February 23, 2002

Urdu, which as a language and medium of mass communication has had a chequered, if not tortured, evolution since its birth nearly four centuries ago, has now reached new geographical horizons. The mass appeal of the language has taken it to lands where a thriving cultural milieu and abode for it would have been unthinkable half a century ago.

For the ever growing South Asian diaspora in the West, particularly in North America, Urdu is both a sanctuary and a point of reference, specially for those hailing from Pakistan. It was said that patriotism was the last refuge for some, the scoundrels to be precise. But in Western societies whose moorings are totally different from ours, it is the Urdu language which is proving to be a refuge of last resort for many, specially those allergic or ill-equipped to assimilate themselves to any meaningful degree in the culture of their new abode.

But Urdu is providing a sanctuary of considerable amusement and diversity to those hankering for an identity of their own in alien cultures. It is, after all, a great feeling to be tethered to a language which is much more than a language. Urdu is a culture of its own and a complete civilization by itself. It can help foster an identity like no other.

No wonder, therefore, that ‘mushairas’, in particular, have become an accepted vehicle of cultural entertainment, even to those who may be totally at sea about their historical and literary significance. The lore of mushairas is a great crowd puller. Until 9/11 changed a lot in life, in general, it was customary for eminent poets from both India and Pakistan to be invited to a series of mushairas organized across the vast expanses of US and Canada in all major urban centres of heavy Indian and Pakistani presence. Some of the Urdu literary and cultural societies, such as the Aligarh Old Boys Association and its chapters in all major cities of North America, have fully honed their organizing skills for such cultural activities.

No doubt that while most of those associated with the promotion of Urdu literary activities and fora are a sincere people, the dregs of society and cultural drifters, in the strict sense of the term, have also infiltrated their ranks. A recent swing across continental US by this scribe confirmed this impression. There are carpetbaggers who have gatecrashed into such literary circles only to get a platform for self-promotion. They never tire of beating their drums of “service to Urdu” which, from their mouth, sounds nauseating and offensive. It is, actually, service to themselves that they are after. But less said about them, the better.

There are, on the other hand, some truly outstanding people seriously and quietly engaged in dedicated service to the cause of Urdu in North America.

Dr Umar Memon from his base in the University of Wisconsin at Madison has for years been bringing out a yearly compendium of the best of Urdu prose, poetry and criticism — a work of great value and lasting significance.

But a more grassroots work is being done by the Urdu Translation Bank based in Houston. This institution, which commands the patronage and support of some prominent literary giants, such as Shanul Haq Haqqi, Jamiluddin Aali and Himayat Ali Shaer, is rendering a yeoman service under a dynamic young man, Javed Akhtar Zaidi. A lecturer of English at a private Houston college, Zaidi is transcribing on a website works of well-known, and also not so-well-known, poets, novelists, short story writers, critics, essayists, et al in the nastaliq script, Roman Urdu, as well as in English.

It is a remarkably innovative work that the Urdu Translation Bank is compiling with such dedication. The main motivation behind this stupendous undertaking is to wed Urdu’s classical, neo-classical and contemporary works with modern technology. Besides, rendering this huge treasure into English would facilitate the bridging of the communication gap between Urdu and English speakers. Javed Zaidi sees this more as a mission. He wants to ensure that the future generations of the South Asian diaspora coming of age in North America who are not well versed in the language of their parents, specially the Urdu script, would have easy access to their parents’ legacy.

This kind of work, being done with a missionary zeal, may well be a stitch in time. For there is a genuine fear gaining ground with the aging first generation of South Asian immigrants in North America, that their progeny may not be up to the task of preserving their cultural treasures in their pristine mould because of its ignorance, by and large, of the Urdu language. It is not, entirely valid, but quite close to the prevailing reality.

There was, for instance, a well-attended conference organized at the UN Headquarters in New York in the summer of 2000 to focus, precisely, on the issue of Urdu’s future in North America in the new millennium. The conference heard some very thought provoking discourses by some heavyweights of contemporary Urdu literature, such as Gopi Chand Narang, Aali and Saqi Farooqi. Saqi, known to those who know him for making provocative statements at the drop of a hat, did just that. He sent the conference into a tailspin by thundering that the participants were simply wasting their time on knocking their heads together about the future of a language that was heading for extinction in this part of the world in their next generation. The furore that ensued was simmered down by Aali, in his own passionate style. He produced a sheaf of Urdu language newspapers — 18 of them — that appeared every week in New York alone. How could Urdu die with such a firm toehold in just one corner of the US, he argued with conviction.

Aali was right, of course. Urdu is alive and kicking in North America. Like many other storms before this one, Urdu will also weather this generational gap and emerge from it in a shining new armour. These new patrons of Urdu are doing Faiz Ahmed Faiz proud:

We shall not tire of nurturing the anvil and the pen

All shall be recorded that grates on this heart.

After all Urdu survived its teething troubles in its infancy when it was shunned by the court elites whose first language was Persian. But it struck steady roots amongst the masses who found its motherly bosom large and accommodating enough for the cacophony of languages and dialects spoken in a polyglot India. It survived the court’s benign neglect with aplomb and flourished like a cactus that needs but little tending. Soon, it even caught the fancy of the royal Mughal court, then perceptibly in decay.

Urdu was the only whiff of freshness in the otherwise suffocating environs of the Mughal Red Fort in Delhi. Bahadur Shah Zafar is better known today as an Urdu poet of extraordinary melancholy and pathos than the harassed last Mughal Emperor.

Surprisingly, the British colonial rule spurred an unprecedented spiral of growth for Urdu. It was Persian that suffered a swift death in India because it was replaced by English as the language of the rulers. Urdu came into its own with the eclipse of Persian. It also stood its ground in the face of a Hindu cultural backlash which triggered the revival of Hindi from the dungeons of Sanskrit.

And yet Urdu survived this onslaught. Even in its orphaned status, Urdu has shown a remarkable resilience and capacity, not only for survival but also for growth. Few languages would have flourished in an environment as hostile as Urdu has been buffeted with, and weathered with such great dignity and composure, for so long. Which proves the point that a language which started its grassroots evolution under popular acceptance and support can survive only with the continued backing of the masses. A remarkable mass approval rating is what has kept Urdu going even in alien climes.

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