Pahari could go downhill in upper Shimla

Vipin Jishtu

When a dialect dies, it doesn’t die alone. Along with it goes the folklore, age-old customs and traditions, and existing social and cultural life of that particular area. Facing this threat in not too distant future will be Himachal's upper Shimla area, the erstwhile Simla Hill States or the Mahasu region. Why? There's no script to sustain the Pahari dialect, spoken with minor and significant variations across this mountainous expanse, at a time when modern lifestyle is exerting tremendous pressure on it. Of course, the Tankri script is there, but little work has been done to document the social and cultural life of the region. The dialect, folklore, ballads... have been passed on verbally to the next generation for centuries now.

The arrangement worked fine until a few decades back. But with the migration of people from their native places to urban centres for work or better education gathering pace, the signs of strain on Pahari have begun to show up. Also, the decline in apple business over the years has been pushing more and more people into the service sector, far away from their native places. So, a huge chunk of the current generation is not exposed to its native dialect and culture, hence the bond is weakening. With no written word and little exposure to spoken language — Hindi and English have become the preferred medium for modern parents to converse with their children — the dialect is gradually heading towards extinction. 

The growing reach and impact of social media could also be listed as one of the reasons for pushing Pahari out of our conversations, especially among the youth living in rural areas. As English and Hindi are the preferred languages on social media, it almost instinctively makes them omit their language from their everyday conversations.

Cultural threat 

As people are losing touch with the dialect, the corresponding impact on the social and cultural life is profound and easy to notice. For instance, the social and cultural life of the people here revolves around local deities. The deities are invoked on almost every significant event in one's life and for guidance in matters deemed extremely important. The medium of conversation between the deity and the devotee through an oracle is the local dialect. With people losing touch with the dialect, at most places only a handful of elderly know how to converse with the deity. Clearly, if the dialect is lost, we will lose the only link we have to converse with our respective deities. And if that happens, the existing social and cultural set-up is going to change beyond recognition. As it is, we've already lost much of our cultural heritage. At weddings, for instance, many unique musical instruments were played and traditional songs were sung but  the DJ system is replacing them fast across the region. 

The music is fading... Is there a way to keep it going for longer. First up, our traditional songs, instead of relying on re-mix and Bollywood influence, should use original lyrics and depict our culture. Besides, the influential people of the region should take pride and lead in conversing in the local dialect, and participating in cultural events. It will go a long way in keeping the dialect alive and kicking.