Monday 29 March 2010

संगणकावर "युनिकोड मराठी' अनिवार्य करावे

संगणकावर "युनिकोड मराठी' अनिवार्य करावे
सकाळ वृत्तसेवा
Monday, March 29, 2010 AT 12:00 AM (IST)
Tags: abmss, computer, unicode marathi, chief minister, font

पुणे - महाराष्ट्रातील सर्व संगणकांवर मराठीतून लिहिता - वाचता यावे यासाठी राज्यात विकल्या जाणाऱ्या प्रत्येक संगणकावर "युनिकोड मराठी' असणे अनिवार्य करावे, अशी मागणी 83व्या मराठी साहित्य संमेलनाने मुख्यमंत्र्यांकडे एका स्वतंत्र पत्राद्वारे केली आहे.

साहित्य संमेलन कॉर्पोरेट होताना मराठीतूनही संगणकावर परिणामकारक व्यवहार व्हायला हवेत, असा आग्रह धरला जात आहे. या साहित्य संमेलनात तीन-चार स्टॉलवर संगणकावरील मराठीच्या वापरासंबंधी मार्गदर्शन केले जात होते. याचा एक भाग म्हणूनच युनिकोड मराठीच्या अनिवार्यतेची मागणी संमेलनाने केली आहे.

रोमन लिपीचा कळपाटा (की बोर्ड) समान असल्याने इंग्रजीसाठी कोणताही फॉन्ट वापरला तरी चालते. मात्र मराठीत कळपाटा समान नसल्याने एक फॉन्ट दुसऱ्या संगणकावर चालतोच असे नाही. त्यामुळे मराठीतून संगणकावरील लेखनाला मर्यादा येत असत. ई-टपाल (ई-मेल) किंवा अनुदिनी (ब्लॉग) देवनागरीत लिहिल्यानंतर तो फॉन्टही पाठवावा लागत असे. मात्र आता युनिकोडमुळे मराठीतून लिहिणे - वाचणे सोपे झाले आहे. मात्र सर्व संगणकांवर युनिकोड मराठीसाठीचे ऑपरेशन सिस्टिममधील पर्याय कार्यान्वित केलेले नसतात. ते स्वतः करून घ्यावे लागतात. म्हणूनच राज्यात विक्री होणाऱ्या प्रत्येक संगणकावर युनिकोड मराठीसाठी ऑपरेशन सिस्टिममधील पर्याय कार्यान्वित करावेत, असा शासनाने नियम करावा आणि संगणकांची विक्री करणाऱ्यांवर व कार्यकारी प्रणालींचा पुरवठा करणाऱ्यांवर सक्ती करावी, असा आग्रह संमेलनाने धरला आहे.

मुख्यमंत्री अशोक चव्हाण यांच्याकडेच माहिती व तंत्रज्ञानविषयक खाते असल्याने संमेलनातर्फे स्वागताध्यक्ष डॉ. सतीश देसाई, कार्याध्यक्ष उल्हास पवार व महाराष्ट्र साहित्य परिषदेचे कार्याध्यक्ष डॉ. वि. भा. देशपांडे यांच्या स्वाक्षरीने या मागणीचे पत्र पाठविण्यात आले आहे. सायबर कॅफेमध्ये संगणकावर मराठी काम करण्याची सोय असणे अनिवार्य असल्याचे परिपत्रक सहा महिन्यांपूर्वी निघाले आहे. त्यानंतर सामान्य प्रशासनाने विभागीय आयुक्त व जिल्हाधिकाऱ्यांची बैठक घेऊन युनिकोडची माहिती दिलेली आहे. मात्र सहा महिन्यांनंतरही या परिपत्रकाच्या अंमलबजावणीस सुरवात झालेली नाही, याकडेही मुख्यमंत्र्यांचे लक्ष वेधण्यात आले. या परिपत्रकाची तातडीने अंमलबजावणी करावी, अशीही या पत्रात मागणी करण्यात आली आहे. संगणकावर मराठीत काम करणे कसे शक्‍य आहे, हे समजावून सांगणारी माहितीपत्रके संगणक विक्रेत्यांनी पुरवणेही बंधनकारक करण्याचीही मागणी करण्यात आली आहे. संमेलनात या मागण्यांचा "माध्यम तंत्रज्ञान आणि मराठी भाषा' या परिसंवादाचे अध्यक्ष डॉ. सुधीर गव्हाणे यांनीही मंचावरून उच्चार केला.

