This book has been written with the intention to encourage and help readers to learn Bhojpuri with ease and pleasure and at their own pace. At the Nalanda Bookshop, people come daily looking for "Learn Bhojpuri" books. They are (1) people with Bhojpuri back-ground but who somehow have lost the habit of conversing in it or have been alienated from it for various reasons. But their love for the language is obvious and there is a fond nostalgia to go back to their linguistic roots. (2) the non-Bhojpuriphone or non-Indian origin people but living in a multi-cultural and linguistic society, they are daily exposed either to the language or to strong symbolical words which incite them to want to learn the language. Moreover, the popularity of the vibrant Bhojpuri songs is another strong magnet.

Seeing this growing interest in the public for a language constantly pushed to the back-waters of the Mauritian linguistic literary and cultural scene by a sort of language coloniza-tion or linguistic genocide, I decided to write a book that would not only make learning Bhojpuri appealing and interesting but also reflect on its deep cultural and societal anchor-age on our soil. At the same time it would bring esteem and pride in a heritage that survived on its own merits and resilience, despite constant onslaught and pressure.

भोजपुरी बोलऽ Bhojpuri Bola - Speak Bhojpuri is not an academic manual. One does not have to prepare for an examination, not for the time being. It is a simple tool, skillfully prepared so that one can enjoy learning the "lessons" and acquire useful vocabulary and idioms and structures in the process. The book includes a variety of themes and situations that will show you the vitality of Bhojpuri.

भोजपुरी बोलऽ Bhojpuri Bola - Speak Bhojpuri has adopted a simple method so that you can plunge in the language instantly. You can be initiated into it by yourself, in your quiet space at home your home laboratory and then use it with your immediate family, friends, at work or in Parliament! The first part of the book is functional. It shows the use of Bhojpuri in various situations. Vocabulary is built up as one goes on through the various units so that learners may acquire effective words, phrases and idioms, the foundation of effective communication. One is encouraged to learn short simple sentences. Each lesson is built around a specific theme. The aim is to help learners acquire practical skill in using Bhojpuri.

Learning a language through exposure is one of the best methods advocated by linguists and pedagogues. To make the exercise more pleasurable, I have included popular Bhojpuri songs.

Grammar is the hardest and most tedious part of language learning. In order not to put off beginners I have reserved the grammar component for separate treatment in a second book. You may refer to it whenever it may please you, at leisure.

I have moreover included the alphabets and given some attention to the pronunciation.

Throughout the book, both the Devanagri and Roman scripts have been used.

All languages borrow words, which is a natural process. This is true for English as much as for French and Hindi. Therefore one should not be surprised to note the number of for eign words in Bhojpuri and more so in Mauritian Bhojpuri. Today if Bhojpuri in India borrows from English and Hindi as it did in the past from Persian and Arabic, in Mauritius it borrows largely from Creole with which it interacts most intensely as well as from En-glish, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

I have collected for your benefit a wide variety of idioms, proverbs, sayings and riddles which add spice to the language. You may contact elders in the family or in your neighbourhood to add to your own personal collection. Story-telling is a very vivacious part of a language. There are hundreds of stories known as "kissas" which the dadis and nanis or dadas and nanas used to tell the children in the old days. Today they are adapted for radio and television. I have included one or two Bhojpuri stories as collected from the tradition bearers. Some tolerable mild swear words and jokes too have been included to complete the repertoire. You may collect your own too. I have also included one recipe for the taste and flavour of it as well as some games and a lullaby.

After going through the lessons and various parts, you will be surprised by the vitality and functional usefulness of Bhojpuri. It has cultural and social implications as well as economico-political influences. It is currently adapting itself smoothly to the Information Technology era. Naturally, the new technological words themselves have been created ei-ther through the use of Greek or Latin roots or simply newly coined words. These words enter all languages in their new forms. One must also remember that spoken language is transient in nature and changes much more rapidly than the written language which gets "frozen" in time.

In the Indian tradition, language is speech rather than writing.

In the Indian tradition, language is speech rather than writing. I listen regularly to the various radio programmes in Bhojpuri presented by different ministries and institutions in their awareness campaigns. The presenters do try their best to utilize Bhojpuri and they do convey the message. Apart from a few exceptions, many grope for the appropriate words, which do not come to them easily, instantly. It is not that they do not know the word. But, perhaps because they do not use them regularly, therefore, it be-comes easier to use a Creole or French word e.g. pays wa mein instead of saying des wa mein, La Sante is used commonly instead of swasth or tabiyet. Even in India, one hears Indians using English words, for example life mein instead of jeewan mein. This is a new tendency. It is a lack of practice that leads to this situation. I have seen even in the far removed areas of the Bhojpuri belt in India ladies who are completely dessi and unlettered in the formal sense, saying Time ka ba? instead of the usual ketna bajal ba? Here it is a question of globalization. Therefore, in this book I am providing the appropriate vocabulary that such resource persons who make regular public presentations in Bhojpuri may find useful. It is also useful for mass education programmes e.g. health, road traffic on T.V. and radio and for social centres, policemen in general, doctors, lawyers, teachers, businessmen, advertisers, media people and journalists, village and district councilors and politicians in general who have to address the gathering in Bhojpuri.

भोजपुरी बोलऽ Bhojpuri Bola - Speak Bhojpuri is not only a book, it is a campaign for those who belong to the Bhojpuri area and the Bhojpuri culture in general.

