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Jul 25th, 2010 - 05:11:22 |
Shoaib Khan
Urdu Bibliography
1).Faruqi, Shamsur Rahman, Early Urdu Literary Culture and History, Oxford, 2001.
2).King, Christopher. One Language, Two Scripts; Delhi: OUP, 1994. Russel, Ralph & Khurshidul Islam, Three Mughal Poets, Oxford.
3).Schmidt, Ruth Laila. Urdu: An Essential Grammar; London: Routledge, 1999.
Jul 30th, 2009 - 05:42:42 |
Shoaib Khan
Dawn
Magazine
August 05, 2007
From Moscow with love
By Mustansar Hussain Tarar
These days, Moscow is a city of abandoned or discarded gods. At times a lone and die-hard worshipper stealthily places a red flower under their uprooted feet. Mostly it’s an old man -- who cannot reconcile with the changing times and cannot bow before the new gods of capitalism -- who does that. He does not receive any pension anymore and the state is not responsible for that. He might receive some rubles if he stands long enough outside a church.
The grand, golden-domed churches are the latest industry of present-day Russia -- even the Red Square now has holy icons and crosses.
I was one of those very first Pakistanis who half-a-century ago penetrated the iron curtain and witnessed communism’s heyday. I remember the then Prime Minister, Mr Suharawardy once said whenever one of those traitors who dared to go to the Soviet Union, a sworn enemy of ours, returned to Karachi from London, he would be immediately dispatched to Mianwali Jail. Back then I was a teenager whose cheeks glowed whenever I saw a female and was drunk with the bubbling wine of youth. And now after 50 years, I was once again in Moscow, an old man whose teeth are falling, who couldn’t care less even if Miss Universe passes -- age has taken its toll. I have changed, but I have the same face, though a bit wrinkled.
But all these years not only has Russia changed its face, it is carrying a different identity altogether too. Fifty years back its identity card carried the images of Marx and Lenin and declared that religion was opium for the masses. The present-day identity card of Russia carries the sole image of dollar with Russian Orthodox Church as state religion. The front page of Moscow Times displays Mr Putin reverently kissing the holy icons held by a ceremoniously decked high priest. Mr Putin was once an atheist and a KGB man.
Even the cobble stones of Krasnaya Ploshit, the red square, were staunch communists in those days and now the shadows of MacDonald’s and KFC are presenting a mime show of capitalism on the surface of these structures. The paper tigers of Mao have unleashed its most lethal weapon, hamburgers and French fries, on both China and Russia and have conquered them. Not only the system but everything else has changed drastically. Gone are the days of plump, shabbily dressed Russian maidens. Now girls in Moscow rival the dames of Paris and New York as far as dresses and makeup go. The famous Gorky street has also vanished, renamed Tverskaya, which was home to the most expansive and prestigious fashion houses of the world. The roads are packed with luxury cars. During my stay, I spotted at least two German Maybakhs that can be had for seven hundred million Pakistani rupees. The populace seems happy under the new system.
The famed Russian novelist Maxim Gorky visited New York at the beginning of the last century and penned down his impressions with a strong ideological tinge in a travelogue entitled The City of Yellow Devil. He mentioned in the travelogue that the dwellers of this city were fired with capitalistic greed and were in pursuit of the yellow devil, that is, gold, and in the process had lost their identity as human beings. I wonder what he would have called present-day Moscow if he were still around. “The latest city of yellow devil,” perhaps!
And how come I was again in Moscow, a city which has recently been declared the most expensive destination of the world? Well, I was there because Moscow State University had invited me officially to deliver some lectures pertaining to Urdu and Russian literature at its department of oriental studies. Almost 35 years back Professor Galina Deshenko, who was heading the Urdu department then, included some of my writings in the syllabus, some extracts from Nikley Teri Talash Mein, Piyar Ka Pehla Shahar and my novelette Fakhta that had Moscow as their background source material. Ever since Professor Deshenko and I have been continuously in touch and she’s been well aware of my literary career throughout these years.