मराठीकरणाची चळवळ पूर्वीपासूनच सुरू
संमेलनातर्फे पत्र पाठवून मुख्यमंत्र्यांकडे मागणी करतानाच या मागणीचा पाठपुरावा करण्यासाठी मराठी अभ्यास केंद्राच्या स्टॉलवर रसिकांच्या स्वाक्षऱ्या गोळा करण्याची मोहीमही सुरू होती. ठाण्यातील या संस्थेने मराठीकरणाची चळवळच सुरू केली आहे. मराठी युनिकोड वापरण्याची एक पुस्तिकाही त्यांनी प्रसिद्ध केली आहे. सी- डॅकतर्फे मराठी युनिकोड सुविधा आपल्या संगणकावर उतरवण्यासाठी (डाऊनलोड करण्यासाठी) एक विशेष चकती (सीडी) मोफत वाटण्यात येत होती. वेगवेगळ्या स्तरातील लोक मोठ्या उत्सुकतेने या विषयी माहिती घेताना दिसत होते. कोणत्याही संगणकावर सहज वापरता येण्याजोगा मराठी फॉण्ट "मराठी एडिटर'च्या शुभानन गांगल यांनी तयार केला आहे. जगात कोठेही "मराठी एडिटर'च्या साहाय्याने मराठीतून ई-टपाल पाठवणे आता शक्‍य होणार आहे. त्यासंबंधीची माहिती श्री. गांगल व यमाजी मालकर देत होते. तर मराठीतून दर्जेदार संकेतस्थळे (वेबसाईट्‌स) बनवणे शक्‍य असल्याची माहिती "मराठी वेबसाईट्‌स'तर्फे प्रसाद शिरगावकर देत होते.

'Computers sold in the state must have Marathi Unicode'

Marathi Abhyas Kendra submits memorandum to chief minister

DNA Correspondent
The Marathi Abhyas Kendra has demanded that computers sold in the state must have an operating system embedded with Marathi Unicode. The members of the Kendra submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, seeking his intervention in the issue.
Secretary of the Thane-based Kendra Rammohan Khanapurkar said the organisation carried out a signature campaign on the issue on the second day of the meet and over 300 delegates signed the memorandum that was handed over to the chief minister on Saturday.
"We have submitted a memorandum signed by the delegates to chief minister Ashok Chavan demanding his intervention on the issue," said Khanapurkar.
"The demand has been raised in view of the attitude of manufacturers and distributors in not providing Marathi Unicode in the operating system and also Marathi manual to computer users in Maharashtra," he said.
The demand was also raised by former vice-chancellor of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University Sudhir Gavhane during the afternoon session attended by Chavan on Saturday.
The Kendra's other demands to promote Information Technology in the state include making it obligatory for mobile handset manufacturers to provide Marathi features in the cellphones sold in Maharashtra.
A similar rule should be enforced for computers in cyber cafes, according to the Kendra.

(Source: DNA Pune edition, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=40&querypage=1&parenteditioncode=40

Monday 8 March 2010

Literally geeky

The 83rd Marathi Literary Convention, to be held in the city, will be nothing short of hi-tech with videoconferencing, webcasts and podcasts. And its recognition of Marathi blogs is also a first

By Nitin Brahme
Posted On Tuesday, March 02, 2010 at 11:04:15 PM

At the pre-conference event, from left: Anil Awchat, Mahesh Ghatpande, Prasanna Joshi, Milind Joshi, Sandhya Tanksale and Dr Ujjwala Barve
The 83rd Marathi Literary Convention (MLC), that will be held in the city from March 26 to 28, 2010, is going to be hi-tech by all means.

Not only is this event going to be like a live chat, but it will also recognise blog writings as authentic literature. In fact, MLC’s elected president D B Kulkarni will soon start his own blog.

