HOME :: Our Mission is to educate, entertain and invoke critical thinking in creating a cohesive environment to work, socialize and function effectively through the medium of Poetry. Our purpose is to establish a new stream of Pluralism poetry in Urdu and Hindi languages - indeed, it is the 2nd most spoken language in the world. Mike Ghouse, Foundation for Pluralism, Studies in Pluralistic societies


Saturday, March 14, 2015

Urdu Language Opportunities

Urdu Language Opportunities | Website: www.UrduHindi.net 

There was a time when High School kids took German, French or Latin as an optional language to learn, then Spanish became popular, and with the amount of business we do in China, a lot of people went for Chinese. My own daughter took German, which is lost as it is not practiced by her in her daily life. I wish Urdu was an option then, she and my son could have talked with me  and my family in Urdu and enjoyed the Bollywood films without straining to read the text at the bottom.

Now there is a new option emerging for schools, colleges and business field; Urdu.


Urdu-Hindi together is the 2nd most understood and spoken language in the world.  I would call it Urdu or Hindi to mean both, the entire Hindi or Urdu Vocabulary is embedded in each other’s dictionary. Many a poetry books carry a poem in 3 scripts; English (called Roman), Devanagari (Sanskrit) and Urdu (Farsi) to make it easy for those who don’t know the two indigenous scripts. Nearly a Billion people speak Urdu-Hindi. 




If you or your kids have to take an optional language, consider Urdu. Good efforts were made by communities and Hindi is being taught in many schools and colleges now. As India will become the 3rd largest economy, and still retains its 2nd spot in population, and in collaboration with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it will become 2nd largest economy within a few decades. It is time to lay the foundation and get our kids and us ready to see a day when Urdu-Hindi will become a language of necessity to conduct business, a large amount of business and communications.

Thanks to the Bollywood films, many in South East Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa are learning the words and phrases. The other day a Guatemalan Taxi driver surprised me on my way to Love Field, he was playing Fun Asia Radio, and was throwing many phrases at me, that was impressive. My late wife watched Lagaan in a hotel in Costa Rica, and one of my Algerian friends started humming  "Mera tujh se hai pehle ka naata koi" she said that the film ran for a full month and they had to stand in the line to get the ticket. 


The Chief Editor for Saudi Gazette writes quite a lot about India and Pakistan, he went to school in Karachi and speaks Urdu fluently. There is a Jewish business man in Fort Worth, he speaks broken Urdu.  The owner of a Thai Restaurant sings and explains the whole meaning of Baharo Phool Barsao, Mera Mehboob Aaya hai." We walked into New York Deli on Frankford, owned by a Russian, the moment he saw my wife in Sari, he started Raj Kapooring,  "mera Joota hai Japani and repeating Lal topi Roosi, Lal topi Roosi, Lal topi Roosi...". Some one from Ghana has seen Gunga Jumna 10 times! 

In Cancun a road side grill sells Tandoori Chicken as Tandoori Chicken, he was calling me, "Aao, Aao, Tandoori Chicken Khao"  Ah, get this, my daughter in laws father is Malaysian in oil business, he tell me he was in Siberia, the lonely deserted cold place - there was an Indian Restaurant among some five others, that's right, one in five people on the earth are Desi's. This language Urdu-Hindi has great potential for our kids and grand kids. If you have experienced some such things, please write in the comments section below. 



Additionally, if you learn the Urdu Script, it would be easy to learn Arabic Language with so much business we conduct, and will conduct,  this would be an asset to our kids or even ourselves.


There was yet another time, just some 30 years ago, we did not have a direct flight from Dallas to any one of the South Asian Nations, today we have plenty of airlines flying to those destinations everyday, and it will continue to increase. This language Urdu will take a prominent spot on the world stage, and it is time that we the Americans of Native and Desi heritage not miss the boat.

Indeed, almost all of the Bollywood films carry the common language understood by a vast majority of the people of Subcontinent. However politics creeps in and reduces the language’s reach. It particularly happens  when the news segment hits the airwaves, Hindi gets heavily Sanskritized or Urdu gets Farsi-ized reducing the number of people who can understand either in full. Even me, who has a good working knowledge (writing, reading and speaking) in both the scripts, find it difficult to watch the Sanskritized Hindi or Farsi-ized Urdu. News is not a big part of our lives, just skip the news part and you will be fine, and connect with anyone and any where in the subcontinent. 

You can go to India or Pakistan and even cities in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka and speak the generic language, the language of the Bollywood Films, and you will be able to communicate to a larger segment of the population anywhere in the world.

If you sing Hindi songs professionally you have to learn pronouncing the words properly and almost all of the singers and actors in Bollywood (world's largest film industry) learn the language of Urdu. 

If you have the option to choose a foreign language in the school, Urdu  is an attractive choice and a good business asset. Urdu will make a big come back.

The leaders who are taking this initiative forward are: Mr. Amin Tirmizi, Mrs. Talmeez Fatima Burni, Mr. Like Ali Khan, 
Dr. Akbar Haider and Dr. Amer Suleman.  I have taken the tiny responsibility of administrative support.     

I am developing this article as a survey to see how many kids and adults have an interest in joining the Urdu classes. A lot of benefits are offered right now as an incentive for kids.

I urge my Urdu-Hindi friends to write a sentence or a few words to be quoted in the article that we will publish in a News paper. Let it be no more than 50 words.

