bay se bangla

We reported earlier, how Bengalis are the latest lovers of Urdu.

1. http://www.urdustan.net/2006/04/bengali-babus-learning-urdu.html

2. http://www.urdustan.net/2005/10/alif-se-amaar-bangla.html

Now the latest news about Bangla-Urdu dictionary will make Urdu more accessible to them.



Now, get bilingual with Bengali-Urdu dictionary

West Bengal Urdu Academy ropes in team of experts for research work; concise draft to be ready in a year
Mohammed Safi Shamsi

Kolkata, July 26: THERE is good news for those hoping to be conversant in both Bengali and Urdu. The West Bengal Urdu Academy has undertaken a massive research project to compile what is being termed as the first Bengali-Urdu and Urdu-Bengali dictionary.

The academy began work on the project earlier this year. It has formed a team of experts, most of whom excel in both the languages. This team has been assigned the task of compiling and translating words from both the languages.


To be led jointly by Jyoti Bhushan Chaki and Qaiser Shamim, the team will also include other bilinguals, including Kalim Hazique, Nehar Ranjan Bagh, Zahirul Hassan, Md Ali and Mustafa Naushad.

‘‘When we thought of the project, we were not sure if we would have enough people. Surprisingly, we found that there were dozens of bilinguals who were fluent in both the languages. We have shortlisted some but we need more as the project is huge,’’ said an academy official.

After spending around Rs 1 lakh, a concise draft is expected to be ready within one year. For a compilation of the words, Samsad’s Bengali and Abdul Haque’s Urdu dictionaries will be referred.

A concise version will be brought out initially. Over the next three years, this is expected to be upgraded to a complete bilingual dictionary, said Academy officials.

‘‘So far, only a mini-guide on the two-languages is available in the market. Urdu and Persian words like mahakma, tehsil, suba, adalat are widely used by Bengali speakers. Similary, Urdu speakers use Bengali in their daily lives. But at times, there is a need to look up words and understand the languages better. Our purpose is to solve this crisis. We also expect such attempts to help people understand each other better,’’ said E Islam, secretary of the Academy.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=194418

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi is dead

Pakistan literary giant is dead
Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi
Mr Qasimi worked for some of the best known Urdu journals
One of major literary figures in the Urdu language, Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi, has died in Lahore at the age of 89.

In a career spanning almost 70 years, Mr Qasimi published some 50 books and distinguished himself as a poet, writer, critic and journalist.

He was a leading member of the Progressive Writers Association (PWA), and between the 1950s and 1970s was arrested frequently and twice jailed.

In the last 40 years he edited several literary journals and magazines.

Mr Qasimi was also credited with introducing several new trends in Urdu literature.

The BBC's Shahid Malik in Lahore says that it was the publication of his first collection of Urdu short stories, "Chaupaal" in 1939, followed by an anthology of poems, "Dharkanen", that established him as a formidable writer.

Our correspondent says that in later life, Mr Qasimi was the secretary-general of the PWA's Pakistan Chapter, which often brought him into conflict with the authorities and his imprisonment on two occasions.

The authorities at the time regarded the PWA as an offshoot of the outlawed Communist Party.

Mr Qasimi had three spells as editor of some of the best known Urdu journals that published creative writing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5166788.stm

Language can tear families apart

By Seemi Pasha

New Delhi : Urdu is constantly labelled a dying language, but is it just the lack of state support or is it a lack of inclination to learn the language that's causing its slow death?

Urdu is Ahmar Raza's most cherished inheritance, but sadly it's not something his children have acquired from him.

"My father used to write in Urdu and he has written several books in the language but these children would not be able to read them. I feel so sorry for them because it's such a beautiful language," says he.

His daughter, Abaan Raza, says that in sixth grade, they had an option to choose a third language and she had chosen Russian then.

While Ahmar loves to surround himself with his with his collection of Urdu books, Abaan pefers her own sketches. Ahmar spends his free time with Ghalib. Abaan rocks to Oasis.

Behind Ahmar's disapointment are some grim statistics:

* Only 160 MCD schools out of a total of more than 1000 give the option of studying Urdu as a third language.

* Just three out of 80 colleges in Delhi University offer an honours course in Urdu.

* Only 350 journals and 200 newspapers are published in Urdu across the country.

And behind these sad figures perhaps lies Ahmar's failure to pass on his passion to his daughter.

"It's not that I didn't have the time to teach her. It's just that children should also have the tome and the urge to learn a new language," says he.

Language is supposed to unite, but in this case it divides.

A father and his daughter, each a creative individual, yet both preferring to speak totally different languages.

Says Abaan, "Maybe my father does feel disappointed in me but I can't help it. I just don't have the time."

So what happens when a family ceases to speak the same languages? What happens when the generations are torn asunder by literature that one loves and the other cannot understand?

Ahmar and Aban are not isolated cases. They are examples of many parents and children for whom language means different things.