Professor Harsh Bala Sharma Helps Hindi 203 Students ‘Find Their Inner Artist’

Professor Harsh Bala Sharma, hailing from New Delhi, India, was an uplifting, special, and utterly enjoyable guest lecturer in our Hindi 203 class. She seamlessly brought our diverse group of 30 students together, many of whom started off shy and hesitant, and empowered them to actively participate in an interesting, funny, and moving play centered on environmental activism in India. Bala Sharma Ji is a professor at India’s Indraprastha College for Women in Delhi. It was evident, based on her kind and motivated demeanor, that she is not only an excellent professor but also deeply invested in her students' growth and success. 

In class, Bala Sharma Ji urged us to “find our inner artists.” While many students initially laughed and were reluctant to participate, she was able to coax them out of their shells and teach them valuable acting skills, while simultaneously weaving in important historical and cultural lessons– all with a smile on her face. By combining theater with language learning, she enabled students to connect with the deeper meanings behind their Hindi dialogues, helping us all grow toward greater fluency in the language. 

With the guidance of Bala Sharma Ji, we were able to put on a 30-minute play in just three classes. The whole class participated—which is no small feat—and we learned about an entirely new part of Indian history. We were all very grateful to have met her, and students were sad to see her go when the class ended. It is rare to have the opportunity to learn from a guest lecturer who balances professionalism, academic interest, fun, and humor so well. 

One aspect of her teaching style that was particularly effective was her attention to detail. Bala Sharma Ji would highlight certain words in the script, repeatedly working with students to express not only the correct pronunciation and timing of their lines but also the right emotion. This meticulous attention helped us connect the correct emotional tone with our spoken Hindi, enhancing both our pronunciation and our understanding of which parts of certain sentences should be properly emphasized. This is an important nuance in any language that is difficult to learn on paper. She paid attention to each individual student, despite having little time to meet everyone, and somehow connected personally with everyone during the short hour-long classes. 

Bala Sharma Ji brought so much life to our class in just three days, and this is of course in part due to Kusum Ji’s consistent dedication to teaching Hindi holistically. The Hindi program at Duke is a comprehensive, holistic experience—enriching through lessons, reading, writing, and exams in the classroom—but also culturally enriching through song, plays, physical activity, and opportunities to meet experts in the field, such as Bala Sharma Ji. We were all very grateful to work with her, and we hope she is able to return to Duke AMES in the future! 

This workshop was supported and funded by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Duke India Initiative and Duke Service Learning.