We Owe it to Our Language
T. N. Dhar 'Kundan'
The Language, Origin and Development
'Koshur' is Kashmiri, the language of
Kashmiris called 'Kaeshir'. Although there are two different views about
its origin, yet a dispassionate and scientific analysis will show that it had
developed from the language of the Vedas. Thereafter the syntax, vocabulary and
idiom of Sanskrit enriched it. During the Pathan and Mughal rule, when Persian
became the court language, it adopted a number of Persian words. During the rule
of the Sikhs, the language of the Punjab also influenced this language and
later, with the adoption of Urdu as the official language by the Dogra rulers,
it had to borrow from Urdu language as well as from English. There are
references in various chronicles that during the Buddhist period some religious
books were written in local Prakrit, which has to be Kashmiri but these books
are extinct although their translations are available. The initial glimpse of
this language is had from the verses written about the love life of the queen of
Raja Jayapeeda during 8th century and in the Sanskrit work, 'Setu
Bandh'of King Praversen, who established Srinagar as the capital of the
valley. This language was then referred to as 'Sarva gochar Bhasha' or
the language of the masses. The Sanskrit writers used to write in this language
side by side with Sanskrit. But a systematic literature in Kashmiri starts from
'Mahanay Prakash' written in thirteenth century by Shitikanth in the same
Vakh form, which was used later by Lal Ded. Kashmiris had evolved a script of
their own and this is called Sharada script. It largely follows the pattern of
the Devanagari script in the matter of the alphabets and combination of vowel
sounds with consonants and appears to have been developed from the old Brahmi
script. Unfortunately this script did not get official recognition for obvious
reasons and has gone in disuse. It may not be out of place to mention that even
Ghulam Mohd. Mehjoor, the eminent poet was in favour of retaining the Sharada
script. The official script is based on Persian script with some modifications.
Because of a large number of vowel sounds and shades in this language this
script hardly meets the requirement. It is time that the alternative script
based on Devanagari alphabets, with two or three modifiers is also given
recognition. It may be mentioned that such a script is currently used by all the
publications and journals issued from Jammu and Delhi. Lately two of the
modifiers have been replaced so that the Kashmiri language can be fed into a
computer also with ease. The Devanagari script thus evolved will be
scientifically accurate and viable from technological point of view also.
The Literature
Spiritual Literature : Kashmiri language is very rich in
literature, particularly in poetry. The prominent forms in which poetry has been
written have been taken from Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian and English. From Sanskrit
we have adopted Vakh and Shruk or 'Vakya and Shloka'
as also Vatsun or 'Vachan'. Hindi has given us Geet and Urdu
Ghazal, Qita, Nazm and Rubai. From English we have taken Sonnet and Free verse.
Lal Ded and Nunda Rishi of the fourteenth century are two great names who have
written mystic and spiritual quatrains. Our poetry starts systematically from
Lal Ded whose Vakhs were first translated into Sanskrit by Bhaskaracharya and
then into English and many other languages. These Vakhs are dipped in Shaiva
philosophy and enjoin upon us to go inwards in order to attain the reality. 'Gorun
dopnam kunuy vatsun, nebra dopnam ander atsun my preceptor advised me in
nutshell to go from without to within.' Nunda Rishi wrote Shruk, which are
replete with mysticism. He has praised Lal Ded in these words; 'Tas Padman
Porechi Lale, Yem gale amreth chyev, Shiv Tshorun thali thale, tyuth me var
ditam Deevo Lala of Padmanpura drank the nectar and perceived Shiva in
everything. O God, give me a similar boon (so that I see the Divine in the
similar way).' These two poets are great names in our spiritual and mystic
poetry. Whereas Lal Ded has propounded Jnana and Shaiva philosophy in her Vakhs,
Nunda Rishi has put forth the mystic ideology in his Shrukhs. All the Kashmiris
hold both in high esteem. During his itinerary, Nunda Rishi reached village
Tsrar. He is reported to have spontaneously uttered these words there, rhyming
with the name of the place, 'Tsrar Vola zuva yati prar let me wait here
till the last,' and it is here that he left his mortal frame.
