The legitimacy of Indian English

Author of the popular Shiva trilogy, Amish Tripathi, believes that language is a mere means of communication.

When asked about the dubious standards of the written word in Indian literature in English, he said, "The Ramcharit Manas was written in Awadhi, which is a rather a rustic and coarse language, while Kalidas' Abhigyan Shakuntala, was written in classical Sanskrit, yet both are literary masterpieces."

He added, "Language is therefore only as relevant as the means of communicating the story. To use an analogy, to judge a book by its grammar is to judge a man based on the cut of his suit, however, it is the character of the man that is important just as the story of the book."

Tripathi also paraphrased linguist John McWhorter as he explained, "The strength of the English language lies in the fact that it is flexible and lends itself to change, so Indian English is as legitimate as the Queen's English. I call this a strength because classical Sanskrit was so scientific and pure that it did not allow for any room to grow, which led to its eventual death. So when it comes to the quality of the English used in popular novels, it doesn't matter if they're not pure as long as the story is one that the readers want to read."

Tripathi was the speaker at the Litomania festival held at WeSchool in Matunga on Saturday.