Urdu in Search of a Home - Kishore Srinivas Raju -- Re-Markings March 2025

 

Urdu in Search of a Home: Film Zabaan and the Director’s Statement

Kishore Srinivasa Raju

----------------------------------

The film Zabaan offers a narrative, located in the volatile India-Pakistan borderlands, wherein a mysterious woman, suspected of espionage, is captured by the Indian Police. She skilfully avoids revealing her identity during intense interrogations. In a twist of fate, she narrowly escapes execution and then she discloses her supernatural identity—not a person but the embodiment of a language.

After watching the film, I couldn’t resist the temptation of contacting Kishore Srinivas, the Director of the film, and congratulating him for his superlative effort in showcasing the fate of Urdu language. On my request, he instantly consented to share his views on Zabaan with Re-Markings. – Chief Editor

----------------------------------

On a rainy evening, over a cup of tea, my friend shared a story with me. It was based on a radio play he was working on. As he narrated the story in a single line, I found myself instantly intrigued. We decided to adapt it into a short film. Little did I know, this captivating tale was penned by the legendary Indian filmmaker and screenwriter, Mr. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. His authorship served as a significant inspiration for our project.

It's likely that Mr. Khwaja wrote this story in the 1950s or 60s, a tumultuous period following India's partition from Pakistan. The era was marked by border infiltrations and a surge in language purism across India. As my co-writer and I delved deeper into the story's cultural and political context, we were confronted with harsh realities. We realized that its relevance has endured over the decades, with little having changed. In fact, we felt that the story resonates as strongly today as it did 60 or 70 years ago.

Urdu, a language steeped in history, traces its roots to the Mughal courts of India, evolving as a synthesis of Persian, Arabic, Turkish and local Indian dia-lects. With a literary heritage dating back centuries, Urdu has flourished as a symbol of cultural amalgamation, offering a tapestry of poetry, prose, and artistic expression. This linguistic gem serves as a bridge between diverse communities, encapsulating the soul of South Asian literature, music, and cinema, fostering unity among its speakers.

The film sheds light on the stigma Urdu faces, particularly among the younger generation, who shy away from embracing the language. Challenges like Language shift, Educational policies, Social stigma, Media & technology has led to the marginalization or discrimination of Urdu making it less attractive to the younger generations. The threat of losing this cultural treasure prompts exploration into why Khawaja Ahmad Abbas chose to tell a story about the language against the backdrop of India's revelations.

As the narrative unfolds, the film addresses why Urdu struggles for its rightful place in the contemporary world, reflecting on societal perceptions and chan-ging dynamics leading to a decline in its usage. In the story, the suspect's interrogation becomes a metaphor for Urdu itself, grappling with identity and relevance, urging audiences to preserve Urdu's beauty before it becomes a fading echo of history.

In our Indian cinema, songwriters, literature, and more, Urdu finds expression. However, beyond these domains, the importance of Urdu is often under-estimated. Despite being integral to India's cultural fabric, Urdu faces challenges in claiming a broader significance. The film aims to shine a light on the multi-faceted contributions of Urdu beyond the realms of entertainment, emphasizing its role in shaping a shared cultural identity that transcends linguistic boun-daries.

The partition of India & Pakistan in 1947 had a profound impact on Urdu. It resulted in the division of populations, with Urdu becoming one of Pakistan's official languages and Hindi in India. Urdu found prominence in Pakistan but faced challenges in its homeland India, where Hindi emerged as dominant. Despite being a significant part of Pakistan's cultural identity, Urdu lacks a singular "home country," contributing to its diasporic nature.

Post-partition, linguistic evolution led to subtle divergence in vocabulary and script between Hindi and Urdu. Yet, both share a common linguistic base as Hindustani, remaining mutually intelligible. The geopolitical events surrounding the India-Pakistan cross border issues and civil unrest due to religious diffe-rences impacted Urdu's socio-political standing, but it endures as a symbol of shared cultural heritage, transcending political boundaries and fostering a unique identity that resonates beyond borders.

Note: The film Zabaan, produced and directed by Kishore Srinivasa Raju ends with a poem by Iqbal Ashar that sheds light on Urdu’s search for a home.  The poem “Urdu hai mera naam” (my name is Urdu) is reproduced below, sup-ported by its rendering in English.

