Namaskar everyone, recently Tulsi Bahan from Italy wrote me an email. You might have often noticed it while watching bollywood movies or talking with native Hindi speakers. It is about addressing oneself by HUM instead of Main.
Here is the piece of email Tulsi sisters sent me :
Hare Krishna ! namaste Anil bhaiya, it’s Tulsi from Italy. I have this doubt since long , I hope you can kindly help me.
Question is: why sometimes I hear people using HAM instead of MAIN or HAMAR instead of MERA MERI etc etc? In one film I’ve heard “hame chodd!” Referring to oneself.
Firstly I heard from Oriyan and Bengali friends and I thought oh maybe they get confused with Bengali “āmi” or “āmāra ” but then I started to hear this from hindi speaking people too! Maybe in some of your videos too! Why? I hope you can remove my doubt, thank you in advance! RadheRadhe!
Tulsi Dasi
I thought to share with you all because this thing you are going to hear a lot and specially if you are translating Hindi to English and to your own native language for understanding and speaking , it can be very frustrating. On top, all our Hindi romantic lines are written in this way.
So why do use Ham हम instead of MAIN मैं ?
If you are English speaker you might have heard about a phrase called Royal We and if you are language is latin based, you might have come across “Nosism” or “Pluralis Majestatis“. Yes, similar concept exist in Hindi , Punjabi and few other North Indian languages.
Now more than comparing with other language, let’s concentrate in Hindi language, where who use this phrase at what time.
Who ?
Elder speakers to refer to themselves when addressing those younger than them, and also for persons of higher social rank or caste to refer to themselves when speaking to those of a perceived inferior rank or caste. In certain communities, the singular plural I (मैं) may be dispensed with altogether for self-reference, and the nosism used uniformly while speaking to a social inferior or superior.
Under the teaching of some Hindu Gurus, usage of the ‘I’ is considered as leading to Ahamkara (egoism) and discouraged in favor of using the first person plural as a ‘humble I’
Uses :
Let me show different places using HAM हम over Main मैं
1. Mathematics :
2*3 = 6, Multiplying 2 by 3, we get 6.
Do Ko Teen Se Guna Karne Se Hame Chhe Milta Hai.
दो को तीन से गुना करने से हमे छे मिलता है |
When Albert Einstein explained meaning of Time.
2. In Bollywood movies :
From Famous Bollywood Song Hum Tum Ek Kamare Me Band Ho
Movie Name : Hum Aapke Hain Kaun ? ( Who am I of yours ?)
There are 100s of example in Bollywood where they use HAM हम over Main मैं.
3. You might have heard of sweet Hindi Lucknow, people they are very sweet & respectful Hindi/Urdu, similarly people in Jodhpur. They always use Plural form to address even to their servants.
Hmmmm.. ….i see….thank you mr.anil mahato…
I have to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this
blog. I’m hoping to check out the same high-grade content by you in the future as well.
In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get
my very own blog now 😉