Interesting piece of conversation that came up during a Print Media lecture last week - while arguing about how English newspapers are better than Urdu, and why we feel slightly 'comfortable' while reading English newspapers, I realized, how we, yes, you, and all of us, have forgotten everything about our mother-tongue. How we, as citizens of this very country, have forgotten our very own language.
It really hit me when someone asked if we could take our exam in Urdu - it was as shocking to the instructor, as to the rest of us. It was a sudden wave of guilt, that made us realize how we have sidelined our basic language, to a point where a mere thought of using it for academic purposes, or professionally, frightens us!
I know its ironic how this blogpost is also in English, but it is because I chose it to be this way - it is how we have been cultured over the years, during our fancy education, and shmancy upbringing.
A friend of mine was filling out some forms the other day - he literally struggled while filling them, because they were to be filled up in Urdu. When is the last time you wrote something in Urdu? I, for one, cannot recall.
We shower utmost amounts of admiration and respect for those who can speak oh-so-fluently in English, but immediately judge someone as soon as they start to talk in Urdu at a 'high-end' gathering, and immediately judge how he/she probably doesn't even know how to construct a basic sentence in English. Little do we know, that that 'assumed' paindu is probably more knowledgeable than you will ever be!
I must confess though, that I have the utmost amount of respect for those that are flawlessly fluent in both Urdu, and English. In fact, when properly conversed in, with the right amounts of heavy words, mixed with that beautiful raw accent, Urdu sounds more pleasing than any other language!
Next time you're out with some friends, or having a conversation with someone important, try shifting it completely to Urdu - lets see what you manage, and whether or not your conscience screams, 'urdu bhool gaye kiya?'
It really hit me when someone asked if we could take our exam in Urdu - it was as shocking to the instructor, as to the rest of us. It was a sudden wave of guilt, that made us realize how we have sidelined our basic language, to a point where a mere thought of using it for academic purposes, or professionally, frightens us!
I know its ironic how this blogpost is also in English, but it is because I chose it to be this way - it is how we have been cultured over the years, during our fancy education, and shmancy upbringing.
A friend of mine was filling out some forms the other day - he literally struggled while filling them, because they were to be filled up in Urdu. When is the last time you wrote something in Urdu? I, for one, cannot recall.
We shower utmost amounts of admiration and respect for those who can speak oh-so-fluently in English, but immediately judge someone as soon as they start to talk in Urdu at a 'high-end' gathering, and immediately judge how he/she probably doesn't even know how to construct a basic sentence in English. Little do we know, that that 'assumed' paindu is probably more knowledgeable than you will ever be!
I must confess though, that I have the utmost amount of respect for those that are flawlessly fluent in both Urdu, and English. In fact, when properly conversed in, with the right amounts of heavy words, mixed with that beautiful raw accent, Urdu sounds more pleasing than any other language!
Next time you're out with some friends, or having a conversation with someone important, try shifting it completely to Urdu - lets see what you manage, and whether or not your conscience screams, 'urdu bhool gaye kiya?'