Urdu hai mera naam

Ashar Iqbal

Urdu hai mera naam main Khusro ki paheli
Main Meer ki humraaz hoon Ghalib ki saheli

Dakkan ke Wali ne mujhe godhi me khilaya
Sauda ke qaseedon ne mera husn barrahaya
Hai Meer ki azmat ke mujhe chalna seekhaya
Main Daagh ke aangan me khili ban ke chameli

Urdu hai mera naam main Khusro ki paheli
Main Meer ki humraaz hoon Ghalib ki saheli

Ghalib ne bulandi ka safar mujhko sikhaya
Haali ne muravvat ka sabak yaad dilaya
Iqbal ne aaina_e_haq mujhko dikhaya
Momin ne sajayee mere khwabon ki haveli

Urdu hai mera naam main Khusro ki paheli
Main Meer ki humraaz hoon Ghalib ki saheli

Hai Zauk ki azmat ke diye mujhko sahare
Chakbast ki ulfat ne mere khwab saware
Fani ne sajaye meri palko pe sitare
Akbar ne rachayee meri berang hatheli

Urdu hai mera naam main Khusro ki paheli
Main Meer ki humraaz hoon Ghalib ki saheli

Kyoon mujhko banate ho ta'assub ka nishana
Mainay to kabhi khud ko musalmaan nahi mana
Dekha tha kabhi mainay bhi khushiyon ka zamana
Apne hi watan me hoon magar aaj akayli

Urdu hai mera naam main Khusro ki paheli
Main Meer ki humraaz hoon Ghalib ki saheli

[Urdu is my name and I am the mystery of Khusro.

I am the confidante of Mir, the playmate of Ghalib.

Vali, of Dakkhan nurtured me in his lap.

Sauda’s panegyrics brought out my beauty.

Mir was priveleged to teach me to walk.

And I flowered in the garden of Dagh.

 

Urdu is my name and I am the mystery of Khusro.

I am the confidante of Mir, the playmate of Ghalib.

 

Ghalib taught me flights of great vision.

Hali gave me lessons in humility.

Iqbal showed me the mirror of righteousness.

Momin gave me dreams of home and comfort.

 

Urdu is my name and I am the mystery of Khusro.

I am the confidante of Mir, the playmate of Ghalib.

 

Zauq had the privelege of supporting me.

Chakbast’s love made my dreams beautiful.

Faani brought starlight to my eyes.

Akbar coloured my palm with henna.

 

Urdu is my name and I am the mystery of Khusro.

I am the confidante of Mir, the playmate of Ghalib.

 

Why do you make me the target of bigotry?

I have never claimed to be restricted to Muslims.

I too once saw an age of happiness.

But today I am helpless in my own home.

 

Urdu is my name and I am the mystery of Khusro.

I am the confidante of Mir, the playmate of Ghalib.]

REFERENCES

Ashar, Iqbal. “Urdu hai mera naam.” https://urdushahkar.org/urdu-hai-mera-naam-iqbal-ashhar/

Zabaan. Suspense Thriller Short Film based on a story by National Award Winner, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. Six Sigma Films, 2024. Link to the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohfyG9yPF-M.

·        Kishore Srinivasa Raju is a filmmaker based in Bangalore. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he ventured into the corporate world before discovering his true calling in the art of storytelling through films. Motivated by his passion for exploring innovative concepts, he established Napoleon Films in 2018, a production company dedicated to crafting high-end TV commercials, digital ads & Short films.

Published in Re-Markings Vol. 24 No. 1 March 2025 pp. 54-57. www.re-markings.com

RE-MARKINGS March 2025 - 51st Edition

 

RE-MARKINGS March 2025 - 51st Edition

EDITORIAL

The county of Kent in England, from where Christopher Marlowe proclaimed to the mediaeval world "was this the face that launched a thousand ships,/ And burnt the topless towers of Ilium" (Doctor Faustus) and Çhaucer penned his immortal classic Canterbury Tales, is back in the news for reasons very different. The recent announcement that Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent has decided to stop offering English Literature courses has literally offended the sensibility of those who are votaries of literature and humani-ties. The university's decision is based on the assumption that hardly anyone wanted to study English Literature at degree level any more and the course was therefore no longer feasible. A report in The Guardian states: "We should be concerned about the closure of the English Literature course at Canterbury. This is more than an institutional failure. It signals a cultural shift that risks leaving future generations without the critical, empathetic and intellectual tools provided by literature."

