Mithilesh Mishra, director of the Hindi and South Asian languages program in the Department of Linguistics, is being honored for his contribution and commitment to Hindi.
He received the Service to Hindi Award from the International Hindi Association, whose focus is on fostering the cultural heritage of India through promotion and propagation of Hindi and its literature.
The text on his award plaque, pictured below, translates as follows: "The Service to Hindi Award by the International Hindi Association is given to Dr. Mithilesh Mishra for his extraordinary contribution and selfless dedication to Hindi."
We recently spoke with Mishra about the award and his work on campus.
Can you describe your work within the school?
As the director of the Hindi and South Asian languages program, I teach Hindi language courses primarily from intermediate to advanced levels. The advanced Hindi courses (online, synchronous) are UIUC’s first online language courses, offered long before the pandemic. I also teach courses on business Hindi, and a popular (over 100 students take it every year, and now, every semester) general education non-Western culture course titled HNDI 115: Language and culture in India (online, asynchronous). I also offer language proficiency examinations in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam every semester as a service to students and campus.
What impact do you hope to have on your students and department?
After English and Mandarin, Hindi is the third most spoken language in the world. Teaching courses in Hindi language, culture, and literature brings me joy and satisfaction for the following two reasons: first, our world has indeed become a densely interconnected global village, and hence, by learning Hindi, our students are able to navigate between the two important cultures and countries with joy and confidence. Second, learning Hindi, or any other language for that matter, is like putting a lot of foreign currency in your wallet. Languages, like money, can be used in real life situations with Hindi speakers, not only in India, but right here in the United States, too.
More generally, what impact do you hope to have on your field?
All of my instructional, professional, pedagogical, and personal endeavors directly or indirectly seek to enrich Hindi and expand its uses in new contexts. My colleagues and scholars in India and in the U.S. recognize my contribution and impact.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Sharing my passion for Hindi with my students. Whenever I am successful in doing so, I am ecstatic. Many of my non-heritage students have acquired native-like competence in Hindi, which makes me extremely happy.
What’s your proudest achievement?
It is very difficult to name just one! I felt very proud when, in the Spring of 2023, a student from my first-year Hindi class was awarded a Boren Scholarship to study Hindi here and in India (in Fall 2023). That was definitely a very proud moment for me! Whenever my students succeed, especially in doing something with Hindi, I am more joyous than they are.
What do you want people to know about the Hindi program at UIUC?
Hindi at UIUC offers the best training in language and culture in the United States, perhaps in the world, too.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Come, let’s learn Hindi. Namaste (the Hindi greeting term which means, ‘I bow to the divinity within you’).
Dania De La Hoya Rojas