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    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

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    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

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      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      Safarnama-e-Urdu: Tracing the origins and journey of the language in Delhi

      inOur Cultural Heritage
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      The sub-continent celebrates Urdu Day on November 9. It is time to clear the air around Urdu and give it its rightful place.

      Updated: Nov 09, 2017 14:16 IST

      By Etti Bali

      “Ye ‘nanak’ ki ye ‘Khusraw’ ki ‘daya-shankar’ ki boli hai 

      ye diwali ye baisakhi ye id-ul-fitr holi hai 

      magar ye dil ki dhadkan aaj-kal dil ki jalan kyun hai 

      watan mein be-watan kyun hai”
      This is the language of Nanak, Khusrao and Daya Shankar

      This is Diwali, Baisakhi, Eid-ul-Fitr and Holi

      Why has this heartbeat become a cause of heart burn?

      Why is it in exile in its own country?
      These lines by poet Manzar Bhopali encapsulate the uncertainty Urdu, a part of the Hindostani language spoken in north India, is going through. Urdu, which literally translates to Lashkar (army) took birth in Hindostan under the influence of Persian and Arabic languages brought in by various invaders. It was also influenced by the dialects and regional languages spoken in areas bordering Delhi. As the sub-continent observes Urdu Day today, we trace its history, journey and its current status in our society.
      “Till the end of the 18th century, all official documents were in Persian. But with the downfall of the Mughal empire, Urdu became more common. The British made Urdu the official language around 1830s, and till 1947, Urdu was the medium of instruction in schools,” says Abdul Aziz, former Urdu professor at Zakir Hussain Delhi College.
      Historian and author Rana Safvi, who translated Zahir Dehlvi’s Dastan-e-Ghadar, says that Urdu had become a representative of the fight for independence. “Urdu was closely involved with the struggle for freedom. The Progressive Writers’ Movement (1936) relied heavily on the language. An awakening spread that Urdu needs to be taken beyond gham-e-jaana (lamenting for the beloved) and used as a unifying tool for the reformation of society,” she says.

      It is interesting to note that “Dilli was called the Urdū-yi Muʿallā —exalted camp, and the language was referred to as Zabān-i Urdū-yi Muʿallā — the language of the exalted camp,” she adds.

      The sprawling Urdu Bazar, as seen from the minaret of Jama Masjid. ( Shivam Saxena/HT )

      What happened with the Partition? With mass displacement and division of land and assets, language also had to pay a price. “The fight between languages began around 1830. Then, in the 1920s, came the dividing forces of All India Muslim League and Indian National Congress. The final nail in the coffin was when Pakistan declared Urdu its national language. This pushed people in India to completely do away with Urdu. It became a victim of communal politics,” explains Aziz.

      Even colleges in the city were major centres for Indo-Aryan languages, but it changed after 1947. “Before Partition, St Stephen’s, Hindu and Sri Ram College for Commerce were the biggest centres of Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit. Now, the departments remain only in registers. Even if students opt for these courses, colleges have to invite ad hoc faculty members, as there are not enough professors,” says Aziz, who has authored three books.

      Here, the question of viability of Urdu arises. How to preserve the language? “The need to preserve history and culture seems to fall on deaf ears because the way we have been told stories is really boring and conventional,” says artist Nasheet Shadani. Through his initiative Ishq Urdu, he strives to modernise the language so that it reaches the younger generation in a way they relate with. “It is time to re-invent storytelling. Social media platforms give us the opportunity to tell stories in new and interesting ways,” he says. His page on Facebook has over 250K followers, 75% of whom belong to the age group of 13-24 years. “The purpose of this page is to talk to this younger crowd,” he says.

      Ishq Urdu, a social media platform, helps contemporise the language. 

      Language and literature fests are also aiding the cause. “Festivals like Jashn-e-Rekhta and Jashn-e-Adab are helping in reviving the language. People are speaking it, and also reading it in Devanagari and Roman scripts. There’s also a rising interest among people to learn the script,” says Safvi.
      The quest to trace the origin of the language takes us right inside the heart of Old Delhi, Urdu Bazar. Once a flourishing hub for publishers, now, only a handful of them remain. At Maktaba Jamia, a publishing unit established in the 1920s, AK Zaidi sits next to a bookshelf lined with Urdu titles. He takes care of the administrative work at the publishing house, and says that the demand for Urdu language books has gone up in the recent years. “Many youngsters, including non-Muslim readers, are asking for authors and poets like Munawwar Rana, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Makhdoom, Majaz Lakhnawi and Ismat Chughtai. They are learning the Urdu script so that they can read better,” he says. Like culture, language, he feels, cannot be claimed by anyone in particular. “Zubaan kisi ki jaageer nahi hoti; Urdu toh paida hi Hindustan mein hui thi. (No one has ownership over Urdu; it was born in Hindostan),” he says.

      Moving on to one of the oldest publishing house in the area, Kutub Khana Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu (established in 1939), we discover that only seven such shops remain in the area — out of the original 64. “A business sense crept in and when people started thinking in terms of profits and losses, it made them move on to better avenues,” says Nizamuddin, sitting cosily in the 100-year-old building that houses his shop. At the height of its popularity, the bazar used to be lit with mushairas and mehfils, and poets of the likes of Rahat Indori would visit. “They still do, but it’s not like it used to be. There was a time when Munshi Premchand visited our shop. Those people have moved on,” he says.

      A man walks up to him, asking for a copy of Panj Surah, a religious book. Nizamuddin enquires, in chaste Urdu, what language and size does he want the book in — “Urdu, Arabi, Hindi? Chota, darmiyana, bada?” It is very difficult, almost unperceivable, to imagine what the language of the city would have been if not for Urdu. We have heard these words before, and probably used them, never realising that the lines are blurred when it comes to Hindi and Urdu. No one can ever say where one ends and the other begins.

      http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/safarnama-e-urdu-tracing-the-origins-and-journey-of-the-language-in-delhi/story-gx3Fuqs8v6KqKXdztacYgN.html

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.