In an age where cyberspace has literally shrunk the world in terms of both space and time and wherein we are subjected to the tsunami of 24X7 dissemination of information, it may appear significant to be concerned about not being able to study English Literature under the hallowed aura of Marlowe or Chaucer. But to assume that literature is under threat of extinction is an exercise in futility. In the passage of human civilization it has been proved time and again that no matter what the odds, the value of literature in enriching human life and experience has often remained undiminished.

On May 29, 1453, the Fall of Constantinople, orchestrated by the Turkish conqueror Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire, brought to the fore scenes of desecration of innumerable libraries containing invaluable books and manuscripts belonging to the classical age. However, it is no less significant that the exodus of Greeks to Italy, as a result of this event, marked a turning point in the history of human civilization. During the said exodus what is noteworthy is that the survivors who succeeded in escaping the brutality of the Turkish invasion carried with them whatever they could salvage from the libraries to keep alive the tradition of ancient learning.

Such individual as well as collective acts of valour culminated in the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance that changed the world forever. The plays of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes and others brought to the fore how human concern and strong individualism lay at the centre of creative explorations. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex shows the accounta-bility of the ruler to his subjects. When Oedipus realizes his guilt, he does not indulge in abuse of his power as King to refute the charges. He blinds himself and walks out of his kingdom to save his people from the wrath of Gods that had come to them in the garb of the plague. Likewise, the resolute ideas and actions of Antigone in the play Antigone by Sophocles may be taken to be the precursor of the 20^th century feminist movement.

The Greeks held in high esteem the heroism of Prometheus who stole fire from the gods in order to preserve mankind, unperturbed by the punishment inflicted upon him by the Gods for his rebellion. The impact of this story is distinctly visible not only in Shelley’s valorizing the act of Prometheus in the romantic age but in the recent Netflix film Oppenheimer, based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s 2006 book titled American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

In the domain of the individual too the story of Frederick Douglass, the black American slave who rose to become one of America’s greatest Abolitionists, gives us an idea of the extraordinary inspirational power of literature. Realizing at the tender age of eight years that education was the doorway to his escape and freedom, Douglass sets out in deep earnest to achieve his goal. He records in his autobiographical Narrative: “My copy-book was the board fence, brick wall, and pavement; my pen and ink was a lump of chalk.” What brought about a decisive change in his approach and outlook were the speeches in The Columbian Orator that he had heard of from the white boys in the neighbour-hood. The speeches and dialogues in the book worked their magic in expanding his vision and ultimately led him to his freedom.

The story of Nani Palkhivala, who was designated as ‘God’s gift to India’ by C. Rajagopalachari, is no less inspirational. In one of his statements Palkhivala records: “It was in those years as a student of English Literature that I read the lines of Wordsworth which have always been etched in my memory: ‘that best portion of a good man's life,/ His little, nameless, unremembered, acts/ Of kindness and of love.’ (Tintern Abbey) If mere three lines from a poem can instil in an individual the irresistible urge for “kindness and love,” the importance of literature need not be overemphasized. 

Against the above backdrop, I deem it a privilege and pleasure to greet our worthy readers, contributors and admirers with this 51^st edition of Re-Markings that brings into limelight how the insights offered by literature from all around the globe can contribute substantially to enriching our sensibilities, sharpening our sensitivity to the agony and ecstasy of human predicament, speaking truth to power, and making us better human beings in terms of our concern for what transpires in a world of acute contradictions and dichotomies involving nations and cultures across millenniums. The kaleidoscopic range and variety of essays, articles and creative excursions reveal our continuous commitment and endeavour to bring into bold relief not only the need to understand that “an unexamined life is not worth living.” (Socrates) but also to facilitate our resolve to create “healing fountains” in “the deserts of the heart.” (W.H. Auden)

