Hindi Handwriting: An Effective Way to Learn

By Deborah Shaer

Hindi Handwriting is a holistic educational language book with a focus on learning how to write Hindi and takes a creative approach to learning. It also looks through the kaleidoscopic lens of dyslexia.
Most people have no real grasp of the breadth and depth of dyslexia, what it is or how to support children and adults. Educators who don't know that they don't know, exacerbate the problem when they have no real awareness. The disadvantages, aside from academia, affect so many areas of the dyslexic's daily life. The British Dyslexia Association estimates 10% of the UK population as having dyslexia, though there are likely to be far more who are unaware and cannot fathom their experience of inconsistencies seemingly arising out of left field.
Hindi language learners, whether dyslexic or not, who experience difficulty in knowing which directions the letters go, will find a solution in the workbook section. Each letter is accompanied by arrows and numbers to indicate the direction and sequence in addition to guidance for unfamiliar sounds and how to pronounce them.
Hindi Handwriting is uniquely different from other Hindi language books as it expands upon the pragmatic elements of language by exploring the spiritual roots. It does this by highlighting how meditation helps to optimise study and concentration, clarifies symbolic meanings in the sacred AUM shape and sound and makes links between the goddess of learning, Sarasvati, and neuroscience. Lastly, it explores the social and material dimensions of the culture and religion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781528974875

Deborah Shaer

Deborah Shaer is a child and adolescent therapist-counsellor, with a background as a school therapeutic counsellor specialising in the arts. Currently, she is working in private practice in London. Her work is integrative and transpersonal, incorporating a wide range of therapeutic approaches including psycho-education. Deborah's past experiences include teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). Prior to that, she devoted stretches of her time in India, covering a span of ten years whilst deepening her meditation and mindfulness practice alongside community work. Her advocacy for holistic education, and social and cultural awareness arises out of her own history and the marginalisation suffered by many of the children and adolescents she has worked with. This is her first book.

Book preview

Education

About The Author

Deborah Shaer is a child and adolescent therapist-counsellor, with a background as a school therapeutic counsellor specialising in the arts. Currently, she is working in private practice in London. Her work is integrative and transpersonal, incorporating a wide range of therapeutic approaches including psycho-education. Deborah’s past experiences include teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). Prior to that, she devoted stretches of her time in India, covering a span of ten years whilst deepening her meditation and mindfulness practice alongside community work. Her advocacy for holistic education, and social and cultural awareness arises out of her own history and the marginalisation suffered by many of the children and adolescents she has worked with. This is her first book.

Dedication

To Lucy, my mother.

In loving memory and immense gratitude.

Copyright Information ©

Deborah Shaer (2020)

The right of Deborah Shaer to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528974851 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528974875 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2020)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgement

My gratitude to the editors at Austin Macauley for believing in my book and taking a chance on a first-time author; Gale Winskill for initial English proofreading; Donat Bayer for generosity of his time, help with editing and astute comments; Indu Barot for preliminary Hindi proofreading and her encouragement to include the cultural elements; and to Sangeeta Sharma for her adept approach to polishing the final Hindi revisions and translations.

Figure no. Images

Figure 1.0. Types of Learning 25

Figure 1.1. Looking and Seeing 29

Figure 1.2. Identifying the Consonants 30

Figure 1.3. A Cup of Chai 30

Figure 1.4. Temporal Lobe 38

Figure 1.5. Left Hemisphere: Temporal Cortex (auditory) 39

Figure 1.6. Right Brain Working Memory 42

Figure 1.7. Regions of the Tongue 48

Figure 1.8. Reference Grid: Vowels 105

Figure 1.9. Reference Grid: Consonants 107

Figure 2.0. Mātrās: Vowel Sounds Reference Grid 109

Figure 2.1. Full Vowel Sounds, Mātrās

and Roman letters. 111

Figure 2.2. Verbs: Grid with Consonants and Mātrās 112

Figure 2.3. Translations from Hindi to English (a) 114

Figure 2.4. Translations from Hindi to English (b) 114

Figure 2.5. Hindi names for family members 120

Figure 2.6. Writing practise: Hindi family members. 121

Figure 2.7. Writing practise: Conversation. 124

Figure 2.8. Table of Colours. 129

Figure 2.9. Colours: Memory Exercise. 130

Figure 3.0. The Light of the Single Eye 135

Figure 3.1. Pituitary Gland and the Single Eye 137

Figure 3.2. Yogi in Full Lotus Asana असन 141

Figure 3.3. Prana – Breath 144

Figure 3.4. AUM Mandala 147

Figure 3.5. The Shapes of AUM 148

Figure 3.6. Goddess of Learning: Sarasvati 154

Figure 3.7. Albert Einstein playing his violin. 155

Figure 3.8. Collage: People and Place in Hindu Culture 163

Figure 3.9. Holi Festival. Photographer – Tom Watts 164

We may be highly educated, but if we are without deep integration of thought and feelings, our lives are incomplete. And as long as education does not cultivate an integrated outlook on life, it has little significance.¹

Jiddu Krishnamurti

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Krishnamurti, J. 1953. Education and the Significance of Life. New York: HarperCollins Publishers (p.11).↩︎

Preface

Hindi Handwriting came about as I was looking for an effective Hindi writing tool. I found some useful books and other materials online, as well as a Hindi app with sound. However, I could not find any printed books with a focus on learning how to write Hindi that provided visual prompts for directions and sequencing. So, I decided to put together a workbook which was originally intended for my own study. Then I thought about my Hindi language class and sharing it with my peers and wondered, why not share it with Hindi learners everywhere?

The heart of this book is the writing section, suitable for all ages and abilities.

However, as the book evolved, I explored how an awareness of personal learning styles could also support the individual needs of Hindi learners, including dyslexics. I believe that for struggling students, the implications of