Popularising the ‘Boli’ of his heart...

 

 

 

These lines describe a very content life of the doyen of Zadipatti Rangbhumi Dr

Harishchandra Prabhakar Borkar, who in the ripe age of 78 years still dreams of popularising his very own ‘Zadi Boli’. Belonging to a small place Rengapar in Nagpur district, Borkar thought the language used in his native place is different and limited than the Manak Marathi used throughout the State. He thought of popularising his own mother tongue ‘Zadi Boli’ and strived to make it the medium of plays and theatres. And that’s how Zadi Boli Sahitya Mandal came into existence in the year 1991.

 

To preserve the essence of our local language in villages, each mandal has its own Rangbhumi team doing plays on special occasions like Diwali, Dussehra, Ganeshotsav and Sankrant. “I am happy in the fact that the ‘Zadi Boli’ will never become extinct as long as there are get togethers and a culture of meeting people in villages which forms the core of our existence, and even in urban areas I am observing a renewed vigour to connect to our roots as the Rangbhumi team is a busy lot during festive times”, elaborates Dr Borkar. The strength of the cause which Dr Borkar has shouldered can be gauged by the fact that he is leaving no stone unturned for the cause of his local language, be it with organising Prabodhan Shivir, Katha Lekhan Shivir, promoting authors of ‘Zhadi Boli’ and publishing their work, promoting Dandar or the very popular Khadi Gammat. With a good cause in mind, many hands have joined in to boost the local cause and this septuagenarian travelled across the country to establish a connect and love for our local language. That’s how BOLI (Bureau Of Linguistics In India) came into being and presently Dr Borkar is the Guru of Khadi Gammat team of Udaipur. Having travelled across the nation to promote the Zadipatti Rangbhumi, Dr Borkar is celebrated with accolades and awards which makes him emotional as he wants the man behind and the cause to move forward. With the inborn love for his language, Dr Borkar completed his PhD in ‘Zadi Boli Ka Bhashik Adhyan’ and has published a century of books in the same language. Apart from working as an actor in Zadi Rangbhumi, he has more than 40 plays to his credit as a director. With the popularity of the language spreading in villages, there are more than 50 Zadipatti mandals performing plays in rural as well as urban areas.

 

“The popularity of plays led to a lot of money-making opportunity for local artists, who now work on a contract basis and are more than happy to present their local art form”, says Dr Borkar. With the Covid-19 bringing the whole world to a standstill, the situation was no different for local artists who were striving hard to survive the difficult times. Now with the situation easing out, local artists are looking forward to the coming festive season to regain the glory of the art form. “The artists keep this art form close to their hearts and do not lose an opportunity to popularise it. It is actually a way of life for them”, says Dr Borkar on a philosophical note. Defying his kundali and a stressful bypass surgery, Dr Borkar has lived a satisfied life full of gratitude to the Ishwara for blessing him with more than what he has asked for...