professional trainers for call centers and BPOs in Aurangabad , epitomizes the growing craze for English here.
The British curse of the pre-colonial India has now become the blessing of post colonial era. Even the farthest and backward region in the world map like Marathwada is feeling the effect of the influence of this language.
Center manager at Smart Talk, Shadab Ali observes that the craze of English is moving out of proportion in Aurangabad. He, however, views this as a healthy sign because according to him Aurangabad is in the list of some international call centers and BPOs and they might venture in this city with lot of money and opportunities for English speakers.
Zia Wahab, a professor of communication at School of Business Education and Training (BEST), says in the past decade English has moved from being the gatekeeper of the elite to being a ladder up for the masses. It is the language of opportunities and jobs for the young Indians who are eying on the profits of being an English speaker in the globalize world.
When asked about the future of other regional languages amid the growing influence of English, Zia Wahab forms an opinion that since India's economy has opened to the outside world, and as the Internet and television have brought in the outside world, English has become a passport to everything from jobs, information technology to scholarships abroad. Taking cues from this example, any language that wants to survive has to be global, flexible and job oriented, says he.
In Aurangabad learning English is not considered as the gateway to BPO industry where money flows in bulk. Mr Amitt Bagchi's English classes are full of young vernaculars who want to get an M.B.A. or enter the army or police force, young Muslim women in black hijab aiming for the civil service, housewives who want to follow new English programs on television and gain the status that English speaking bestows.
Mr Bagchi is also a bit concerned about the standard of English going down day by day. He opines that the demand of English speaking employees and professionals is increasing, but it does not mean that we should compromise with the standard of a language, which is the essence of it. An experienced English teacher, Bagchi says most of his students sport ambitious sentiments and a will to excel. And they view English as the gateway to achieve their dreams.
Since most government schools still teach in Marathi or regional languages, the urge for English is changing the educational system, prompting an enormous growth in private schools that teach in English in this city which blends Marathi and Urdu culture in day today lifestyle.
The British curse of the pre-colonial India has now become the blessing of post colonial era. Even the farthest and backward region in the world map like Marathwada is feeling the effect of the influence of this language.
Center manager at Smart Talk, Shadab Ali observes that the craze of English is moving out of proportion in Aurangabad. He, however, views this as a healthy sign because according to him Aurangabad is in the list of some international call centers and BPOs and they might venture in this city with lot of money and opportunities for English speakers.
Zia Wahab, a professor of communication at School of Business Education and Training (BEST), says in the past decade English has moved from being the gatekeeper of the elite to being a ladder up for the masses. It is the language of opportunities and jobs for the young Indians who are eying on the profits of being an English speaker in the globalize world.
When asked about the future of other regional languages amid the growing influence of English, Zia Wahab forms an opinion that since India's economy has opened to the outside world, and as the Internet and television have brought in the outside world, English has become a passport to everything from jobs, information technology to scholarships abroad. Taking cues from this example, any language that wants to survive has to be global, flexible and job oriented, says he.
In Aurangabad learning English is not considered as the gateway to BPO industry where money flows in bulk. Mr Amitt Bagchi's English classes are full of young vernaculars who want to get an M.B.A. or enter the army or police force, young Muslim women in black hijab aiming for the civil service, housewives who want to follow new English programs on television and gain the status that English speaking bestows.
Mr Bagchi is also a bit concerned about the standard of English going down day by day. He opines that the demand of English speaking employees and professionals is increasing, but it does not mean that we should compromise with the standard of a language, which is the essence of it. An experienced English teacher, Bagchi says most of his students sport ambitious sentiments and a will to excel. And they view English as the gateway to achieve their dreams.
Since most government schools still teach in Marathi or regional languages, the urge for English is changing the educational system, prompting an enormous growth in private schools that teach in English in this city which blends Marathi and Urdu culture in day today lifestyle.
