Celebrating death and union in Wadi

concerned #25

Pleasantly :-O

Quoting , “Like the analogous etymological plurals agenda and data, criteria is widely used as a singular form. Unlike them, however, it is not yet acceptable in that use.”

Hence for the record both criterion and criteria are acceptable in the sentence you quoted. Thanks for pointing it out.

The ‘a’ should be ‘an’ -- negligence accepted. Forgiveness sought.

In the interactions I look for what is being said, though how it is expressed does count.

rgds

t

temporal #17 –

[...``I can barely absorb a max. of three typos or errors in most submissions---- for interactions the criteria is different...``]

would it be better to write `the criterion IS different` or `the criteria ARE different` or does it depend on what the meaning of the word `is` is?

[...``It was a insightful journey with many good lines and observations...``]

should it have been `AN insightful journey`?

or maybe the criterion IS different for interactions!

;O)

regards

farangi_kush

i had a wonderful time for two days, learning a little about a religion most hindus know nothing about.

i wanted to share my experience and this feeling with readers of the newspaper i work for in bombay and therefore the piece. i`m not familiar with the vikram seth piece you mention, but i think his book on china, heaven lake, is the finest travel writing i have ever read.

aakar patel

ZAHRA:# 22

You know that the question was addressed to aakar Patel.Myself?I`m positive,but would also like to know what the author says.

P.S:The smiling icon was quite a relief.Your `chairh-charh` is quite welcome.;)

__________________________________________________

wassalaam

Well, Well, Well :-)

[Mr.Patel: Excuse my intrusion]

It seems while Temporal was busy in ``Noak Paluk Sanwar-anaa``` of the article, Mr.Kush took the time to enlighten the readers with the gist.

``A very good narrative.We need more of such personal and detailed observations.This was a beautiful come-along for me and I was able to savour a moment in time & place where all animosities & misgivings were distilled out and the joy of pure nectar was the offering.``

Well Said, Mr.Kush!

``Now that was the point,wasn`t it?``

Dear Sir: What an amusing question! Are you unsure ? Or you are positive ? :-)

Have a Nice Weekend!

aakar patel:

A very good narrative.We need more of such personal and detailed observations.This was a beautiful come-along for me and I was able to savour a moment in time & place where all animosities & misgivings were distilled out and the joy of pure nectar was the offering.

Now that was the point,wasn`t it?

May Allah bless you with more & more acuity and make you a great write.

P.S:I just couldn`t help recalling the vivid description of the Phul Mela(If I remember the name correctly) by Vikram Seth.You would certainly enjoy it.I read it in the New Yorker in the 80s.

__________________________________________________

wassalaam

Future of Urdu in India and Pakistan. Noted Pakistani Urdu writer Shakil Adilzada feels that Devnagari script (used by Hindi, Marathi) can save Urdu. Will Indian Muslims accept Devnagari script for Urdu? The Present Arabic/Persian script is the main reason for Urdu not becoming popular in India. Not sure about Pakistan!!

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2000-weekly/nos-11-06-2000/lit.htm#1

H.G: Are you saying that Urdu cannot survive as a language for long?

S.A: Yes, I am afraid. But there is one way that we can save Urdu. Dev Nagri script can save Urdu. If today we start writing Urdu in Dev Nagri script, it will overnight become the language of one billion people. I think our insistence on the present Persian script will not be a forward-looking approach.

Interestingly, Dev Nagri, unlike Urdu, is an extremely scientific script. It includes zair, zabar, paish within the basic script. So you can never pronounce a word wrong. While in Urdu without Ayrab a word can be read in many ways. For one, the word diya can mean lamp or give or mercy if there are no airab. There are other script problems as well. For instance, we write the word Khwahish with letter wao while it is not pronounced. The same is the case with the word Khud. And so on.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jun/15iype.htm

A new fatwa bars Muslim women from public life

George Iype in Kozhikode

An apex Muslim religious body in Kerala has issued a fatwa that bans the community`s women from entering political life and sharing a public platform with men. Muslim intellectuals and reformists say petty politics, rather than religious fervour, is behind the fatwa.

The Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema, consisting of religious scholars of orthodox Sunnis, recently came out with a resolution that said the entry of Muslim women into political life is `unacceptable and irreligious`. It insisted that Muslim women should not be allowed to share a public platform with men.

While reformists in the community have rejected the resolution, Muslim women who have been entering public life by participating in panchayat-level activities say fundamentalists are again trying to unleash intolerance.

``A section of Muslim religious leaders who are against modernisation are trying to instigate the community. We will not obey these kinds of orthodox resolutions,`` Qamarunnisa Anwar, state president of the women`s wing of the Indian Union Muslim League told rediff.com. She said the fatwa `shows SKJU`s intolerance towards our increasing acceptability as able leaders by the community`. It showed SKJU`s `arrogance and jealousy` towards women leaders who form bulk of the panchayat-level representatives in the districts of Malappuram and Kozhikode.

According to IUML officials, at least 300 Muslim women are now actively engaged in public life in various panchayats in these districts. The party planned to field more than 500 women in the forthcoming local body elections scheduled in September this year.

``If the IUML is forced to obey the fatwa, the Muslim community will have to forgo many panchayat seats this time,`` a senior IUML functionary told rediff.com. The nearly seven million Muslims in north Kerala are considered loyal IUML followers and it is here that the party will be worst hit. This is because 33 per cent of the seats are reserved for women.

Muslim reformists are worried that Muslim political leaders have not come out against the fatwa though the party is upset by the resolution. Panakkad Syed Mohammedali Shihab, the supreme Muslim League leader has refused to comment on the fatwa saying the issue should not be blown up.

``Actually, our religious leaders should be encouraging women to enter politics because that is the best route to dispel illiteracy, poverty and backwardness among Muslims,`` Mohammad Ali Mustafa, a reformist thinker in Kozhikode told rediff.com. He said some religious leaders, scholars and politicians in the community fear losing their status if more women entered public life.

``Muslim community will not progress if narrow-mindedness and intolerance continue to be the hallmarks of its public life,`` Mustafa added.

``Political and religious rivalries are the reasons for the fatwa. But I doubt it will have any impact,`` K M Siddique, a progressive Muslim writer said. He said the new generation of Muslims is courageous enough to defy traditional customs, the intolerance unleashed by fundamentalist organisations and orthodox religious leaders. ``For them, Palathody Abdul Rasheed and Tasni Bani are the true symbols of progress and freedom,`` Siddique added.

Rasheed was shunned by fellow Muslims for learning Kathakali, the dance form traditionally performed by Hindus. Banu, 20, a college girl was hounded and ostracised by Muslim extremists for falling in love and marrying Abdul Nazar, a rationalist activist.

These days many social organisations are holding regular street corner meetings across Malappuram and Kozhikode to educate Muslims by explaining how young people like Rasheed and Banu are hounded by religious fundamentalists.

Re: Aakar #16

Hi Aakar,

Yes mazar is right..fazr is actually fajr….fukra is actually fuqara with a QAAF in Urdu(plural for Faqir).

Thanks for your patience. Instead of worrying about all these tricky Urdu words, you could use quotes and we`ll know that you heard them from other people around you and you are merely reporting as you heard them.

Cheers

First I will acknowledge everyone’s civility here. It is so heartening, and I really appreciate it.
Zahra #11:

It was a cumulative effect that overwhelmed me in the end. (Somewhere else on the Chowk I have admitted my low threshold of pain and hurt ---- I can barely absorb a max. of three typos or errors in most submissions---- for interactions the criteria is different.)

You say, “... did you gather ``any`` point in the article ...?”

