I love urdu

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Our national language poet and prose writer Egyptian writer narrates the story of his relationship with Urdu

(Associate Professor of Urdu, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt)

 

Can you tell me something about yourself How did you learn Urdu? How did you turn to Urdu? Why and how do you write poetry in Urdu? When did the lion say? Etc etc

 

These are the questions people keep asking me. So I thought I'd write down the answers to these questions.

 

I am of Arab descent, from Egypt. Be Egyptian by birth and by education. My mother tongue is Arabic. Urdu is my acquired language. Early in my education, I wanted to enter the medical faculty to fulfill my father's wish. But at that time I could not get the required number for admission in medical. Then I enrolled in the Department of Urdu at Ain Shams University, Faculty of Arts. I started studying Urdu.

 

Although I had no background in the language and had never heard of it before, because we did not have it in newspapers, radio or television. On the contrary, if I speak Hindi, I have been watching Hindi movies on TV since my childhood. I used to enjoy listening to Hindi songs.

 

As a student, I learned that Hindi and Urdu are two sides of the same coin. There is not much difference between the two at the level of rules. The only difference is the content and the script. While reading Urdu, when people used to ask me what do you read? And what is this Urdu? So I was a little hesitant to answer, because the common Egyptian people do not know the name of Urdu, I was one of them. Urdu was not very popular in Egypt because of its name. Very few people knew it. Unlike other languages, it is not attributed to any nation or region or territory, but the people here know Hindi because of their connection to India.

 

Anyway, I studied Urdu for four years and when the result came out, I got the first position. I was appointed in the Urdu department in 2004. And I started my journey with Urdu language and literature. I got my MA and PhD in Urdu Language and Literature. Completed a dissertation in MA in 2009 (Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's Ethical and Corrective Essays: A Critical Study) and a dissertation in PhD 2013 entitled (Fehmida Riaz's Poetry). After her doctorate, she started teaching Urdu as a lecturer.

 

Between 2015 and 2019, I wrote six articles on Urdu literature, the topics of which are: alienation in the poetry of Munir Niazi, satire and humorous poetry of Dilawar Figar, Hussaini poetry in Urdu and Arabic, nature painting in the poetry of Allama Iqbal , Concepts of nationalism and patriotism in Urdu poetry and contemporary issues in Ghazanfar's novel (Manjhi). Praise be to ALLAH. I have progressed. I am now an Associate Professor and continue to provide teaching services.

 

Regarding poetry in Urdu, I can say that experimenting in poetry or other creative genres is a divine gift. From infancy she was endowed with natural creativity. I have been interested in reading and doing Arabic poetry since childhood, but due to my education and other engagements, I suspended writing for a while and focused only on education. I have no hesitation in admitting that writing Urdu poetry started after my first trip to India. I went to India on a week-long trip to attend an international conference two years ago in February.

 

Professor Khawaja Ikramuddin of JNU Delhi invited me and three other Egyptian teachers to visit India. The first part of the conference was in Delhi and the second part in Calcutta. During this trip, I met many Urdu language teachers. In the same way, I met some people there whose kindness I am very proud of. There I did not realize that I was out of Egypt. I am indebted to the love of these people. They provided all the facilities for me. I sat with him, went to his house, and met his family. Truth be told, I made the most of my trip to India.

 

We find stories of magic all over the world. When I went to Calcutta in February, I was enchanted. After returning to Calcutta, this magic stayed with me. I had a feeling and an idea

 

Started with and wrote his first poem titled "Magic." Initially, put your poems on your Facebook profile, which received a lot of praise from some Urdu people. Until then, I did not know that I could write poetry in Urdu. It was a very different and amazing experience for me. It seems almost impossible for me to be able to write in Urdu. This experience was a challenge and I learned a lot. Despite the pressure and mental confusion, I kept writing. Here in Egypt, I was less encouraged than those who knew Urdu. And so far people are asking questions like how does she write in Urdu?

 

Urdu is not his mother tongue !! When does he get time with his personal responsibilities? Most people are surprised. Also, the attitudes of the people around me were too strict to stop writing or to control. She felt sad and helpless because of all this, but she was worried about writing. I couldn't even sleep at night, until I could write a poem with my pen. I was not ready to give up writing at any cost and I endured a lot for that.

 

Alhamdulillah, Allah was watching my hard work, so he stayed with me and he was so kindHe blessed me with two friends, whose sincerity and love was a beacon for me. He always said that in you

 

Ability exists and God has given you this ability, believe in your ability, write and trust. Don't care too much about people. That kind of thing encouraged me. These friends

 

My poems and articles were being published in some Urdu magazines and newspapers. I remember that after my first poem, the novelist, columnist and poet Mr. Fahim Akhtar (London) got me right.

 

He suggested that I write a poem every week. Similarly, Mr. Imtiaz Gorakhpuri (Mumbai), a writer and editor of the magazine Urdu Aangan, considered my poems worthy of publication.

 

About a year ago, I had the opportunity to travel to India again. Also went to Bangladesh. The trip was only for a week. Went to Dhaka to attend a conference. After that I went to Calcutta, I got an invitation from Mr. Fahim Akhtar. There was a reception for me. Then she went from Calcutta to Mumbai. Mr. Imtiaz Gorakhpuri received an invitation to participate in an international festival. And I am fortunate that my book "Samandar Hai Darmiyan" was launched in Mumbai under the auspices of Urdu Aangan Mumbai. There I received the Zafar Gorakhpuri Award for Encouragement. This award is a great honor and joy for me. After returning from this trip, I started reciting ghazals and writing fiction in Urdu. So far I am busy in these works. Reading, writing, translation, research and teaching. Five of my books have been published and the sixth is under publication.

 

I also want to say that I write what I personally think. I write down what I feel and consider poetry as a means of love and friendship between nations and countries, which is necessary to clarify the closeness between civilizations. Poetry is a voice that seeks comfort and solace. To me, every human being has a dream. My dream is that we all live in peace and love, where we have no fear or danger.

 

Just as the ocean is full of water, so my writings are full of surprises, questions and objections. In my articles, I have tried to promote the culture of my country in Urdu so that it can be conveyed to the people of the subcontinent and show them a new culture, a new world. I love the subcontinent because of the beauty of civilization and culture. I am very fond of Urdu language and believe me I love Urdu. Be convinced of the cultural heritage of Urdu. Of course, Urdu is a great language in terms of culture or history. When I meet Urdu people, I only speak Urdu. It is very nice to hear Urdu from them too. I end my article with a poem: