UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When you visit Old Botany Building on Penn State's University Park campus on most Fridays, you will find the Department of Asian Studies’ meeting rooms bustling with energetic students engaging in conversation, playing games, and enjoying each other’s company.
While those conversations between students will be taking place in many languages throughout the day, Hindi will be the language heard most prevalently in the building between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., as that is the time that has been set aside for the Hindi Conversation Hour on Fridays during the spring 2025 semester.
While students who typically attend Hindi Conversation Hour come from an array of linguistic backgrounds and are studying different majors, on Fridays they are connected by their love of Hindi — one of the primary languages in India and the third most spoken language in the world.
Led by Ritu Jayakar, Penn State lecturer in Hindi and Asian studies, Hindi Hour provides an informal conversational setting for any students interested in engaging with Hindi language and Indian culture. During typical meetings, students often spend the hour watching Hindi movies, playing Hindi Bollywood songs, playing carrom and other board games, and/or enjoying chai and desi snacks with each other.
“Not every student attends every week — some weeks there may be as few as three, and another week there may be as many as 13,” Jayakar said. “But whomever is here loves to visit with their friends and talk about their favorite desi food, song or game. And all the games played are popular board games among kids and young adults.”
"Hindi Hour is a great way to indulge in Indian culture firsthand,” said Jill Patel, a third-year student pursuing degrees in finance and accounting. “I was able to bring friends and enjoy games, music and just general chatting with others. It helped strengthen my connection to the culture and meet others — it’s definitely a welcoming environment for all.”
Hindi Hour also provides students with a unique opportunity to gain experience and become more comfortable with speaking Hindi, which is recognized as a “critical language” by the U.S. State Department. As one of India’s official and most widely spoken languages, being proficient in Hindi provides students with the knowledge and skills to study, work in, and experience the cultural and linguistic richness of the Indian subcontinent.
Students interested in learning more about Hindi Hour or Hindi courses taught at Penn State should visit the Penn State Hindi website. The language courses are supported in part by the Center for Global Studies at Penn State and a Title VI National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education.