Dr Joram Aniya Tana of Arunachal Pradesh was recently conferred the World Hindi Award during the 11th World Hindi Conference held recently in Mauritius. She received the award from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in the presence of several dignitaries.
Joram has been working on local folktales of Arunachal Pradesh in Devanagiri language to bring them to the common readers. Talking to Eclectic NorthEast, Dr Tana said, ‘Most of the folktales from Northeast India are not written and are passed on generation after generation, only verbally. And the younger generation are becoming unaware of these tales. Hence, I am working under the Lok Shaitya banner of India, which works in the field of literature, to bring out these stories. I have also published a dictionary in Hindi which consists of words mostly used in the folktales which was published in Agra.’
Joram also shared, ‘I am glad for the recognition of my work at the World Hindi Conference in the presence of the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind and the External Affairs Minister, Sushama Swaraj.’ On the importance of Hindi in India, she stated, ‘None can deny the fact that wherever we go in India, we first try to communicate in Hindi. It shows that we are more comfortable in Hindi which undoubtedly proves that it is the national language of the country.’
Dr Joram works as an Assistant Professor at the Deranatung Government College in Itanagar. She is the first PHd scholar of Hindi in Arunachal Pradesh.