On my part, my tiny contribution to the vast Urdu-Hindi literature would be through a brand new stream of poetry that focuses on Pluralism, 
and we have already conducted several Mushaera-Sammelans on the topic and hope to continue them.

Last year, Dr. Amer Suleman of the Urdu Ghar fame experimented with his kids,  on Father's Day, he asked them to speak to him in Urdu and learn at least 25 words as his Father's Day gift, and they did, and my son did it too. We had sent that note to all the Desis' on my lists.


Through America Together Foundation, we are hoping to see the need for starting classes in Urdu language affiliated with established schools and colleges, and if we have enough members of the community wanting it, we can start soon.  Are you ready?

At America Together Foundation, our Mission is to educate, entertain and invoke critical thinking in creating a cohesive environment to work, socialize and function effectively.  

Please write your notes and interest in the comment section or click this link to write your comment - http://urduhindinet.blogspot.com/2015/03/urdu-language-opportunities.html#comment-form

Thanks to Milton Roy for sharing this information

Urdu Couplets are elixir for brain, learning prevent dementia


You don't have to believe this, but it is research done by Doctor Uttam Kumar. Urdu Couplets are elixir for brain; learning the language helps prevent dementia.


A recent study by the Center for Bio-Medical Researches (CBMR), Lucknow, suggests that reading Urdu passages helps in brain development. Learning Urdu also has a role in delaying the onset of dementia, besides helping children with learning disabilities. The work, which has made it to the recent edition of international journal 'Neuroscience Letters'.



Urdu is the deepest language and therefore reading it involves more areas of the brain, which is good for mental health," said Kumar adding, "Urdu has two more advantages over others — visual complexity of letters and direction of writing."
Please read the business opportunities for Urdu - Mike Ghouse


Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
www.UrduHindi.net 
email: UrduHindinet@gmail.com  

3 comments:

  1. Bilingualism has positive effects on children’s linguistic and educational development. The level of development of children’s mother tongue is a strong predictor of their second language development. Mother tongue promotion in the school helps develop not only the mother tongue but also children abilities in the majority school language. Spending instructional time through minority language in the school does not hurt children’s academic development in the majority school language. When parent’s culture are recognized by the school, their interest and involvement in the curriculum often increase dramatically.

    Children’s mother tongue is fragile and easily lost in the early years of school. Language lies at the heart of any culture. The different languages spoken provide clear links with the family and community traditions which enrich British culture. To reject a child’s language in the school is to reject a child. Children cultural and linguistic experience in the home is the foundation of their future learning and we must build on that foundation rather than undermine it. Increased cultural and language awareness could help to combat hooliganism.

    After the Second World War migrants from the Indian sub-continent started creating pockets by settling in all big cities of the United Kingdom with a spoken language known as Urdu by Muslims and Hindi by Hindus. It is impossible to find any Asian who cannot speak or understand this language. Majority of the movies, radios and TVs programs are in Urdu/Hindi. We can easily say that it has become a lingua francia of the Asian community.

    Arabic, Urdu and other community languages are taught in all secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. But the curriculum is so basic that the pupils are unable to read a newspaper or write a letter. The tradition of British education is that it never took the teaching of foreign languages seriously, therefore, the standard and the quality is poor. It does not matter for the English pupils to take a foreign language with interest but it is a question of life and death for the Muslim and especially Pakistani pupils, otherwise they will be cut off from their roots. Majority of Muslims are from Pakistan, they also need to learn and be well versed in Arabic as a religious language and Urdu as a social and emotional language. The teaching of Arabic Urdu and other community languages should be introduced from Nursery level; otherwise there is a danger of its extinction.

    At present the Muslim community from the sub-continent is confused about so many issues regarding Urdu language. Sooner or latter they have to get rid of the confusion for the sake of their future generation and for the future of Urdu language. The Muslim youths are unable to enjoy the beauty and charm of their language. They are incapable of enjoying the emotional, mental and spiritual pleasures of Urdu language. The intellectuals of the Muslim community are worried that the dominance of English language will destroy the cultural heritage of Muslims from the sub-continent. Now they are thinking very seriously to devise ways and means to avoid the natural death of Urdu language.
    IA
    http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

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  2. Dear Mike Ghouse..
    I came across the said article in Times of India. Dated. 04\03\2015.
    This is an amazing write indeed.
    I too have been attracted to Urdu poetry since child hood. And I do try my hand at creating something worthwhile.
    Hereby, sharing with you a piece I have very recently created.

    Tujhse milne ki zidd humaari hai -
    Tujhe dhundhen kahaan yahi dushwari hai =

    Usoolan arsh par main chadh nahin sakta –
    Fursh par utarne ki ab teri baari hai =

    Yahaan sajee huvi tasveer teri hai bhi ki nahin –
    Ye bataana bhi teri zimedaari hai =

    Fasaad kar-rahe hain tere naam-leva tere hee naam par –
    Zara pooch unse ye Jung kaisi jaari hai =

    Teri Jannat ka shauqh ya teri sazaa ka khouf –
    Kaise jaanoon ke kaun kispe bhaari hai =

    Karne laga hai Rahbar khudd se bhi sawaal –
    Sawallon ka ye bukhaar us par bhi taari hai =

    ReplyDelete