Nibir K. Ghosh

Chief Editor

CONTENTS

Viewpoints from California - Jonah Raskin
Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain @100 / 7,
Tommy Orange’s Fictional “Indians” / 12

 

Blossomise: A zuisou
Miho Kinnas / 17
 

Analysing Women’s Condition and the Power of Education in Ramatoulie Kinteh’s Rebellion and
Janet Badjan-Young’s The Hand of Fate
Sylvie Coly / 26

 

Gulzar as a Short Story Writer
Mohammad Asim Siddiqui / 44

 

Urdu in Search of a Home: Film Zabaan and the
Director’s Statement
Kishore Srinivasa Raju / 54

 

The Long & Winding Road Ahead 
Omkar Sane / 58
 
Not the Singer, but the Song: An interpretation of
Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale”
Shernavaz Buhariwala / 66
 
Raphael Confiant and the West Indian
Obscure Part of Indian Legacy
Dipa Chakrabarti & Nilanjan Chakrabarti / 70
 
Cultural Communication of Swami Vivekananda at the
Parliament of Religions in Chicago
Abnish Singh Chauhan / 78

 Questions of Nationalism and Freedom in

Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines
Sanjay Kumar Misra / 92
  

Post-Dramatic Theatre and the New Political:
Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life
Tanya Mander / 100
 

Homosexuality, Repression and Repercussion:
A Psychoanalytic Study of Manju Kapur’s A Married Woman
Mohd Faiez / 109
 

From Creator to Caretaker: Ethical Perspectives in
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Pallavi Sharma Goyal / 116

 

Discrimination, Trauma and Resilience in
Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings
Vikram Singh & Reshma Devi / 122

 

Terra-Equity and Ecological Awakening in Bhutanese Himalaya:
Kunzang Choden's The Circle of Karma
Ruchi Pandey / 127

Poetry

Sacraments of Faith: Poems for Llewellyn Xavier,
Saint Lucian artist - John Robert Lee / 135

 

Four Poems - Susheel Kumar Sharma
Learning the Ropes / 137, Liberation / 138, Double Vision / 139, Distortion / 140

Four Poems - Manas Bakshi
What’s Destined / 141, En route / 142, Syncopation / 142,
Prickly Enough / 143
 

Five Poems - Tamali Neogi
Dignity / 144, It’s You / 144, Lady of the Mountain Villa / 145,
Her First Priority / 146, Call of Twenty First / 147

Review Essay

Love, Lockdown and Poetry: Virginia Archer,

A Caribbean Voice - George Goddard / 149

Memories of Relationships: Keki N. Daruwalla’s Riding the Himalayas as a Travelogue - Jaydeep Sarangi / 154

Comments

I am pleased to inform you that I have received my copy of Re-Markings. The cover design is especially striking this time, with its beautiful combination of sky blue and light green. I look forward to reading the articles and will reach out again with my thoughts. This journal is always a pleasure to read. - Anchal Meena, IIT, Roorkee

 

The March 2025 issue of Re-Markings – A Biannual Refereed International Journal of English Letters offers a compelling and diverse array of scholarly and creative works that engage with themes of identity, displacement, nationalism, and literary interpretation. The issue deals with an insightful exploration of Gulzar as a short story writer, examining his lyrical yet profound storytelling craft. A reflective piece on Urdu’s quest for cultural belonging in a post-partition world is an amazing read. A fresh interpretation of Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” brings renewed attention to Romantic anxieties and aesthetic transcendence, while an analysis of Swami Vivekananda’s cultural communication underscores his role in articulating Indian spiritual identity to a global audience. The discussion of nationalism and freedom in Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines interrogates the constructedness of borders and histories, whereas the essay on Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings explores the lived realities of racial trauma and resistance through autobiographical voice. Complemented by a thoughtfully curated poetry section and a critical review essay, the issue affirms Re-markings’ status as a vibrant platform for interdisciplinary literary inquiry that bridges tradition and contemporary relevance across literature and cultural spheres. Overall, this issue is a scholarly piece.

- Dr. Purnima Bali, Head of the Chitrakoot School of Liberal Arts, Shoolini University, Solan (Himachal Pradesh).