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Till now, BBC World and Voice Of America were two major media houses having a rich online Hindi language news and current affairs presence.

Now you can expect to get even more rich user experience with the new events unfolding before us.

Jagran Prakashan Ltd, the publishers of popular Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran (http://www1.jagran.com/newssite/) which claims to have highest circulation figures, has announced that Yahoo! India and the Jagran Group will jointly launch a new co-branded Hindi news and current affairs Internet property.

This pioneering agreement brings together India’s number one Internet brand and a leading Indian newspaper conglomerate to provide the best of both online services and print media content for users and advertisers.

“This platform will help rebrand and rescale the Hindi online space and leverage the strengths of both the organizations in creating a very powerful online property. We looked for a partner that stood for leadership and credibility in the online media space, which understood the pulse of internet audiences and had a customer-centric focus as central to their business approach. Yahoo! India definitely represents all these and more” said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, CEO,Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

The new Internet venture will seamlessly integrate the largest Hindi content of Jagran with Yahoo! India’s formidable online presence.

The partnership will create a richer online Hindi user experience, with Jagran’s original content across news, current affairs, sports, entertainment and other features. It will be complemented with Yahoo!s innovative, user-focused internet products and services offered in seven Indian languages, including Yahoo! Search, Mail and Messenger.

“This exciting and strategic partnership between these two powerful media entities will redefine the Hindi Online User experience and take this to the next level” said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, CEO, Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

For those interested in improving their knowledge of Hindi language, there is a growing list of resources available online (more info on Hindi resources here). Some of the recent developments make it even more commonplace as you will find below. I am listing four such resources. Do check them out.

1. AOL website in Hindi
America On Line, the internet unit of Time Warner has launched website in Hindi language. So you have another website in Hindi language. (Here are some more Hindi websites)
The website offers a host of Web services including instant messenger, Google search, videos, Bollywood channels, city guides, education, international music, and access to mobile devices for email, chat, and downloads.
Apart from regular features, it offers a wide variety of content around Cricket, Hollywood, Bollywood, and so on.

Also, there’s an expert advice service named ‘Guru’.

2. Motorola India to unveil MotoYuva W180
The device would incorporate an in-built dictionary comprising of around 30,000 Hindi language words. This dictionary will have words that are commonly used by the modern-day youth of India.
MotoYuva W180 is also pre-loaded with a Hindu calendar that includes information on various festivals, nakshatras, sunrise and sunset times, tithi, etc.

3. Samsung to sell CDMA handsets with Indian features
It will offer a facility to type Hindi words in English (Hinglish), a ‘panchang’, and even set an ‘aarti’ for that day’s specific deity.

4. Viacom JV in Hindi channel launch
Viacom18, the joint venture between Viacom and Indian media conglomerate Network 18, has confirmed it will launch a Hindi-language general entertainment channel in India early next year.
The channel will consist of original, locally produced programming, as well as acquisitions and content from Viacom-owned MTV Networks (MTVN).
Network18’s motion pictures division, Studio18, which remains an integral part of the new venture, will continue to produce, acquire and distribute Hindi-language films.

Using these resources is a no-brainer as it all comes packaged with items of daily use. Do use them to help you learn Hindi.

How to speak Hindi as good as if it were your mother tongue?
Is it by learning it through text books?
Is it by watching Hindi movies?
Is it by listening to Hindi songs?
Is it by conversation with a native Hindi speaker?

All these simple and obvious options have their own merits and de-merits which can be debated endlessly. Which one suits you better is perhaps the single most important consideration you’ll take into account.

However, my sole recommendation is to adapt the option which you can follow whenever you want to - without getting bogged down by any kind of resource crunch or spending unreasonable amount of money upfront to get started (while you’re still not comfortable with the language).

I’ll discuss these options in subsequent posts, so that you’ve some basic information to begin your language learning sessions. Meanwhile I strongly recommend you visit HindiLearner website to get to know Hindi learning resources that you can use straightway FREE of charge.

Hindi learning can be pure fun.

Google, IBM, Yahoo….all are expanding their offerings for the 21.1 million Internet users in India, the world’s fastest- growing group of Internet subscribers, according to a March study by research group ComScore Inc. The country’s subscription numbers jumped 33 percent in 2006, beating Russia’s 21 percent increase and China’s 20 percent growth.

No wonder all these multinational companies are working on technologies that will make access to the Internet and computers easier for people in India who are more at ease with local languages.

Yahoo Inc. launched earlier this year portals in seven Indian languages. It has introduced plug-in modules to its instant messenger, that allow users to chat in nine different regional languages and scripts. Later this year, the company is also introducing Indian languages versions of its e-mail service.

IBM Corp. announced earlier this month that it has developed speech recognition software that will allow people speaking Hindi to create e-mail and documents on computers and also to operate ATMs (automated teller machines) and IVR (interactive voice response) systems.

Google has launched an Indian version of its Google Local Search to enable Indian users to find information on local businesses like restaurants, shops and hotels on the web.
It also launched an Indian version of Google Local Business Center. Any business will be able to load its information on the site, at - http://local.google.co.in . These products use English, and do not support Indian languages.

Also, Google has put up two technologies for testing by users on the Google Labs Web site:

• an Indic On-Screen Keyboard iGoogle Gadget, and
• Google Indic Transliteration.

The Indic On-Screen Keyboard iGoogle Gadget allows users to type search queries in 14 Indian languages by choosing letters from an on-screen keyboard using a mouse. Users can add the gadget of their chosen language to their personalized iGoogle home page and use it to search for content in their language.

Google Indic Transliteration allows the user to type in Hindi, a key language in India, using phonetically equivalent English text entered through an English keyboard. The content created can be used in e-mail, word processors and other applications from both Google and its competitors. This technology will help increase the amount of content available online in Hindi.

If you want to expand your online business, this untapped consumer base needs to be attended to, and what could be better than talk to them in their own Hindi language.

It’s definitely a cool idea to get ready in advance and learn Hindi a bit. A lot of learning material is readily available (don’t worry, it’s not a sales page) at www.hindilearner.com

“A worthy companion to Attenborough’s Oscar Epic..” - The Times, London

“Great film..I was moved to tears.” - Thabo Tabeki, President of South Africa

“Poignant…Emotionally charged, compelling film..” - Newsweek

“If you do not see this film, you’ve missed something in life…” - Dr. Suresh Dalal, Chitralekha

“History that shocks you, cinema that seduces you.” - Pratim D. Gupta, The Telegraph

“A must see..” - BBC

Gandhi has always been compelling, complex and strangely contemporary. Mahatma Gandhi could transform the soul of a nation but could not save the soul of his own son.

Somewhere in the shadows of this great man lived his son, roaming the streets of India like a beggar. Converting to Islam as a rebellion, reconverting to Hinduism as a penance and finally drinking himself to death.

Gandhi My Father is the story of Gandhi’s son Harilal.

Harilal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s eldest son carried his Gandhi identity as a curse around his neck.

The film is produced by Anil Kapoor and will mark the directorial debut of Feroz Abbas Khan. The starcast of the film includes Akshaye Khanna, Bhumika Chawla, Shefali Shah, Darshan Jariwala and Daniel Janks.