Ironical, isn’t it? The fact that I am writing about one language in another language. Can’t help it. Even if I tried to write it in Kashmiri, I doubt if I would be able to. Even if I somehow managed to, I would wonder how many people would be the audience. For the sake of reaching a larger audience, English it will be!
To begin with, here is a trivia, an easy one, seemingly. What do you call the Sun in Kashmiri? Or Sky or Water? No, it is not Aftaab or Aasman or Aab. Strange enough, right? What if you came to know that these are not originally Kashmiri words!No surprises, it is a routine aslanguages often exhibit a tendency to accommodate new and foreign words and with time, those words tend to form an integral part of that language. Although, it is always desirable that a language is preserved in its original pure form especially when it comes to the use of common words, the ‘contamination’ is almost unavoidable.However, it becomes concerning when the use of a language slumps to the extent that people either fail to converse in or understand the language. It is increasingly disconcerting when the younger generation can not get its head around the most basic elements of the language.
Kashmir, as people know it, is not only about enchanting landscapes, pleasant seasons or the world famous hospitality, there is more to the identity of Kashmir of which Kashmiri, the language, forms an important part. Kashmiri is as pleasant as the spring’s greenery, as engrossing as the summer’s warmth, as alluring as the autumn’s sparkle and as calm as the winter’s nights. However, as things stand at present, it is a second or probably the third language in its own native land. A language with a rich past having given an identity to many literary gems over the years, is faced up with a daunting challenge threatening its very existence. Might sound like sensationalization, but by the very looks of it, it has faced aperceptibledownturn in its use. It is evident from the fact that given the current situation, it is a rarity to hear young people converse in Kashmiri. From parties and weddings to the conversations over the phone, the language seems to have almost lost its relevance.
One of the major reasons for the sharp decline in the use of Kashmiri, as it appears, is an inferiority complex associated with this language due to which children are taught to converse in English and Urdu from the very beginning of their lives. In this process, they barely understand, let alone speak in Kashmiri as they age. While people from many places in our country take pride in conversing in their mother tongue, the situation in Kashmir is completely the opposite. We are living in times when the Kashmiri lullabies sung by mothers to their children are being replaced, under the guise of modernization, by rhymes of other languages.
This has not happened without reason though. In the present times, parents have been made to believe, by the parameters set up by the society, that Urdu and English speaking children are astute and quick-witted in comparison to a child speaking Kashmiri. It goes to the extent that a child preferring to speak in Kashmiri is considered to be the one with a grim and gloomy future and ata disadvantage compared to those who speak Urdu or English. The stigma runs deep into and across the societal set up. The interviews taken at the time of admission of a child to a school is an archetype of how people are made to believe in this self-orchestrated, inordinate rating of languages. The hysteria around Urdu and English is testified by the fact that many a time, the children with fluent English and Urdu speaking skills are presented as the models of a school. This unwarranted exaggeration of the importance of a few languages over the mother tongue coupled with societal hyperbole leaves parents in a catch-22 situation. Make no mistake about it, learning and being able to converse in different languages is not a handicap but an advantage and it in no way should be discouraged. However, when the process of learning other languages results in turning a cold shoulder to the mother tongue, it is not justified.
The current system of education in the Valley does not help the cause either where, on the pretext of competition, Kashmiri is always a step too late when compared with Urdu and English. Kashmiri, as a subject, if at all taught in schools, does not get the same attention as other subjects. Our Seminars, debates and writing competitionsbarely, if ever, consider Kashmiri as the medium and in the process, many school going children have to break a sweat reading or writing Kashmiri. From sign boards to informative graffiti on the walls and from pamphlets to speeches, Kashmiri seems to have vanished entirely. This is in contrariety to what ideally the situation should be.
Kashmiri people, especially the younger generation, have over the yearsshown a keen predilection towards the literature of languages like Urdu and English. From William Shakespeare and John Keats to Ghalib and Jaun Elia, from Friedrich Nietzsche to Mohammad Iqbal and from Charles Dickens to Saadat Hasan Manto, Kashmiri people have had a great taste for literature, so to say. However, unfortunately, this vehemence somehow fades away when it comes to reading and understanding the plethora of genres related to Kashmiri. The messages in the poetry of Sheikhul Alam in no way fall short of mesmerizing its readers while the works of Rahman Rahi leave one in an awe. The poetic prowess of Haba khatun successfully captivates its audience leaving them spellbound while that of Rasul Mir opens the gates to a journey of romance.The current scenario, however, exposes the stark alienation from the language and it will need a herculean effort to make the new generations to adopt it.
Of late, thanks to social media, as it appears, Kashmiri has got some much needed attention. Though, as we may all agree, a language should not need social media for being relevant, howbeit, in the dire straits as the language is in, any step towards the revivalis welcome. The medium of music has over the years been very potent in connecting with the audience, old and the young. However, it needs to be understood that it would need more than just social media to wake the language up from its comatose state and to imbibe a sense of responsibility that people have towards preserving the language.A collaborative approach involving all the stakeholders is absolutely necessary to bring about any upgradationin the current state of affairs. It is about time that parents, especially mothers, rise up to the occasion to shun the stigma surrounding the languageand play their part in bringing this dear language of ours out of the misery.Seminars, debates, prose and poetry competitions at school, district and State levels in Kashmiri shall form an important part of the revival among the younger generation.Public libraries should have the works of prominent Kashmiri authors in abundance for young and enthusiastic readers. Most of all, the culture of conversations in Kashmiri among family members, friends and relatives should be encouraged to bring about noticeable improvements.
While some may argue that a language is merely a medium of communication and the words used do not matter as long as the message is communicated, it in no way implies that the purity of a language cannot and should not be maintained. When it comes to Kashmiri, or any local language for that matter, the local people are its ambassadors and the onus lies on them to preserve the language, as far as possible, in its original form. Languages do not merely represent a form of communication; they form an integral part of the culture and identity. It is therefore imperative upon each generation to pass on this heritage to the next generation, uncontaminated and pure. The sharp decline in the use of Kashmiri is a concern that the people of the valleyneed to address collectively and prove themselves to be true ambassadors of the rich heritage that Kashmir possesses. Lest we be called Unfaithfuls!
(Author is a Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Department of Animal Husbandry, Jammu and Kashmir. Feedback: [email protected])
