Maay Marathi spreading wings in Munich
| Date :01-May-2023 |
Living in a foreign country like Germany, makes us realise the importance of our own language, our culture and the values associated with them. In our stay in Germany, we realised that if we have to interact outside the home, we must learn German as that is the only language through which the day-to-day life moves. In fact, in most European countries the culture and the languages are preserved. The language of education is German.
Munich has a sizeable Maharashtrian community which has migrated for jobs or higher education studies and trying to achieve the golden means of Maharashtrian rich culture along with German lifestyle. This is where the kids study in German language and accept it as mother tongue, leading them to lose their touch with Marathi. Most times, they avoid speaking in Marathi with parents or even with their grand-parents whenever they visit.
This was a major trigger point for us to realise that if we don’t impart Marathi language as well as culture to the kids, they would soon get disconnected and never be able to understand our rich heritage and culture. So, one of the parents, Pravin Patil initiated the idea of making children in the age-group of 5 to 14 years aware of Marathi language, culture and value education. This idea was picked up by Maharashtra Mandal, Munich - a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and representing Marathi language and culture. The initiative was named as ‘Maay Marathi’.
Maay Marathi initially followed the curriculum prescribed by the Bharati Vidyapeeth and later articulated their own content. The academic year starts on the auspicious day of Gudhi Padava, which is also Marathi New Year day, (usually in April) and ends in March. The evaluations are held at the end of each academic year. Maay Marathi also focuses on promoting cultural education and extracurricular activities to develop students’ overall personality. Students participate in various cultural programmes and events organised by the school and Maharashtra Mandal Munich. The school has facilities like library, pantry, audio/video facilitated classrooms. It has a team of experienced and qualified teachers. The Indian consulate at Munich not only offered financial assistance, but also provided guidance and support to Maay Marathi. Maay Marathi celebrated its 5th anniversary. It started in the year 2019 with 46 students.
The students are divided into 3 groups viz Mogra, Gulmohor and Parijat based on their age and skill level. The classes are held every alternate Sundays of each month and follows the Bavarian school calendar. The first batch of Maay Marathi graduated in 2021. In an environment where German language is spoken as majority, we feel proud that the Maharashtrian community is trying to keep up Marathi language flag up on a Foreign land far away in Europe.