Romantic Literature : While this spiritual writing must have
continued as a sub-stream, in the sixteenth century we suddenly see emergence of
a new theme in the poetry of Zoon, later known as Habba Khatoon. She has sung
songs of love, separation, and ill treatment at the hands of the in laws and
other human feelings. The Kashmiri poetry thus came down from the spiritual
heights to the mundane human level. Her lament was, 'Varivyan saet vara
chhasno chara kar myon malino ho I am not at peace with my in-laws, would
somebody come to my rescue from my father's side?' Arnimal further strengthens
this human romantic and love poetry in 18th century. Her diction and
selection of words and the musical meters used by her are exquisitely beautiful.
She had profound knowledge of classical music and is believed to have rearranged
the Ragas in use for the 'Sufiana Kalam'. For the first time she uses what in
Sanskrit are called 'Shabda-alankaras' or decoration of the words, like
alliteration and internal rhyming. An example would show her master
craftsmanship. 'Matshi thap ditsnam nyandri hatsi matsi, matshi matsha-band
sanith gom, vanta vyas vony kus kas patsi, vunyub karith gom I was in deep
slumber when he caught hold of my wrist. The gold wristband cut into the very
flesh of my wrist. Friend! Tell me who is to be trusted in these circumstances.
He has left me crust fallen.' Rupa Bhawani is another great name in the
spiritual poetry. Her Vakhs are full of Shaiva philosophy and the language is
Sanskritized. She lived a hundred years in 17th century and is
regarded as an incarnation of Goddess Sharika. There are a number of anecdotes
about her interaction with Muslim Sufi saints. In one such encounter with 'Shah
Qalandar' it is narrated that the two were on the opposite banks of a river. The
Sufi called her, 'Rupa (literally Silver) come over to my side, I shall
make you Son (literally Gold). She replied, 'Why don't you come over so
that I make you Mokhta (literally a pearl as also emancipated)'.
Persian Influence : By this time the Persian influence had gone
deep into our literature. Poets started writing 'Masnavis' or long fables in
verse. The prominent poet of this period has been Mohmud Gami, who lived during
18th and 19th centuries. The Persian stories adopted by
him included those of Laila Majnun, Yusuf Zulaikha, Shirin Farhad, etc. Yusuf
Zulaikha, which has been translated in German language, is the most famous of
his compositions. He no doubt introduced the Masnavi style but it reached its
zenith at the hands of Maqbool Kralawari. This 19th century poet has
written a monumental masnavi, 'Gulrez,' which has become very popular with the
masses. From here onwards three distinct streams of poetry continued to flow
unabated, the spiritual-mystic, the devotional and the romantic. There is a long
list of Sufi poets, who espoused the cause of purity and piety as also mutual
brotherhood between various religious groups. These included Rahman Dar, Shamas
Faqir, Sochha Kral, Nyama Sahib and a host of others. Their philosophy was
monotheistic and they laid stress on ethical and moral values. Their poetry
shows a deep influence of Advaita Philosophy. 'Ognuy sapan to dognyar travo,
pana nishi pan parzanavo lo Trust in oneness and shun duality; try to know
thy real self.' 'Ognuy soruy dognyar naba, haba yi chhui bahanay Truth is
one and there is no duality; all else is a fallacy.' In the second stream of
devotional poets the names of Prakash Ram, Krishna Razdan and Parmanand are
prominent. While the first two wrote devotional poems called 'Leela' in praise
of Shri Rama, the last named was a devout of Shri Krishna. 'Aaras manz
atsaevay, vigne zan natsaevay Let us join the circle of dancers and dance
like nymphs in ecstasy for Shri Krishna. Parmanand, who lived in 19th
century, has written a memorable long poem wherein he has compared the human
actions with tilling of the land right from ploughing up to the time of reaping
the harvest. 'Karma bhumikayi dizi dharmuk bal, santoshi byali bhavi aananda
phal your actions are the land where you must put in the fertilizer fo
righteousness. Sow the seed of contentment and you will reap the harvest of
suprems bliss.' Prakash Ram wrote the first Ramayana in Kashmiri and captioned
it 'Ram Avtar Tsaryet.' In the romantic stream of poetry, the next
important poet has been Rasul Meer. He has written beautiful love poems in
musical meters. His famous poem starts with these words, 'Rinda posh maal
gindne drayi lolo, shubi shabash chani pot tshayi lolo My beloved has come
out to play in an ecstatic mood, praise be to her shadow that follows her.' The
description in the next line is noteworthy. 'Raza hanziyani naaz kyah aenzini
gardan, ya lllahi chashmi bad nishi rachhtan, kam kyah gatshi chani baargahi
lolo The gracious one has a neck like a swan. God! Save her from evil eye. By
that your grace will be no poorer.' Rasul Meer was the first poet who addressed
his poems to a female beloved. The earlier poets had made a male their love,
perhaps because they were pointing to the Divine and not the human.