The Institute of Afro-Asian studies of Moscow State University of N.V. Lomonosov was the venue of my first lecture which was delivered in English for the benefit of Hindi, Sansikrat, Tamil and Turkish language students and their professors and its subject was “The impact of Russian literature on Urdu literature”.
The second lecture was exclusively delivered for Urdu language students who quoted very extensively from my writings at the end of the lecture during the question answer session. The most memorable moment of the day for me was when Professor Galina Deshenko walked into the classroom and with her frail hands and misty eyes embraced me. She hardly comes out of her flat these days as she retired from the university many a year back and because of old age it was difficult for her to move about freely. When I expressed my heartfelt gratitude for her kindness, she said, “If Mustansar, my favourite author and long time friend, is in Moscow, how can I not meet him?” She was veryy pleased to meet Memuna whom she knew through my writings.
Professor Marina P. Mikhailova, who heads the department at present, is also an old friend. We had met frequently in Islamabad when she and her husband Alexander were visiting teachers at the Institute of Modern Languages. She has put on some weight but her enchanting looks still catch the eye. And finally walked in, during the lecture, the ever youthful Dr, Ludmila Vasalova of Faiz Sahib fame, with her sparkling eyes and a bewitching smile. Her chaste Urdu is of such high calibre that if I am born again I will enroll myself in her class to improve some of my expressions of the Urdu language. The subject of my second lecture was “Moscow 50 back and now”, which was very well received.
Ludmila, who is simply Mila to her friends, contacted me through the phone the very first day I arrived in Moscow and kept in touch throughout. The last time I had met her was in Toronto where she was invited to give a lecture on Faiz Sahib’s poetry and personality. In fact, when she came to visit me in Lahore, she expressed the desire of visiting Faiz Sahib’s grave. When we entered the Model Town graveyard she started reciting his poetry with her eyes brimming with tears; and believe it or not, she offered fatiha and placed some flowers on the grave of her murhsid.
“And when would you and Memuna find a little bit of time to visit the small abode of this humble and poor friend?” Mila’s expression was entirely Luckhnivi.
“That abode of yours cannot be that small because it accommodates a giant scholar like you,” I replied.
“I mean it Mustansar, it is a two-room flat which is so congested that I can hardly breathe -- actually it is not a flat, it is a kabooterkhana to be exact. So when can you make it?”
Ludmila was not wrong when she termed her flat as a kabooterkhana, however, the congestion was only due to the stacks of Urdu books which were all over the place and one had to make one’s way through them. On one of the shelves a youthful Ludmila was beaming beside a puffing Faiz in a faded black and white photograph. She rummaged through the books and finally found my novel Rakh. “I have managed to read only a few chapters, it is so voluminous. I wish you could write poetry, which is easier to read.”
“I am glad that Leo Tolstoy did not have friends like you, otherwise we would not have had War and Peace.”
Ludmila’s spontaneous laughter echoed throughout her kabooterkhana.
Jul 26th, 2009 - 12:05:17 |
Shoaib Khan
Report on International Urdu Conference 2005
It was, perhaps, for the first time that some distinguished writers from Pakistan and India, assisted by scholars of Urdu from Germany, Japan, Mauritius, Russia and UK gathered on March 9, 2005 at the five-day International Urdu Conference held in Islamabad. They seriously pondered over the challenges that Urdu is faced with. This was how the Conference can be summed up as a journey into the past and present of Urdu language. Spoken by over one billion people round the globe, Urdu is considered the world's fourth widely spoken language with 1,000 years of history. The Conference was named "Urdu Hai Jis Ka Naam" a verse taken from the well-known poet Dagh Dehlvi.
Urdu spoken in British, German, Japanese, Mauritius, Pakistani and Indian accents by the delegates echoed the catch phrase that Urdu has no boundary and has its roots all over the world. Vice-President of Mauritius, Raoof Bundhun was the chief guest. Professor Christina Oester from Germany, Professor Tsunami from Japan, Dr. Gopi Chand Narang and Ajeet Kaur from India, Dr David Mathews from England and Dr Ludmila Vasalova from Russia addressed the meeting. Conference secretary, Syed Shamoon Hashmi briefed the audience about the purpose of the conference.
