Amritsar, Punjab: Carrying his love for Punjab’s rich culture, heritage and literature, Dr Norio Okaguchi, a Japanese scholar, professor and head of Research Institute for Languages and Culture for Asia and Africa, graced the state again and interacted with students and staff of the Khalsa College here today.
Speaking in Punjabi, Dr Norio said he was greatly inspired by the rich culture and heritage of Punjab during his first visit to India in 1973.
He said he had come to India to visit various places associated with Budha which include Sarnath. He said he started learning Hindi and other languages of south India, including Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Talking of Okaguchi, Dr Jatinder Singh, professor of School of Punjabi Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, said he started learning Punjabi language at Delhi University in 1975. His wife Yoshiko also studies various Indian languages and both had translated the captions of the Indian films in Japanese language during the Indian Film Festival held in Tokyo, Dr Jatinder added.
He said Okaguchi in association with first Japanese Punjabi researcher Dr Tomio Mizokami had also prepared a Japanese-Punjabi dictionary consisting of around 20,000 words.
He had also translated the two books — Guru Nanak Dev and Faith of the Sikhs — authored by renowned Punjabi intellectual Dr Harbans Singh.
Khalsa College principal Dr Daljit Singh said it was unfortunate that the present generation was drifting away from the mother tongue and national language.
He said it was a matter of pride for all the Punjabis that a foreigner was initiating steps for the spread of rich Punjabi and Hindi language abroad. He said this would also help in contradicting the report of UNESCO that Punjabi language was on the verge of extinction.
Fusao Okaguchi, son of Dr Norio and student of architecture, accompanied his father. He would study and capture the architectural marvels in Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh and Delhi.