Modern Period : The twentieth century is the period when the
Kashmiri language made an all round progress. The three streams that were
flowing continued and some new trends also developed. Master Zinda Kaul is a
great name among the mystic poets of this period. His book 'Sumran' won him the
Sahitya Academy award. His suggestive poems are par excellence. A short poem of
his reads, 'Tyamber pyayam me khaermanas, alava hyotun kanzael vanas, taer ti
ma laej phaelnas, dil dodum jigar tatyom, krakh vaetsh zi naar ha A spark
fell on the haystack, the entire jungle caught fire. It didn't take long to
spread. My heart burnt and the liver heated up shouts came from all sides, fire!
Fire! Fire! 'He has described God in these words : 'Kaem tam kar tamat bonah
pot tshayi doorey dyuthmut, sanyev kanav tee buzmut, saenis dilas tee byuthmut
Someday somewhere somebody has seen His shadow from a distance. We have heard it
with our ears and our heart is convinced of His existence.' Ahad Zargar is
another important poet of this stream who has written masterly poems on
mysticism and spirituality. The immortal poet Mahjoor, who is called Wordsworth
of Kashmiri language, has carried the romantic poetry to new heights. He was
acclaimed by no less a personality than Rabindranath Tagore. The Hindi poet
Devendra Satyarthi, collecting folk songs of different Indian languages was
aghast to find that Mehjoor's poems were being sung by peasants in the fields
just like folk songs during his life time. He had this message for his fellow
country men : 'hyund chhu shakar dodh chhu muslim ahli deen, dodh ta shakar
milanaeviv pan vaen Hindus are like sugar and Muslims like milk, let us mix the
two (to create a harmonious society)'. Another great name of this period is that
of Abdul Ahad Azad. He did not live long but left and indelible mark on our
literature. He was virtually the harbinger of the progressive poetry in
Kashmiri. His long poem 'Daryav' or the river is a masterpiece. He had riducled
romance in the face of poverty, want and hunger. 'Madanvaro lagay paeree, ba
no zara ashqa bemari.Tse saet gaetsh fursatha aasen, dilas gaetsh farhatha aasen,
me gaemets nael naadari, ba no zara ashqa bemari My love! Romance is not my
cup of tea. It needs leisure and peace of mind. I have none and I am crestfallen
due to my poverty. So no romance for me please.'
After 1947 : Post Independence period is a period of
renaissance for an all round development of literature in Kashmiri. Kashmiri
poets were influenced by the philosophy of Marx and the progressive literature
of other languages, notably that of Urdu. While Allama Iqbal was the ideal for
many, Faiz, Jaffri and other Urdu poets were heroes for others and they took a
cue from their writings. Whereas most of the mystic poetry was full of obscure
and suggestive idiom, the poetry of this new genre of poets was frank and
forthright; sometimes sounding like slogans. In response to the Pakistani tribal
raid, the writers formed Kashmir Cultural Front in defence of inter-ethnic
harmony and as an affront to religious fanaticism. The literature created could
not remain unaffected by the political and social uprising. Earlier in 1945
Mirza Arif had started a cultural organisation by the name of 'Bazme adab'. Many
enthusiastic writers got involved with this organization. Mirza Arif himself is
a well-known name for his Kashmiri Rubaiyas, which are crisp and meaningful. The
prominent poets of this new movement are Dina Nath Nadim, Rehman Rahi and Amin
Kamil. Nadim revolutionized the entire face of poetry. He used pure Kashmiri
diction, gave statement to the desire and aspiration of the common man and
raised his voice strongly in defence of peace. He wrote operas and sonnets for
the first time and his poems have been translated into many languages. One of
his immortal poems against wars and strife is 'Mya chham aash pagahaech,
pagah sholi duniyah I have full faith in tomorrow for tomorrow will bring
new light to the entire world.' He is the trendsetter of progressive and
humanistic poetry in Kashmir. His operas, 'Bomber ta Yambarzal' 'Neeki ta
baedi' etc are the milestones in our literature. Rahi is another Sahitya
Academy awardee, whose 'Nav rozi Saba' shows the influence of Iqbal very
clearly. He has also made a rich contribution to Kashmiri poetry. He sang, 'Yaer
mutsraev taer barnyan, Maer maend phyur mas malryan, vaer zahir vaets aaman ta
lolo The benefactor has thrown the doors open and filled wine into the big
pitchers; It appears that the common man will get his share now.' Kamil has
written short stories and poetry both. His diction is rustic and meters musical.
'Khot sorma sranjan tala razan bhav bahar aav The price of the items of
make-up for ladies and the ornaments have shot up, it appears the spring has
arrived.' This period produced a galaxy of poets who contributed to the
enrichment of our literature. Noor Mohd. Roshan, Arjun Dev Majboor, Ghulam
Rasool Santosh, Moti Lal Saqi, Chaman Lal Chaman, Prem Nath Premi, Makhan Lal
Bekas, Ghulam Nabi Firaq, Vasudev Reh, Ghulam Nabi Khayal were active within the
valley and outside there were B.N. Kaul, Shambu Nath Bhatt Haleem and myself who
wrote on a variety of subjects.
Prose writing also got a fillip during this period and continues unabated to
date. The master short story writers include Akhtar Mohiuddin, Som Nath Zutshi,
Ali Mohd. Lone, Umesh, Bansi Nirdosh, Hriday Kaul Bharati, Deepak Kaul, Hari
Krishna Kaul, Santosh and Kamil. They gave statement to the emotions and
feelings of the common man and picturized the life of the inhabitants of the
valley. Akhtar, Lone, Kamil and Hari Krishna have written novels also and given
a lead in this direction. Radio Kashmir and later the Door Darshan Kendra at
Srinagar provided an opportunity and thereby played an important role in
encouraging these writers. The Academy of Arts and Culture has also been
publishing the works of these artists and anthologies, which inspires other
young writers to try their pen. Moti Lal Kyomu has been a pioneer in the field
of drama and Pushkar Bhan in satirical radio plays. Hari Krishna Kaul is also a
successful drama writer. There are a host of other writers whom I have not
mentioned for fear of digressing from the central point. My apologies to them
since I hold all of them in high esteem and recognize their contribution to the
Kashmiri literature. I am trying to make a point that our language is rich in
literature. There have been some translations into other languages but it is not
enough. Some of the names that come to one's mind, who have done pioneering work
in popularizing Kashmiri literature are Professors Jai Lal Kaul, Nand Lal Talib,
T.N. Raina, P.N. Pushp, K.N. Dhar, as also B.N. Parimoo, Moti Lal Saqi and R.K.
Rehbar. There is a pressing need for translating the selected works from
Kashmiri into other Indian and foreign languages so that the readers and
scholars in the entire country will be acquainted with its depth and vastness.
Kashmiri is the beloved mother tongue of all the Kashmiris irrespective of their
creed or faith. Both the communities, the Hindus and the Muslims have produced
poets, writers and artists of repute. It is, however, a pity that the language
has not been receiving the official patronage that it deserves.
After the Holocaust. Post 1990 period has been a period of
turmoil, which brought shame to the composite culture of the valley. The Hindus
had to migrate to Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country to escape the
wrath of the foreign provoked and controlled militancy. During the last decade
of their exile Kashmiri writers have authored a lot of literature. In this
literature there is a lament of losing their hearth and homes, a craving to go
back to their roots and pain and anguish at the way in which politics and narrow
aggrandizement have cut at the very roots of their rich culture and shattered
their proud tradition. The worst casualty has been the mutual trust,
relationship and understanding between people of different faiths. My lament in
the following verse may not, therefore, be out of place :
"Byeyi vaeth deenaek ta dharmaek fitnai, Byeyi gav byon alfas nish
bey.
Gotsh na yi ravun hasil kor yus, Dashi thaev thaev astanan manz."
(Again we are witnessing conflict and confrontation in the name of religions.
Again one is getting separated from the other. I am afraid we may not lose all
that we had achieved after offering prayers repeatedly at the shrines and holy
places.)