Vice-President of Mauritius Raoof Bundhun talked about the status of Urdu language in his country. He informed the audience that Urdu is required language for primary and secondary education and works of prominent Urdu writers and poets, such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Ahmad Faraz, Perveen Shakir and others, are included in the syllabi. He stressed the need for taking a fresh look at the linguistic demands of Urdu to enhance its multi-faceted importance.
Bundhun felt that cultures and languages were interlinked, saying that these were a sum total of common experiences of past generations and, in fact, one's language prepared the young generation to attain useful insights about one's history and culture. Urdu landed in Mauritius in the early 19th century with the arrival of migrants from India. In Mauritius, Urdu is regarded as a legacy of culture and therefore, it is being promoted. He said Urdu was recognized as an important language after Creole, English and French. Mauritius was the venue of the second international Urdu conference in 2003. About 20 per cent population speaks it.
German scholar Dr Christina Oester, had brought a group of German students with her so that they could observe how Urdu received sustenance in its homeland. She said students are eager to learn about the cultural and linguistic ethos of Urdu in this part of the world. Japanese scholar and linguist Professor Tsunami, who chairs Urdu department at Osaka University said Urdu has progressed in Japan during the last 100 years. He said Urdu was studied in Japan as a foreign language so as to gain appreciation of its rich heritage and as such the language was receiving wide attention in the academic institutions. It is being studied in Japanese characters.
Russian scholar Ludmila Vasalova talked about the influence of Urdu literature and culture in Russia. She said Urdu is passing through difficult times, but it has the inherent linguistic richness and strength to stand against all onslaughts. The language was rich, she said, quoting few lines from Faiz to illustrate her point.
David Mathews from Britain also advised Urdu lovers not to loose heart. The language was blessed with an inner strength - it was strong and tough enough to hold together against other competing languages. Urdu is recognized as the fourth international language in the UK and over 2,000 students study Urdu every year. The scholar from the UK said Urdu has its roots all over the world. Renowned Pakistani writer and critic Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi delivered a lecture arguing Urdu now enjoys a unique and diversified place the world over due to its own linguistic strength and power. Ajit Kaur, head of the Saarc Literary Forum, said: "Urdu has no border or boundaries." She said: "Urdu khule angan ki, khule aasman ki aur khuli zameen ki zaban hai."
Indian scholar, Gopi Chand Narang said Urdu had shaped and gently civilized the people of the subcontinent in the past 10 centuries. "In common with great languages of the world, Urdu's fragrance had crossed well-known frontiers and could no longer be confined to well-defined boundaries." He said Urdu had a gift of making bond with other languages. He likened Urdu to one of the great wonders of the world, and remarked that Urdu was a Taj Mahal among the world's languages.
An entire evening of the Conference was reserved to pay tribute to Amir Khusrau. It was paid in the language of dance and geets believed to be written by him. Nighat Chaudhri and her troupe were there to enact the musical piece in the form of a meaningful dance drama. A fashion show: "Aik safar Urdu ka" was organized depicting the evolution of Urdu language and its heritage through ages. The journey of heritage was beautifully blended with appropriate music of the era as the models walked around in the elegant traditional attire of each period.
A befitting finale of the Urdu Conference was Zia Mohyiuddin's captivating performance. The show entitled "Urdu zaban ka kirdar" was a narrative journey of Urdu by one of the finest orators of Urdu language. Zia portrayed the contemporary phase of Urdu recitation. He started with the 18th century classical literature Fasana-e-Ajaeb and then moved on to the letters of Mirza Ghalib, lyrics of Daag, Ruswa's Umrao Jan Ada, and ultimately bringing the audience to the satirical marvel of Ibne Insha. His intense renderings overwhelmed the audience as his voice echoed around the auditorium, reverberating various era and shades of Urdu literature.
