Meet Ian Woolford, a UK-born American and a professor of Hindi in La Trobe University in Australia, who teaches the Indian language to foreign students and flawlessly recites poems by the finest Hindi poets on social media!
He recently took to Twitter to post a video wherein he recites a poem by Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena and it caught everyone’s attention. Have a look:
गोली खाकर
एक के मुँह से निकला –
'राम'।दूसरे के मुँह से निकला-
'माओ'।लेकिन तीसरे के मुंह से निकला-
'आलू'।पोस्टमार्टम की रिपोर्ट है
कि पहले दो के पेट
भरे हुए थे।~ हिन्दी के प्रसिद्ध कवि सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना के जन्मदिवस पर उन्हें सादर नमन 💐pic.twitter.com/BsicakGTCL
— Ian Woolford (@iawoolford) September 15, 2020
Here’s another video of him reciting a different poem by the same poet.
सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना की कविता — "जूता" pic.twitter.com/4zg6GWjLnp
— Ian Woolford (@iawoolford) September 16, 2020
People online can’t get over the solid grip that Ian has over the language. Many lauded him for his love for Hindi and Hindi poets.
*Totally surprised* 🙃 https://t.co/cnwj4Er33R
— Shrey Pratap Singh (@Shreeyy__) September 16, 2020
यह जनाब ऑस्ट्रेलिया मेलबर्न में रहते हैं विद्यार्थियों को हिंदी पढ़ाते हैं और हमारे देश के बेहतरीन हिंदी कवियों की कविताओं को पढ़ते हैं @iawoolford सर को फॉलो कीजिए हिंदी कविताओं को प्रेम करने वाले ट्विटर के दोस्तों से निवेदन है https://t.co/AhjjEuTyLO
— Rakeshrana (@rakesh15889) September 15, 2020
This is relevant even today as it was when written
— dixitp (@dixitp) September 15, 2020
आपको हिंदी के सभी लेखकों के जन्मदिन याद रहते हैं, आपको ढेर सारा प्यार
— Akhil Akhilesh Kumar (@akhilesh271202) September 15, 2020
your accent sounds so good sir
— A common indian man (@pikpatra) September 15, 2020
अद्भुत हैं आप और आपका हिन्दी प्रेम 🌹
नमन है आपको 🙏💐— Bimla Verma (@BimlaVerma6) September 15, 2020
बहुत शानदार इयान वुल्फोर्ड जी
वाकई आप हिंदी पर अच्छी पकड़ रखते है।
— VIJAY DEWRA (@vijay_dewra) September 15, 2020
In an earlier interview with Indian Link, a news portal for Indians living in Australia, Ian reveals how fell in love with the Hindi language.
“I was originally at university in America studying music. I was a singer and I thought maybe I would even be a performer. When I travelled to Bihar for a research project on Bihari folk songs, I realised I could combine these two things in my life that I love, and I think that’s when I decided that I want to follow this language path.”
He is also a great admirer of the works of Munshi Premchand and Krishna Sobti.
“Premchand’s stories were the first ones that I read in Hindi. I am fascinated and stunned by Krishna Sobti’s work because it spans so many decades.”
Isn’t it always a delight to watch foreigners speak in Indian languages? It is even more so when they study it, practice it, and teach it to others!