Shahbash!!! Ok, so the pronunciation is still a bit 'bald-white-Bollywood-villain-circa-1981'... but at least my 3-year-old is finally starting to speak/sing in full Hindi sentences! It's a major step forward from a year ago, when I began this quest. I wanted to share some tips as well as songs and books that have helped along the way. Hope you find them useful. And of course these some of these ideas would work for any language, not just Hindi!
HINDI HAMESHAN
I've realized profoundly that the one sure way to teach your child a language - no matter what the household language (ours is English) - is to speak it all the time! Consistency works. If they understand Hindi, but answer back in English... stick to your guns and carry on speaking in Hindi. I find that repeating whatever my son has just said back to him in Hindi has an extremely positive effect. Not only does it show him that I'm listening, but it also reinforces Hindi words in a way that is very organic.
Bribes work too. So if your child asks for something, explain that he'll only get it if s/he asks in Hindi. Use the opportunity to teach them a new word, phrase or sentence. 'Please Mama, seb dedo.'
Not to mention that re-phrasing things constantly in Hindi also goes a long way to improving my own skills and confidence.
And if you can sneak in a Hindi word for an object first, they'll be guaranteed to use it! My son still uses 'paani' for water, 'baarish' for rain, 'ni-ni' for sleep, 'Chanda mama' for moon, and 'shu-shu' for pee-pee because he learned the Hindi words before the English.
Praise works too!! So an encouraging 'Shahbaash!' 'Bahut achcha!' or 'Arre wah!' goes a long way.