A wonderful blend of dialectic diversity of Urdu was witnessed at the Conference. Linguists and scholars from different parts of the world who assembled at the first-ever International Urdu Conference expressed their shared ambition of enhancing the linguistic richness through dialogue and spread the message of peace, harmony and friendship in the world through Urdu.
Jul 26th, 2009 - 11:54:25 |
Shoaib Khan
National Language Authority
Introduction
The Muqtidra Quami Zaban ( National Language Authority) was established in 1979 by the government of Pakistan in furtherance of the objectives enunciated in Article 251(1) of the Constitute of Pakistan 1973 to formulate and present recommendations to the Government for formal language, and to develop linkages for cooperation and collaboration with various academic, research and educational institutions.
Aims and Objectives
To consider ways and means for the promotion of urdu as the national language and to make all necessary arrangements in this regard to submit the recommendations to the Prime minister for expediting the use of the national Language.
To facilitate introduction of urdu as the official language throughout the country by developing dictionaries and other personnel working in government/ semi-government offices, courts and other institutions.
To co-ordinate the wok of all urdu Development boards.
To facilitate the adoption of urdu as the language to be used ion all competitive examinations, in cooperation with the Federal and provincial Public Service Commissions.
To carry out such other responsibility as the Prime Minister may entrust to the Authority in regard to the promotion of the National Language.
Organization
The Muqtadirais, an autonomous institution, with a Chair Person as its Chief Executive and a board of governors. It comprises two main wings,Academic and Administrative.
Darul Lughaat.
Darul Tarjuma.
Darul Tasneef.
Urdu Tasneef.
Urdu Informatics Division.
Darul ishaat.
Library.
Board of Governors
The Board of governors is the body responsible for the policy programme review and guidance. It includes eight eminent scholars from all the provinces of Pakistan as non-official members. Representatives from the Cabinet Division, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Secretary.National Language Authority are the Official members of the Board.
Summary of Achievements
Presented detailed recommendations to the Government for the adoption of urdu for official and other purposes.
Translated approximately 43,000 pages of official documents, including government rules and regularity and various reports.
Prepared and published 550 titles, including 80 dictionararies (general and technical) and 80 textbooks, to facilitate the introduction of urdu in offices, courts and educational and other institutions.
Collaborated in training activities with various academic research and educational institutions.
Dictionaries,Thesaurus and Glossaries
Quami English-urdu Dictionary.
Dictionary of children.
Dictionary of official terms and phrases.
Dictionary of scientific and technological terms.
Dictionary of legal terms.
Dictionary Educational terms.
Dictionary of urdu pronunciations.
Reviewed and revised official Glossary of ? Majlis-e-Zaban-e-daftari?, comprising 35,000 terms.
Prepared and Published urdu thesaurus, comprising 1,000 subjects/groups of words.
Dictionaries,Thesaurus and Glossaries
Set of 5 books on official urdu.
Set of 9 books on official Correspondence in Urdu.
Set of 4 books on urdu Typing and shorthand.
Set of 3 books on legal and judicial urdu terms.
Books on financial and Administrative Training.
Textbooks
Set of 5 books on official urdu.
Set of 11 books on teaching of urdu.
Set of 7 books on library Science.
Set of of 15 books on Mass Communications.
Set of 14 books on biology.
Set of 15 books on Physics and chemistry.
Great books Series
A translation project of 200 great Books was launched in 1996. Out of 50 books earmarked for publications under this project 25 books have so far been published and the publication of the remaining books are in progress under a phased programme.
Pamphlets/Booklets
Prepared and published over 128 pamphlets and booklets for official use and public awareness about the national Language.
Monthly Journal
Since July 1981, muqtadira is regularly publishing a monthly urdu journal ? Akhbar-e- urdu? which provides news, features and articles on developments in the promotion of urdu, including research on the formulation of new terminology, use of urdu computers, use of urdu outside Pakistan, Linguistic and Cultural links between urdu and other Pakistani Languages among others.