The Task Ahead
Language is not only a means of communication, but it also gives a distinct
identity to the people who inherit that. We have inherited this rich language
and this gives us a distinct identity as Kashmiris. Our rich culture is
treasured in the Vakhs of Lal Ded, writings of Roopa Bhawani, Leelas of
Parmananda and Krishna Razdan and our desires and aspirations have got statement
in the writings of the galaxy of poets and writers that our comunity has
produced. It is in our interests, therefore, to preserve this language, keep it
alive by using it and enrich it by new and fresh literature. There is a
conscious attempt made by certain quarters of vested interests to distort our
heritage and to belittle our rich culture. In the name of research they have
been putting forth obnoxious theories linking our past with unknown lands and
trying to prove that we had no connection with our motherland, India. Due to
narrow religious considerations, communal bias and political reasons alien
languages are being given preference over our own mother tongue. Keeping the
Kashmiri language and literature intact in its pristine glory is tantamount to
preserving Hindu culture, Hindu past of Kashmir and Hindu ancestry of the
Kashmiri people. It is, therefore, not in their interests not to protect and
preserve the glorious past of this language. But it is very much in our
interests to do so and it can be done in three ways.
The first and foremost way is to use Kashmiri in day to day conversation and
correspondence with all Kashmiri knowing friends and relatives. Purity of
diction need not be enforced, but let us use our mother tongue. For example why
not 'Shokravar' instead of 'Jumma,' 'Shyun or Neni' instead of 'Maaz,' 'Siriyi'
instead of 'Akhtab' and so on. Likewise on the occasion of marriages and 'Yoni'
our ladies should invariably sing 'Vanavun' in their own style which gives the
fragrance of 'Isbund.' This vanavun is based on the recitation of the Sama Veda.
The second task is to teach our children our language, in the Devanagari script,
either at home or collectively by arranging weekly classes at a common place, be
it Kashmir Bhawans, local temples or community halls or through a correspondence
course. There will be any number of volunteers available to teach youngsters in
India and abroad. All that is needed is to defray their travel expenses. This
can be done by raising funds at the rate of a paltry sum of Rs. 20 or 30 per
month per family in India and a corresponding suitable amount in the foreign
countries. One will not be surprised to find donors even for this item of
expenditure. There is no dearth of people who are willing to serve the cause of
preserving our culture in any form possible. Care has to be taken, however, that
there is uniformity in the script used in correspondence and in teaching during
these classes. I suggest Devanagari script as adopted by the Koshur Samachar
with the changes announced in its July 2000 issue. The third most important
action would be for our scholars to be vigilant about the results of the so
called 'research' being conducted by the 'well-wishers' of Kashmiri and rebut
all the distortions, falsehood and baseless conclusions. This rebuttal should be
based on facts volunteers available to teach youngsters in India and abroad. All
that is needed is to defray their travel expenses. This can be done by raising
funds at the rate of a paltry sum of Rs. 20 or 30 per month per family in India
and a corresponding suitable amount in the foreign countries. One will not be
surprised to find donors even for this item of expenditure. There is no dearth
of people who are willing to serve the cause of preserving our culture in any
form possible. Care has to be taken, however, that there is uniformity in the
script used in correspondence and in teaching during these classes. I suggest
Devanagari script as adopted by the Koshur Samachar with the changes announced
in its July 2000 issue. The third most important action would be for our
scholars to be vigilant about the results of the so called 'research' being
conducted by the 'well-wishers' of Kashmiri and rebut all the distortions,
falsehood and baseless conclusions. This rebuttal should be based on facts and
figures, well reasoned and cogent so that the enlightened readership of Kashmir
and outside can draw their own valid conclusions. We cannot afford to allow
obnoxious statements like 'Arnimal never existed' or 'Lal Ded was mentally
deranged' or 'Kashmiri mystic poetry was influenced by Sufis' etc, go
unchallenged. The facts are that Arnimal was a great poetess, who gave shape to
the ragas for Sufiana Kalam and wrote beautiful lyrics. Lal Ded was an
emancipated Shaiva saint and the 'Adi Kavitri' of the Kashmiri language. The
Sufis were greatly influenced by non-duelist philosophy of the Kashmir Shaiva
Darshan, which is apparent from their compositions. We are aware that many
Samitis and Associations and individuals are doing a good job in these areas.
Many Kashmiris have adopted Kashmiri language for Invitation and Greeting cards,
but this is not enough. There has to be a movement and this work needs to be
done with a missionary zeal and in coordination with each other.
[The author is the Editor of "Koshur Samachar", English
Section;
Mailing Address : C 2/2B, Lawrence Road, New Delhi-110035.]
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