Venues and video conferencing
MLC’s convenor Satish Desai told Pune Mirror that the convention will be held across 20 different cities, among them being Nashik and Ratnagiri, in the state via video conferencing. It will also have a potcast and telecast via Internet.

Deepak Shikarpur, head, hi-tech committee of MLC, said, “We are going to webcast the proceedings and for this, we are collaborating with Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Ltd. The webcast will be mass-personalised, i.e. you can watch them on PC, laptop or your cellphone.”

Other venues being considered are Hyderabad, Indore, Goa and Saudi Arabia. But talks are still on regarding these venues.

On Manday, MSP organised the Bhurjpatra te Webpage: Marathi Shabdancha Pravas (A journey of marathi words from leaves to web) where many Marathi bloggers were present.

Bloggerspeak
During a panel interview on Monday, MSP secretary Milind Joshi expressed the need for a separate body to recognise literature being generated on the web. The interview was conducted by Prasanna Joshi and co-ordinated by Madhyamites, a new media association based in the city.

Anil Awchat, a prominent Marathi author, stressed on the need of controlling the quality of the literature being generated on the blogs.

Dr Ujjwala Barve, Head of University of Pune’s Journalism Department, rejected restrictions on the contents generated on blogs. Mahesh Ghatpande, founder of e-Diwali issue, said the quality of the content on blogs should get precedence. Dr Kiran Thakur, senior journalist, stressed on the need of recognition of literature on blogs by mainstream media.

Marathi bloggers had met in the city on January 17, 2010, and demanded recognition for blogs as an effective medium for literature during MLC and also appealed to D B Kulkarni to start his own blog.

The Marathi blogosphere carries various subjects such as poems, short stories, discussion, self-expressions, novels, etc. There are about 12,000 Marathi blogs. For more details and updates, log on to MLC’s official website: sahityasammlean2010.org.

Some prominent Marathi blogs
http://marathiblogs.net/
Titled Marathi Blog Vishwa, it is an index of all Marathi blogs on the Net. Subjects ranging from calligraphy, technology, Diwali editorials, Marathi recipes, poetry, short stories, are up for takers

http://www.marathimandali.com
This one is a Marathi portal which also hosts blogs

http://www.marathinovels.net
As its title suggests, it provides Marathi novels in a blog form. Apparently, readers can even contribute to these novels

http://batmidar2.blogspot.com/:
Also titled Kalte-Samajte, it claims to be ‘the first online media newspaper in Marathi’. It’s a blog that hosts the latest developments across the globe

http://batmidar.blogspot.com/
This blog claims to report on the latest happenings in worldwide media
Marathi blogs
The Marathi Sahitya Parishad (MSP), the official convenors of MLC, have on Monday acknowledged Marathi blogs as an effective medium for Marathi literary expression in a convention-related programme.

Sunday 7 March 2010

Internet facelifts Marathi

More and more youths are turning to Marathi literature nowadays and there is new hope that good old days will return to this state language once again, thanks to speedy, instant and hassle free connectivity of modern age Internet. More than 15,000 Marathi blog sites on Internet are being used by the youths for keying down their expressions which are open to the whole world immediately.
This was the opinion of the experts in the fields of literature and journalism participating at the discussion “Bhurjapatra te Webpage” (ancient ways of writing to webpage) jointly held by 83rd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan and S M Joshi Socialist Foundation.
Head of Journalism Department University of Pune Dr Ujjwala Barve, journalist Sandhya Tanksale, Mumbai based noted film maker and Editor of Marathi online magazine Amhi Marathi.Com, Mahesh Ghatpande, littérateur-journalist Dr Anil Awachat and Secretary to Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad Dr Milind Joshi took part in the discussion. Journalist Prasanna Joshi was anchor of the discussion.
Ghatpande said that response from the people was lukewarm when he launched the magazine five years back. However, the idea was taken up gradually and more than six lakhs readers visited the site in less than three months the last year.
Tanksale said she was amazed at the instant and overwhelming reactions of the readers when she first wrote on the blog. She has been writing a blog since then and enjoys her work. One has to be very precise while writing it, she added. Both young and old are attracted to the Internet blogging as it is a tool that opens up vast platform to your expressions, she said.
Dr Barve said that students, especially of journalism, should be encouraged for blog writing. The language of expressions has become more informal after emergence of blog writing and young generation has adopted the short forms in verbal communication too, she said.
Dr Awachat said that Internet is the key reason for globalization in real sense. He said that he got many young friends through Orkut on Internet. The group became so close that it held an informal gathering at his residence. The youth, after taking inspiration from his writings, extended their helping hands for social cause, he said. Not only this, the younger team is writing blogs that has serious literary values, he added.
Apart from print media, Internet blogging has opened up another window for expressing the sufferings of downtrodden people which will gain mass support in future, hoped Awachat.
Dr Joshi said that Blog writing has molded the language into still simpler form which is a good sign from the point of view of readers. However, there is a need of some editorial team online to monitor the quality of literature.
Dr. Kiran Thakur, former Head of Journalism Department, University of Pune was instrumental in coordinating the event.

