A complete expression of the soul is Urdu,
A revelation of words whose essence touches the very intricacies of life perfectly is Urdu,
An intoxicant that intoxicates the soul is Urdu.
Urdu is the celestial nymph of languages.
The more one gazes at it the more it tugs at you like an enchantress, until finally in the quest to understand it, more one dives into it, the more it pulls making one drown absolutely into its nectar filled bosom, blissful, ensnared.
Jitna Shoq-e-nazar se dekho, kheech-o-qaid karle ye sahra akhir
Jitni ghote lagao iski talaash me, utna hi dubaa le jaaye iski samajh akhir.
How one feels a sense of apprehension prevails while speaking of this delicate purity parallel to that of a lover who would try to speak of love.
Is paak zubaan ko zubaan par laate hoo si hoti hai
Is qadar jaise aashiq ko baat-e-hib karte haibat ho
‘Rekhta’ captures the two sides of existence — bliss and pain proving both in equal beauty.
Rekhta jo do pehlu-e-hone ko aise pakde
Ki dono hi masawi dilkash lage
It is a magical thread that weaves the Me, the You, the Self into one fabric, each shred shimmering, solitarily alluring and magnificent when woven together enwrapping all in itself.
Kya kya kehdu is zubaan par ek umr-e-deewangi kya
Wakt — e — qayanaat kam na pad jaaye.
‘Hindvi’ a raging passion quieting into peace.
The tongue that brims with ‘Adaa’ is perennially accompanied by ‘Nazakhat’. The twins of Urdu, ‘Adaa and Nazakhat’ resonate from the speaker who wishes to do ultimate justice to the dialect. The one who imbibes the essence carries, transmits the condition forward in its purest essence. The feeling is esoteric, it is ever pregnant with the seed of the Ultimate itself.
Urdu you temptress, you after whom thousands have squandered their lives in hope of salvation, in hope of deliverance. You, whose lustful pursuit has left behind a towering legacy of magnanimous words inspiring the generations gone and those to come. Oh men, you who live solely for this timeless beauty, you who have given birth to the greatest ‘Shaayars’, you who have been lured by the mesmerism of Urdu, losing lives just for ‘lafz’ (words) which goes on living for all of eternity.
The gorgeousness of this lingo is like morning dew, fresh and delicate yet mighty as a sword.
‘Rekhta’ is a gift to mankind, a dialect that covers an entire spectrum of shades and hues. ‘Alfaaz’ beyond explanation through words, to give one an idea of it’s nature, imagine it as that which existed when there was only potency. A being that ‘is’ and ‘is not’, a vibration, a dimension.
Yet, something remains.
A reflection of our inner selves, mirrored back from the sublime depths of the pool of Urdu. It’s smooth ripples reflecting all that we were unaware of, until drawn out by the hypnotic power of the language.
Urdu is an entirety itself; it is maddening, it is intriguing.
One loses oneself to it, only to gain everything else, a parallel world where the lost are not astray. A line to get closer unrestricted and uninhibited towards Self, Love. So, irresistible it’s too late until we are under it’s grasp. Oh! What an indescribable feeling it is. Would someone really like to break free? A boon to be under it’s spell.
Jo khudko isme khode, sirf muqammal haasil karle
Saath jaise koi jahaan, jahan khoya bhi bhatka na ho
Fearless it stands head held up high, surpassing the supreme, challenging the power itself.
Be-khauf ye khada sar ooncha kar
Faiq-e-faiq hota, taaqat ko chunauti kar.
A single word uttered here reverberates with a million possibilities. Each alphabet a meditation, a transmission, suspending the speaker and the listener in a state. Perception and reception comes naturally to the mind that is attuned.
Where a thousand words may fail to express the meaning of life and feelings, here a single couplet can move the heart tremendously from it’s seat.
Words so ripened, burst forth into continuous bloom, seekers run helter-skelter each carrying an empty chalice thirsting, trying to collect each drop oozing out of the nook and corners of this ethereal language, aching to understand it, aching to marry it.
Each word when touching the throat is a gulp of pleasure. The sensation of each ‘Nuqta’ is an un describable feeling touching the very core of depths.
A language which has the power to stir even those who haven’t ever heard it. An aura, it keeps flowing and merging into the bewildered ones. A bond connecting even those unknown to each other.
What more does one need?
“Faqiri me bhi nawabi ka maza deti hai urdu” — stated by ‘Gulzar saheb’.
What more can one be? Existing thus is an existence that many crave for; this splendour filled life, is it not enough for mere mortals us?
‘Zaban-e-Hind’ is life personified.
A communion of ‘khud — khuda aur tu’.
‘Hindvi’, born of the soil of this ancient diverse land — Hindustan. A language who is the love child of Arabic, Turkic, Persian, Brij and Sanskrit. Flavourful and idiosyncratic, an amalgamation of cultures, a union that can be heard in the ringing of the bells and the singing of the ‘Azaan’.
A flawless blend of etymology metamorphized into this preciousness we call ‘Hindustani’.
Ye bay aib vasl-e-lafz-e-tareekh
Ye aziz-o-baish baha jise hum kehte Hindustani
A classic example of refined, pure blend of the core magnificence of being human and this shines through each and every orifice of Urdu.
Nourished, cherished, diversified that which can never be partitioned till the end of time.
Nihayat alaa misaal ye khalis murakkab, markaz-e-insaan-e-alishaan ka
Aziz faqr-e-muqaam, mukhtalif jo waqt ke akhir tak taqseem na hogi
The duo of Hindi and Zuban- e- Dilli, has produced a munificent collection of lyrics and dialogs, showcasing the rich tapestry of our culture and its aesthetic nuances. Urdu is indeed a profound definition of the land Hindustan and the soul of the people who live in it.
Urdu is the feel and reflection of the state of life here.
A gold dust, it’s each particle precious; A matter who’s each cell is a universe; a science and an art, well processed since the start. Mankind who has been thriving not on social or scientific rules or advancements but on the commands of this locution. A world sans rules, a world of words — unbent, unbroken, unburnt. Medication without side effects, an instrument to life.
An experience crossing all dimensions, a sea one jumps into and emerges baptized in Urdu, a desire washing away all others, an impression-less impression.
A structure — formless, shapeless; a ray searing through every surface, reflecting desires known and unknown; a swan song of ecstasy and agony embracing it all. A proof alive of human endeavours. An energy kept slightly unlocked inside accelerating it’s temptation.
A perfume — ones pulled towards it we may never return to what we once were.
It is a potent energy unchained when rolled off the tongue of the blessed one. It is symphony, Zaban-e-hind-e-mualla an answer to all the questions lying within.
What more source, what more expression, what other phrases can I use to describe the phenomenon that is Urdu?
Yahi raaz-e-khaas, yahi khulaasa.
It is renunciation, it is attachment, it is liberation.
It’s ever new, beginning and the end.
Urdu ko urdu hi samjhaye,
jis tarah khuda ko khud hi.
Urdu is love, the lover and the beloved itself. Urdu hi ibadat-e-zariyia-e-mazar. Urdu is refined yet decadent, it is contemporary yet classic, it is original yet familiar. A medium of explanation which is beyond explanation. Here it is unsolved, here it is a mystery, here it is incomplete…embrace it…
Editor (English content)- Shruti Kunhiraman