Yes, and I did mention it I my reply #2

{Aaakar obviously has the talent. It was a insightful journey with many good lines and observations
{e.g. ..”the 100-year old formula of the Special Gesudaraz Herbal Bathing Powder For Long, Soft, Silky Hair (“Created by Haji M A Rehman ‘Ladley’, Marketed by Haji M A Qadeer ‘Ladley’.”)”}

And I was mindful of “Where is Allah? He is neither in mandir nor in masjid. Allah sits here among us,” says the sadhu, sweeping his arm in the direction of Bawa. “There are many religions, but there is only one god. We may be of different religions but we are one people.” and the active/inactive implications of “Prayer is better than sleep.”}

I may have been harsh initially, but on reflection, I still feel that there is no new sensitivity or perception to Allah is everywhere and actions speak louder. Again, this is a personal observation. I do not represent any school of thought.


fairdinkum #13:

Agreed. It is too bad Chowk does not have ‘editors’ to proof read and suggest corrections. But any serious and aspiring writer can find someone who can check the glaring errors or mistakes.



Ferozk #15:

Thanks. Letter re-folded in to a sleek fighter plane dispatched from atop the CN tower aiming for the Diamond-Market-upon-the-Minaret.



aakar patel #16 and #9”

Thanks again for being so civil and taking it all in stride.

Others have already commented on the words pointed out.

regards,

temporal

temporal, fairdinkum, zahra

i am unfamiliar with both written and spoken urdu, and have reported what i heard over two days, mainly by taking notes.

fazr is what i heard, i didn`t know it should have been fajr.

is fukra incorrect?

is mazar pronounced ma-zaar? is that why mazhar is wrong?

would appreciate it if someone were to also tell me what the CORRECT pronunciations/meanings are when something incorrect is pointed out.

aakar patel

Re: Temporal # 6

``Being honest with myself``

You said it!!!

I can agree with that observation and as to cynism, that is a natural process of accepting a state of compromise between one limitations and ones expectations. In otherwords, the reality in Pakistan.

A little bird, to borrow a phrase from you, told me that Pakistan is going to be in serious problems, but if it can pass this test, it will start to go up and the key is Sri Lanka and what is happening there. I will give you a hint; who are the parties involved in Sri Lanka and what do they agree with?

If you want a detailed brief, send me a greeting from the CN Tower.....

Ciao!

Dear Patel Sahib,

You have described quite a unique happening. I could not imagine this in Punjab(Very few Muslims) or anywhere else in North India. My wishes are for its dulication elsewhere. On the news of bomb blast, I am reminded of a song by Sahir:

`` Aasman pe hai khuda aur jamin pe hum..

Ho rahi hai loot maar, phat rahe hain bomb``

Re: temporal #5

It may be that author is unfamiliar with written and spoken Urdu. However, it could also be due to the inability of most non-Urdu speaking Indians to pronounce certain Urdu letters in the right places which may have resulted in all these errors you quite rightly pointed out.

fajr is commonly pronounced as fazr by most non-Urdu speaking Indians. I have never heard of Mazhar though…. I actually rang an Indian friend and asked him to pronounce and spell Mazar and he did ok.

Aaker seems to be able to prounce shareef, which is strange. Fukra sounds vulgar. He obviously doesn’t pronounce it with a QAAF (quite common amongst most non-Urdu speaking Indians and Pakistanis).

But you are right, all these errors do make it rather irritating to read this piece.

Dear Patel Sahib,

You have described quite a unique happening. I could not imagine this in Punjab(Very few Muslims) or anywhere else in North India. My wishes are for its dulication elsewhere. On the news of bomb blast, I am reminded of a song by Sahir:

`` Aasman pe hai khuda aur jamin pe hum..

Ho rahi hai loot maar, phat rahe hain bomb``

Sadhana

dakhni (deccani) used to be the official languge in the court of the nizam of hyderabad, under whose realm wadi and gulbarga fell. therefore, yes, it is spoken there, though perhaps not as widely as one might think.

the sufi pirs of most of south india speak dakhni, because of the fine traditions of hyderabadi culture, and therefore people who learn from them normally speak the dakhni variation of urdu.

aakar patel