Community News | Melbourne
Distanced, Yet Connected Rahul Agrawal from Melbourne translates Hanuman Chalissa in English for kids.
T
he Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn addressed to Lord Hanuman. It has been authored by the 16th-century poet Tulsidas in the Awadhi language. The most popular hymn in praise of Lord Hanuman, Hanuman Chalisa is recited by millions of Hindus every day across the globe. It is a very popular belief that chanting the Chalisa invokes Hanuman’s divine intervention in grave problems. IT Consultant by profession, Rahul Agrawal lives in Melbourne. He belongs to the state of Jharkhand in India where he grew up reciting Hanuman Chalisa. Rahul says “When we think of Hanuman ji, we think of strength as he can fly, can jump over oceans and can even lift the mountains, but at the same time there is abundant scope to learn humility from him. Despite all the powers he had, he was the biggest devotee of Sri Ram.
Hanuman ji was also very knowledgeable and was an expert in all four vedas. He is an ocean of knowledge and wisdom.” Rahul wanted to teach the same to his son Arjun as he felt this was certainly one of the ways to keep Arjun connected to his origin, culture and tradition. Born and brought up in Australia, like a number of other kids in this age group, Arjun was not able to understand Hindi well. When Rahul saw that his son’s interest grew Download Our App
AUGUST I 2020
in learning more about the content of hanuman Chalisa, he made every effort to explain each word to his son in English by using a Whiteboard and making it interesting for him so he does not lose interest. Soon Arjun started listening to Hanuman Chalisa all the time even while driving with his dad and now he can recite all the lines of this hymn with an ease that would evoke anyone’s admiration. www.DesiAustralia.com
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