Urdu – a
rich but dying language
The other day when I had personally gone to collect
the newspaper to see the particular news in the newspaper which are not coming
at my place, the vender was saying to one of the old timer Urdu language lover
– Uncle, sorry, I get only five copies and all have been sold including mine
which I keep for reading myself.
The reason behind vanishing of Urdu paper from the
stalls is due to the fact that our young generation has distanced itself from
Urdu, especially Urdu literature, is something to lament over.
Sometimes, I too love reading the Urdu as I had
learned this rich and sweet language from Language Department evening classes
going on for the last more than four decades and I am one of the student passed
Urdu Amoz class, under the guiding teacher of Janab Ram Nath Chopra Ji
dedicated to Urdu teaching.
But after
the above incident and coming across a touching phrase by Khurshid Afsar
Bisrani - “Ab urdu kya hai, ek kothay ki tawaif hai, mazaa
har ek leta hai, mohabbat kam kartey hain.” (What is Urdu, but a
prostitute of a brothel, everyone takes advantage, but only few truly love
her.) – prompted me to pen down my feelings regarding the state of Urdu in my
view.
Thanks to
my upbringing, with my father, being fond of reading and writing Urdu, I
have lived in an environment, where reading has always been appreciated and we
have our own library at home with few books and magazines in Urdu which has
always inspired me.
Since
Urdu not being an official language in school, college or university, the 4thgeneration
is not at all, neither aware nor interested in this well-off language.
My father
has left two diaries written in Urdu containing notes and various quotes – one
of it has been got translated and other is under process. I quote here few
sentences which are a world of words – Mandir, Maszid, Gurdwara ya
Church mein ja kar, agar aap pehle se behtar ban kar nahi aate to, tumhara jana
befazool hai – Your going to Mandir, Maszid, Gurdwara or Church is
futile, if you don’t become better than before.
Another
two lines sentence looks to be odd in the first line but it has a great message
in the second line. It goes like this – Ilm and Adab, dono khokhle hain
yadi unme amal nahi hai – Both, knowledge and civility are hollow, if
they are not practical.
After
reading this third one, I have never compromise with the labour class while
making payment as per his demand. It is – Mazdoor ki mazdoori, us ke
paseena sukhne se pehle ada kar deni chahiye – the labour of the
labourer, should be paid well before the drying of his sweat.
By
skipping out on Urdu, this exemplifies the value our current generation gives
to Urdu and our children are unable to understand some of the greatest works in
Urdu literature, such as that of Iqbal or Amir Khusro.
But
sometimes, while quoting the English translations of Iqbal’s poetry, which
often takes away its essence and the following verse, beautifully explains my
whole argument : “Tumhari tehzeeb apney khanjar se aap hi khudkushi
karey gi, Jo shakh-e-nazuk pe aashiyana baney ga, na paidaar ho ga” -
Your culture will destruct itself with its own dagger, A nest built on a
fragile branch shall never be stable.
No nation
has ever progressed by working in someone else’s language and Orya Maqbool Jan
has rightly quoted, “You can learn in someone else’s language, but you cannot
be creative in someone else’s language.
At the
same time, it would be great to see if praise for Urdu is not limited to
just its poetry, but also extends to its simple, humble words that we use in
our everyday lives.
In fact, parents and our
schooling system that encourage students to speak in English, at all times are
the reason our kids find it difficult to cope with the demands of the Urdu
language. They develop a sense of loathing towards it, distance
themselves from it and anyone who does in fact enjoy Urdu is looked down
upon.
Frankly speaking, there are many
Indian languages which are fast losing their importance and for all purposes
whether routine, legal, educational, higher educational etc. English has become
almost mandatory.
My intention is not to downplay
the importance of English in any sense. Rather to say that detaching ourselves
from Urdu has cost us heavily. Studies on education systems have
repeatedly shown that primary education of all subjects must be given in the
mother tongue as the child is best able to absorb it at that age. However,
because we have not done so, due to our inferiority complex, we have failed to
develop even a liking for Urdu among our current generation.
What has been dying is not the
language, but the credit given to the language. Pakistani soap operas,
broadcast on Zindagi channel are helping to revive the langauge that got lost
due to partition because holding a mushiaras, quawalis further helping Urdu
make a comeback. In fact, the languages are closely linked to and depend on
each other for their survival.
I feel that Urdu the most
beautiful and cultured language of India, still spoken by millions of Indians,
is dying a slow death. If it is not promoted, as one of the our major
language, it will be die in a couple of generations when there will be no one
who can read and write it and no one who will be interested in its nuances.
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