One hundred and seventy five years ago, people whose ancestral mother tongue was Bhojpuri travelled and settled abroad in British, French and Dutch colonies in search of a livelihood. People of Bhojpuri origin have migrated from their native places to big and metropolitan cities of India such as Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and also out of India to Mauritius, Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Burma (Myamar) South Africa and to so many other islands and countries. In some of them like Mauritius, Bhojpurians are in majority. In this way, a Bhojpuri diaspora has developed over the globe. The people of Bhojpuri origin have inherited almost all the qualities of the Bhojpuri culture, traditions, beliefs, customs and trends. Though they have adopted the languages of the rulers of their adopted places, yet in their hearts and homes, they have preserved Bhojpuri culture and language.

People who know the importance of Bhojpuri also want to express themselves in Bhojpuri. But due to lack of learning materials they are unable to speak, read and enjoy Bhojpuri. This book will prove to be a guide and teacher for those eager to speak Bhojpuri. The book भोजपुरी बोलऽ Bhojpuri Bola - Speak Bhojpuri has been prepared in the Mauritian con-text. Mauritius is a multi-lingual island. The people speak Bhojpuri and Creole and read and write in French, English, Hindi, Urdu and other Asian languages. According to linguistic principles, languages accept and use words from neighbouring languages especially the languages of the rulers. Mauritian Bhojpuri has adopted French and Creole words with some usual phonetic changes just as in India in the vocabulary of Hindi and Bhojpuri, words from Arabic, Persian and English have been accepted. In Mauritius, Bhojpuri can be identi-fied as Mauritian Bhojpuri but it contains all the qualities and usages of standard Bhojpuri spoken in the Bhojpuri belt of India. This work will go a long way to solve the problems of the learner.

I was fortunate enough to be in Mauritius in 1976-1977 in connection with my research. project "A Critical Study of Bhojpuri Folk Songs of Mauritius". For collecting songs of the Bhojpurians in the island, I travelled from village to village and contacted Bhojpuri speak-ing people and Bhojpurian folk singers. A very cordial co-operation was harvested by me besides the folk songs. The linguistic and literary qualities of the folk-songs revealed so many new situations to me. French and Creole words had changed their tones to adopt Bhojpurian tone and phonetics. Succeedingly, I travelled several times thereafter to Mauritius and I am well acquainted with the Mauritian linguistic situation. Sometimes, I found it difficult to appreciate the central idea of the sentence containing so many words derived from other sister languages of the island. But the beauty of it is that the alien words have so merged and been assimilated into Bhojpuri and Bhojpuri has converted them so scientifi cally that they cannot be separated just like the mixture of water and milk cannot be seps rated. The melodious tone and sweet accent of Bhojpuri words and sentences attract people in general towards Bhojpuri. By itself Bhojpuri is sweet. But having absorbed French and has given a special identity Bhojpuri of Mauritius. This is why, I appreciate the effort of Dr. Sarita Boodhoo in prepar ing a guide book of learning materials with specific reference to Mauritius.

In India too, Bhojpuri has got different identities in different areas e.g. Sarvaria, (cross border of Sarju River), Chhaparahia (Chappra), Tharu (Nepal and Terai). Nagpuria and Banarasi (Benares region) etc. But the trends and phonetic aspects are the same and one can understand easily the other forms of Bhojpuri.

The author of this work, Dr. Sarita Boodhoo is an authority in Hindi, Bhojpuri, English and French. To launch a movement for the uplift of Hindi and Bhojpuri, she travelled abroad and attended Hindi and Bhojpuri conferences. The credit of establishing the World Hindi Secretariat in Mauritius goes to Dr. Sarita Boodhoo. She has travelled extensively through-out the Bhojpuri areas for her research studies. For the promotion and propagation of Bhojpuri, the Mauritius Bhojpuri Institute of which she is the Founder Director, has done a formidable work. In the leadership of eminent folklorist of world repute, Dr. Krishna Deo Upadhyaya, I attended Bhojpuri Seminars convened by Dr. Sarita Boodhoo. The publication of Jan Vani (Hindi) in Mauritius by her is of importance in that it points to the adoption and acceptance of Hindi in Mauritius as a media language. She also gave space to Bhojpuri in Jan Vani which established Bhojpuri as a literary and media language. Dr. Sarita Boodhoo has been honoured by Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi with a prestigious literary de-gree of Ph.D. in Hindi for her work entitled "Status of Hindi in the world and its pros-pects".

Dr. Sarita Boodhoo has a deep desire to promote Bhojpuri language, literature and cul-ture in the world and especially in Mauritius. To satisfy her hunger of doing something special for Bhojpuri and Bhojpurians, she comes regularly to India, especially the Bhojpuri areas. In this context, she travelled to India last December (2008) to publish this work. To the ill luck of those who could not be benefited with this book, she fell seriously ill in Varanasi where I happened to visit her. She was hospitalized for about two weeks in Varanasi and another fifteen days in New Delhi. She had to be taken back to Mauritius and could not achieve her mission then. By the grace of God, she recovered to rearrange the completion of the work postponed last year. This is an instance of her firm determination and solid com-mitment to the cause of Bhojpuri.

This year she has travelled again to India and braved the biting cold waves of winter to complete the work.