Sanjeevani Didmishe
The Times of India

Friday 5 March 2010

Marathi@ blogspace

Yogesh Joshi, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Pune, February 28, 2010
First Published: 02:20 IST(28/2/2010)

On a nippy January afternoon, a group of 60 Marathi bloggers had gathered at Pune’s PL Deshpande garden, which was designed to resemble Japan’s Korakuen Park — to discuss Marathi literature on blogs.
That day, amidst applause, they passed a resolution requesting the All India Marathi Literary meet, to be held in Pune between March 26 and 28, to recognise blogs as a medium of literature. A month later, young Marathi bloggers scattered across the world can barely hide their enthusiasm as they look forward to a meet titled Bhujpatra te Webpage: Pravas Shabdancha (A journey of words from leaves to web pages), to be held on March 1.
“The idea behind the programme was to explore the journey of Marathi literature over the centuries through various forms,” said Dr Kiran Thakur, the coordinator for the event.
“To organise such an event on the platform of the Marathi literary meet was an attempt to achieve recognition for literature being generated on blogs.”
The 10-year-old Marathi blogosphere has thrown up blogs that have emerged as strong expressions of Marathi literature.
“A young generation writing on blogs is producing a kind of literature my generation cannot possibly produce,” said prominent Marathi author, Mukund Taksale.
There is a Marathi blog on almost every subject—from poetry to political discussions around the state of the Marathi language.
“It’s not that all blogs are of high quality. There is mediocrity everywhere,” said Taksale. “But the overall picture is certainly very encouraging.”
Most bloggers are either from cities in Maharashtra or are living in other parts of the world. For some authors, who now have become bloggers, writing on the web is the first preference because it gets them an instant response from readers.
“After penning down two novels, I now prefer to write only on my blog,” said blogger-author Sunil Doifode, a scientist with the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
“It draws almost 4,000 hits daily and reactions, which [to get] in print is not easy.”
Author Anil Awachat, who also writes a blog, said it was a “welcome sign” that youngsters from different fields were reading a lot and writing. “It’s just the beginning, and I am sure over the years these blogs will produce high quality literature.”
--

हिंदी ब्लॉगर्स, भी ले सकते हैं प्रेरणा, इन मराठी बंधुओं से

http://rashmiravija.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post.html


Tuesday, March 2, 2010
हिंदी ब्लॉगर्स, भी ले सकते हैं प्रेरणा, इन मराठी बंधुओं से


आज मॉर्निंग वाक पर मेरी सहेली ने २८ फरवरी के हिन्दुस्तान टाईम्स में छपे एक आलेख का जिक्र किया.मेरे अनुरोध पर उसने वह अखबार मुझे भेज दिया.इसमें मराठी के ब्लॉगर्स का जिक्र है कि कैसे जनवरी की एक दोपहर करीब ६० मराठी ब्लॉगर्स. पुणे के 'पी.एल.देशपांडे' उद्यान में एकत्रित हुए और उन्होंने ब्लोग्स पर उपलब्ध मराठी साहित्य पर विचार विमर्श किया.

