Hundreds of thousands of students in India will soon be learning a new version of the English language, complete with changes to pronunciation and nursery rhymes.

Teachers in the western Indian state of Maharashtra have gathered in the city of Pune, to learn about the new system which emphasises Indian culture and Indian usage in the teaching of English.

Less than 2% of India's one billion people speak English - but it has become the language of big business, the courts and the elite.

Instead of "Mary had a little lamb", students in Maharashtra will be learning about "Mira", whose white cat follows her to school one day.

Old Macdonald becomes a turbaned village elder, and his farm is actually a herd of cattle owned in common.

And the children's poem "Rain, rain, go away", usually recited to lift spirits on a gloomy wet day in America or Britain, is now a poetic plea for a downpour in a country where drought is all too common.

Hot debate

Indian pronunciations of English words will also be allowed under the new curriculum in Maharashtra in what's being described as an attempt to make English into an Indian language.