MUMBAI: Believe it or not, if you pay a closer look around yourself you will see people hardly speak in Hindi now. The country where the national language is Hindi, is the second-largest English speaking country in the world. And the language has become so important in our lives, that somewhere we have forgotten even the basics of Hindi. On Hindi Diwas, which is observed on September 14, we spoke to celebs about the language and it's importance to them. Here's what they had to say:

Rohit Choudhary: The word Hindustan has Hindi in it, but still if you see many in our country can neithe speak or understand Hindi, like if you go down south people don't know Hindi there. Only 60 to 70 percent of Indians know how to speak and understand the language, but the rest 30 percent, who don’t understand Hindi, I want them to know it. The subject should be made compulsory in schools starting from class one till class 12.  There should be one universal language which is known by every Indian so that people can easily connect and communicate if they visit any part of country. I love reading Hindi books and, magazine and I only watch Hindi movies. I want Hindi to be our first language.

Rishina Kandhari: I love my language and I am a very proud Indian. I try to speak in Hindi as much as possible, but sometimes at some places it is not possible to speak in Hindi. However, I try to communicate with my daughter in Hindi as she speaks English in school. I feel proud that my Hindi language is very good. I have read many Hindi books and novels. I want Hindi to not be an option in school but it should be a compulsory subject because in coming days it will become very important and necessary to know the language. I want our next generation to learn pure Hindi and so, we should spread and create awareness of Hindi language. 

Vijyaendra Kumeria: We should give a lot of emphasis on Hindi as it is our official language. It's sad that the youth finds it uncool when someone is more comfortable with Hindi over English. I think this thought should change. Knowing other languages is great but looking down upon Hindi is not cool. We should feel proud of our very own language. I do read Hindi literature whenever I can, the reason being it polishes my Hindi and I learn new words too. As an actor it is very helpful for me to have a good command on the language. I think schools should make it a point to give Hindi more weightage, just like any other important subject.

Aniruddh Dave: I am a Hindi speaking person, I love the language and I would like to say "Nari ke mathe pe sajti jaisi bindi hai, humko toh lagti hai pyari bhasa humari Hindi hai." I was born in Hindustan and I speak in Hindi only, in fact 90 percent of my tweets are in Hindi. It is very necessary to have command on our national language. If someone explains a character to me in Hindi, it feels good because finally at the end of the day we have to act in Hindi only. I read Hindi stories and upanyas and I have read more than 300 to 400 books and during lockdown also I read a lot. It’s a good practice that one should learn our national language. Every year on this day, Hindi diwas, I write a poetry and this year also I will write and post it on my social media.

Savi Thakur: As you know Hindi is our national language so I think everyone should be perfect in the language. Nowadays we judge people who can’t speak in Hindi, which is very wrong. I think we should give priority to our national language, I am not saying learning other languages is bad but in India at least with our people we should converse in Hindi. People think if one doesn't know English, then they don't know anything. But we shouldn't judge them on this. If we go outside India, and they speak in Hindi, we find it cool, but if an Indian tries to do it in India, that's called uncool. This should be stopped. Knowing English doesn't define your intelligence or your personality, we should feel free to speak in Hindi and we should not forget that it's our national language. I think I am good enough with Hindi, because they taught us well in school. 

Shivani Gosain: Being a Hindustani I am proud of my Hindi language. I am from Delhi so luckily my Hindi is good atleast better than a lot of people. Our Hindi lierature is rich in spirituality and morality, I feel guilty that I was not able to read Hindi Literature after my graduation, but I think I will start reading it now. It will be great if for the initial few years students have compulsory Hindi in schools.

Aashish Mehrotra: Hindi is not just close to me, it's close to all the Indians. I guess English has become a style statement now. Generally the person you are most comfortable with, you will always speak to them in Hindi, be it at home, or your close friends or your siblings. I understand that English is important, especially in today's times, but so is Hindi and we shouldn't forget that. 

Shilpa Raizada: It's always a Hindi diwas for me because I prefer talking to everyone in Hindi rather than English. Even the place I belong to, our mother tongue is Hindi. I can't speak for others, but I always speak in Hindi, in fact in all my interviews or conversations, I speak in Hindi, without any hesitation. It's not something to be ashamed of, in fact I feel proud in talking to anyone in Hindi. We should not forget that we belong to India, and our mother tongue is Hindi. I feel very close to the language, and in fact since I was 16 I have been writing poetries too in Hindi. I tried in English too, but it did not have the same feeling. 

Mou Das: There has been a debate going on for quite a long time on Hindi as our national language. Keeping that aside, I have a strong association with the language as I love watching Hindi content over English. Hindi has forever been the most common language spoken all over India after the mother tongue of the regions. With so many great writers who have given bestsellers in Hindi, I would love to indulge in reading them. But due to lack of time reading is nothing but a luxury. About the emphasis on Hindi at school. I strongly believe that we should give importance to English language as it is the most commonly accepted language around the world. However, Hindi, Sanskrit and other regional languages should also be give equal importance as we need to protect our rich cultural heritage and encourage the engagement in the literary platforms of our country.