For several days, the dispute between Marathi and non-Marathi speaking people remained debated. Several recent incidents from Mumbai came to light, where Raj Thackeray-led MNS workers assaulted those who refused to speak in the regional language. Local parties in Maharashtra, including Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and MNS, are promoting the Marathi language after the state government ordered mandating Hindi as the third language in primary schools apart from English and Marathi.
Amid this heated debate and language row, a US woman who is married to a Maharashtrian man tried to communicate in Marathi with her husband. The video shared on the social media platform Instagram won the hearts of netizens. The American woman shared a reel of herself trying to speak basic words in Marathi. The efforts of the woman show bridging their cultural divide.
The Instagram Reel posted on the account Aniket & Candacé with the caption, "I’m not perfect, but I’m trying. Go easy on me." The reel shows a woman saying that she is trying to speak her husband's native language. "So my husband's native tongue is Marathi and I am not fluent in it. I am still learning the language, so i spent the day just trying to practice some words and phrases on him."
In an Instagram reel, it shows the woman greets her husband in the morning, "Shubh sakal, kaisa aahes?" (Good morning, how are you doing?), she is trying speak slowly so that she can pronounce each phrase properly. Listening to her accent, her husbands gave a bright smile, which melts hearts of the viewers. However, when he responds in fluent Marathi, she laughs and admits, "I didn’t quite catch that.’"
Further in the video, she continues to speak and greet her husband in Marathi. When he enters the corridor, she greets him as ‘Namaskar’ (hello) and ‘Raatri jevaaylaa kay ahe?’ (What is for dinner?). Her husband casually remarks that he has cooked chicken, which causes her to beam with delight and utter ‘Dhanyawaad’ (thank you).
Netizens React to Video
After the video was shared on Instagram, it won the hearts of many social media users, prompting them to react. One of the Insta users said, “MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) would have happy tears." Another user, Mansi Kale, commented, "Next time say 'aho aika' and watch him blush." One of the users criticised non-Marathi speaking people, saying, "Ani ithe lok 30 varsh Maharashtrat rahun marathi shikat nahiyt."