Training Activities
Over 3127 Government personnel trained in official urdu, typing and shorthand.
Over 2,000 urdu typists and stenographers trained at the Muqtadira?s Regional offices.
Over 4,000 Government officals completed official urdu correspondence courses through the Allama Iqbal open University 6 different institutions participated in official urdu training workshops.
Ministry of women?s development staff attended a one year official urdu training course.
Topics of training Workshops
Urdu official language.
Official Correspondence.
Preparation of summaries and abbreviations in urdu.
Administrative and Financial Matters in urdu.
Surveys
Research Studies conducted on topics such as the language Question.
Scientific Symbols, notations and Numericals Stenographers, typists and type writers in federal Government Offices.
The National Language and reading habits among women.
People representatives and the national Language.
Private Educational English-Medium Institutions in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Seminars
9 Nationals have been held on the following topics:
Urdu Script
Technical Editing.
Translation terminology.
Research.
Pakistani Languages and Dialects.
Scientific and technical Terms.
National Seminars on urdu.
Contemporary challenges for the National Language and urdu-code plate for computers.
Technical and Other Services
Developed Keyboard for urdu typewriters.
Developed Keyboard for urdu telegraph machines.
Developed Keyboard for urdu computers/word processors.
Developed Urdu Code Plate ( Internal Character Set) for computer to facilitate use of Urdu in E-mail and Internet.
Provide technical assistance and consultations on urdu scripts and graphics to industrial manufacturers of typewriters, composers and computers.
Provided technical assistance to Urdu Newspapers and media agencies to formulate Urdu equivalents for new media-related English terminology.
Urdu Code-Plate and keyboard prepared for use in the Computers. E-mail and Internet services.
Collaboration and Coordination
The following institutions extend cooperation and coordination for the promotion of the national language in the field of publication., translation, training and other programmes:
Cabinet Division, Secretariat training institute, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women?s Development, Ministry of information and broadcasting, AGPR, Allama Iqbal Open University, Karachi University, Punjab University, Bahauddin Zakria university, Islamic research Institute, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Maghrabi Pakistani urdu Academy, Pakistan Academy of Letters, National Book Council, Centre for Persian Research, Pashto Academy, Urdu Science Board, Metropolitan Corporations and Municipal Corporations of Various cities, Computer Society of Pakistan, FAST and a number of computer IT enterprises.
Jul 26th, 2009 - 11:25:13 |
Shoaib Khan
List of Urdu language Television Channels around the world
Pakistan
QTV
ARY Digital
ARY One World
ARY Zouq
Ary One World
Aag TVOfficial Aag Tv Website
AAJ TV
The Musik
ATV (Pakistan)
Business Plus
CNBC Pakistan
Channel 5
City 42
G Kaboom
Din News
Dhoom TV
Dunya TV News
Express News
Express 24/7
Filmazia
Film World
Fun TV
Geo TV
Geo News
Geo Super
Haq TV
Hum TV
Indus Vision
Indus Music
Indus News
ILIM TV
Masala TV
Metro One
MTV Pakistan
News One
NVibe
Pak TV
Play
PTV Home
PTV News
PTV Global
PTV Bolan
R World
Royal TV
Samaa
Silver Screen
Star Asia
Sun
TV One
The Musik
Virtual TV 1
Virtual TV 2
Virtual TV 3
Virtual TV 4
Waqt TV
Wikkid Plus
India
Peace TV - Islamic channel, Broadcast few programms in Urdu
Kitab TV - Islamic Channel [3]
DD Urdu [1]
ETV Urdu [2]
Sahara Samay Urdu - News channel launching soon[4]
Zee TV - International version of Zee TV also Broadcast few programms in Urdu.[5]
Munsif TV Hyderabad - News channel launching soon
International
DM Digital - UK
Noor TV - UK
Prime TV - UK
Venus TV - UK
Aap TV - UK
KBC - UK
AT Global - UK
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