Vaada kar gaye the woh paanchve din ka
Kisi se sun liya hoga ke zindagi chaar dino ki hain
This beautiful two-liner was my ibteda (the beginning) into discovering the beautiful world of Urdu sher-o-shairi and the Urdu language. Even though this couplet is not purely in Urdu, it led me to read Urdu poems and listen to ghazals and focus on the Urdu words in the mesmerizing shers. To me, the beauty of this language and of the ‘sher’ as a form of poetry is that it encapsulates such powerful and complicated thoughts in a simple, mostly rhyming two line sentence. And that’s what keeps me hooked.
Growing up, my mother was my initiator into Urdu. She brought Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, Abida Parveen, Noor Jehan and Mehdi Hassan and their Urdu ghazals into our home. At first, my reaction was like anybody who hasn’t experienced this world before. I found these ghazals depressing, the words alien, and the music too slow for my liking. It was much later, when I started understanding some of the words and the meanings they created when put together, that I realized that the nuances of the Urdu zabaan could weave together some beautiful expressions and ideas, which I had not experienced with English or Hindi (the other two languages I know) before. Take for example, the expression of ‘desire’, has atleast seven expressions in Urdu, each with a slightly different sentiment. Khwaahish, Tamanna, Justuju, Arzoo, chah, armaan, hasrat.
Urdu was a prominent language for the generation of pre-independence India. The generation of my great grandparents, I am told, wrote letters and conversed in Urdu as fluently as Punjabi or Hindi. Since then, the language seems to have faced a generation loss and has been relegated to an entertainment or art form. My 80 year old Uncle, a remnant of that generation, who recently translate Diwaan-e-Ghalib from Urdu to English in prose, has also been instrumental in keeping my love for this language alive.
From this initial interest and exposure to the language, to actually learning the Urdu script was my small way of coming closer to the language – of owning a piece of it, of making it personal. Firoz Sir, our Urdu professor, affirmed my love in this poetic language and infused joy into the process of learning Urdu, by introducing us to new couplets, poets and words in the classroom that has brought me a little closer to the language.
This blog is a small attempt to bring likeminded people who share a love for this language or even a remote interest in it, to become an Urduwallah.
Aadab.
Urduwali Priya
urduwallahs 
Look at these gems
Gunjaish Ikrar ki inkar mein rakhna
Khidki mere liye deewar mein rakhna
or
Agah nanhi hai bashr apne anjaam se
Saaman umr bhar ka kal ki khabar nanhi
or
Umeed ki kirnon ke siva kuchh nanhi yahan
Is ghar mein roshni ka bas yahi intezam hai
how wonderful this language is !!
Neelam Nijhara
Dear Urduwali Priya
What a delightful story on your introduction to Urdu…
Can you elaborate on who is ‘we’ at Urduwalas ?
I think your blog has a great future…
Meri Khwaahish hai ke aapke blog ko bahut tarraqqi mile…
If “ibteda” is the beginning, “inteha” is the end, or the climax.
The menu card of Karim’s restaurant uses the word “ibteda” for appetisers :p
That’s great. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)
tujhi se ibteda hai, tu hi ek din inteha hoga
sadaaen saaz hongi, aur na saaz be sadaa hoga.
Hi,
That was the same feeling for me when I listened to it first time. Urdu is the sweetest language I think of. Thanx for sharing. You mentioned about translation of Diwan-e-Ghalib by your Uncle. Can you help me by sending info
on name of author and publication?
Thanx again.
Shekhar.
Luv urdu really …………..I’m jst newly introduced to this dialect after humsafars………….
Dear Priya, I like your blog. It is a very helpful tool for urdu lovers like myself; i am a very passionate gazhal singer and very much could use some info like this in understanding Urdu poetry. Thank you !!
Priyaji:
Many thanks for sharing details of word, Ibteda. You have mentioned, “My 80 year old Uncle, a remnant of that generation, who recently translate Diwwan-e-Ghalib from Urdu to English in prose, has also been instrumental in keeping my love for this language alive.” How and from where I can obtain a copy of the translated Diwwan-e-Ghalib in English language. I have Zero proficiency in reading and writing for the Most beautiful, sophisticated, and elegant language Urdu to my knowledge. I struggle to understand and speak Urdu, but can’t resist to listen two-part “Bayyan-E-Ghalib” by Gulzar, and have watched entire series “Mirza-Ghalib (1980)” about 6 times.
I will truly appreciate if you can guide me in a right direct to obtain “The Translation” of “Diwwan-e-Ghalib”
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Best Regards,
Yogin Rawal
Austin, Texas-USA
Hi Yogin – thanks for your message. Unfortunately the book translated by my Uncle is out of circulation and I have only one copy. However there are other books available that are translations of the Diwaan-e-Ghalib. One of the best places to try is the bookstore, Star Publishers in Old Delhi – here is there website http://www.starpublic.com/index.php?p=contactus (they have a set-up in the UK as well and deliver all over India, though we are not sure of their reach in the US). Hope this helps. Thanks for writing in.