उस दिन सर्वसम्मति से उनलोगों ने All India Marathi Literary Meet का एक प्रस्ताव पास किया.जिसकी बैठक २६ से २८ मार्च को पुणे में होगी.जिसमे ब्लॉग को मराठी साहित्य का एक माध्यम स्वीकार करने की मान्यता दिलाने पर विचार किया जायेगा.

इस समाचार से दुनिया भर में फैले मराठी के ब्लोग्गर्स बहुत हर्षित हुए.देश विदेश से सन्देश आने लगे और वे बेसब्री से उस ब्लोगर मिलन की प्रतीक्षा करने लगे. जिसे नाम दिया गया है ,'भुजपत्र ते वेबपेज प्रवास शब्दांचा' (शब्दों की यात्रा,भोजपत्र से वेबपेज तक" )

इस प्रोग्राम के पीछे यह मंशा निहित थी की सदियों से मराठी साहित्य विकास की यात्रा पर मनन किया जाए.
इस प्रोग्राम की संचालक 'किरण ठाकुर' ने बताया कि ऐसे कार्यक्रम का उद्देश्य ब्लॉग पर लिखे जा रहें मराठी साहित्य को मान्यता दिलवाना है.

१० साल के अपने ब्लॉगकाल में मराठी ब्लोग्स ने कुछ बहुत ही सुदृढ़,गंभीर अभिव्यक्ति का मार्ग प्रशस्त किया है.

प्रख्यात मराठी लेखक, 'मुकुंद टकसाले ' ने कहा ,"आज कल की पीढ़ी ब्लॉग पर जो साहित्य रच रही है,मेरी पीढ़ी उस तरह का साहित्य शायद कभी नहीं लिख सकती थी." उन्होंने कहा कि "ऐसा नहीं है कि सारे ब्लॉग , उच्च कोटि के हैं और उनपर उच्च कोटि का साहित्य ही उपलब्ध है..पर यह औसत दर्जे की रचना हर विधा में देखने को मिलती है.लेकिन समग्र रूप में यह बहुत ही उत्साहवर्धक है."

कुछ लेखक जिनका ब्लॉग भी है,नेट पर लिखना ज्यादा पसंद करते हैं क्यूंकि इस पर त्वरित प्रतिक्रिया मिलती है.'सुनील दोइफोडे 'जो राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा, अनुसंधान एवं विकास संस्थान में वैज्ञानिक हैं.उन्होंने बताया कि २ उपन्यास लिखने के बाद वे अब सिर्फ अपने ब्लॉग पर ही लिखना पसंद करते हैं क्यूंकि उनके ब्लॉग को करीब ४००० हिट्स रोज मिलते हैं और प्रतिक्रियाएँ भी उतनी ही बहुतायत से मिलती हैं जो प्रिंट मीडिया पर कभी भी संभव नहीं था.

एक दूसरे लेखक 'अनिल अवाछात' जो अपने ब्लॉग पर लिखना पसंद करते हैं उन्होंने कहा "यह एक बहुत ही शुभ संकेत है .कि आज हर क्षेत्र में नयी पीढ़ी इतना पढ़ रही है और लिखने की कोशिश भी कर रही है.और मुझे पूरी आशा है कि आने वाले वर्षों में ये ब्लॉग बहुत ही उच्च कोटि का साहित्य प्रदान करने में सक्षम होंगे.

ये सारी बातें हिंदी ब्लॉग जगत के लिए भी सच हैं.फिर क्यूँ नहीं आपस की सारी खींचतान,सारे मन मुटाव मिटा सारे ब्लोगर्स संगठित होकर इसके विकास के लिए प्रयासरत होते हैं.हमें प्रिंट मीडिया से अनुमोदन क्यूँ चाहिए?प्रिंट मीडिया को भी चाहिए कि इस नए माध्यम को वह दोयम दर्जे का ना समझे और जिम्मेवारी भरा रवैया अपनाए,इसे देखने का.वैसे हम खुद को ही इतना शक्तिशाली बना लेँ कि यह अभिव्यक्ति का एक नया माध्यम बन कर उभरे.