Elvish Yadav: I am a very misunderstood person

New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) YouTube sensation Elvish Yadav, often labeled as controversy’s favourite child, has finally broken his silence on the stereotypes surrounding the Haryanvi language he proudly speaks. Brushing off claims that his tone stems from arrogance, he reveals he is a “very misunderstood” person.

Asked if he feels misunderstood because of his ‘upright speech’ and unfiltered view of life, Elvish told IANS in a candid interview: “This is exactly what I was thinking just now. I was reading something somewhere, and it said that most people think that languages like ours—like Haryanvi, which is ‘khadi’ (upright) speech—sound like the language of illiterate people. They think we don’t know how to speak properly. But that’s not true.”

Born as Siddharth Yadav, Elvish hails from Haryana and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University’s prestigious Hansraj College.

The 28-year-old, who has won shows such as “Bigg Boss OTT 2” and “MTV Roadies Double Cross”, revealed that he used to study hard and was a topper.

“The truth is, I’ve studied a lot. I used to study really hard. I was a topper. I cleared all my exams. I graduated from a good college—Hansraj College.”

“So I thought, suppose there’s someone from Tamil Nadu. Just like Haryana has its own language, he has his own language too—Tamil… So this is probably a misunderstanding about our language.”

He strongly feels that a common misconception has been formed about those who speak Haryanvi.

“A stereotype has been created that anyone who speaks Haryanvi—no matter how educated he is—is considered illiterate. That he doesn’t know how to speak properly. But that’s just our language. Everyone has their own. So the way I speak—that's absolutely fine. But people assume I have a big ego. Maybe I have a little, but not as much as people think,” he said.

He absolutely feels understood.

“But yes, do I feel misunderstood by people? Very much. So much so that even meme pages have started saying that I’m a very misunderstood person. But I’m a good person. I swear, I’m a really good person. I swear on my mother.”

Asked why he got angry considering his fights with Prince Narula in the youth-based reality show went viral, he said: “‘Where does Elvish get angry?’ Maybe I was a bit angry on the show. But apart from that, I’ve changed a lot. I don’t get angry anymore. I really think about all this.”

--IANS

dc/