There are two cultural learning goals I have for this semester, building on from surface level surveys of these topics in presentations last semester. I hope to learn about the early development of Urdu, and the role that poetry and poets played in the conceptualization and founding of Pakistan. I will begin learning about these two topics through discussions with a Pakistani friend who has learned a lot about these topics in order to give myself a general sense of areas of particular interest that I can explore in greater detail. To begin a deeper exploration of the areas in particular I want to learn more about I will use online resources, books from the library and any documentaries I might be able to find on those topics.
Nations and cultures often place much importance on their language and its development, so I believe understanding the history of Urdu will be especially beneficial because of its mixed roots originating from a language spoken primarily by Hindus but its development into its own language through Muslim conquest. Pakistan was founded on ideals held by many poets who wrote about topics relevant to the establishment of the nation and poets held an especially important status in the culture of the people who would become to be known as Pakistani. Learning about the role of poetry and the general establishment of the country will help me understand important aspects of Pakistan’s cultural heritage.
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Cultural Post 5
Through my discussions with friends and sources online, learning about the history of the Urdu language and the role of poetry I have had many cultural insights. First, as I discussed the history of the language with two of my Pakistani friends the pride they have in their language was evident. Urdu embodies both the more-ancient historical ties with surrounding peoples of the subcontinent (as it retains much similarity with Hindi and other local languages), as well as the more recent conversion to Islam (through the adoption of many Persian words, particularly religious words). Furthermore, it has been interesting to compare and contrast the role of poetry in Pakistani culture with the western (American) culture. First, poetry has been influential for proliferating political ideologies in both, but unlike the United States, the man considered the “Spiritual Father of Pakistan” was a poet (none of the founding fathers were poets, and if any did write poetry it clearly was not nearly as popularized as Iqbal's poetry in Pakistan). Furthermore, poetry's popularity in the Muslim nation of Pakistan was great enough that Pakistani non-Muslim poets' works are still widely known and considered great (Faiz is considered one of, if not the greatest Pakistani poet). The popularity of vehicle-poetry in Pakistan during the last four decades reveals the maintained (though perhaps diminished) significance of the artform as a medium for political protest. Finally, it was interesting to see that despite the vastly different cultures of the United States and Pakistan, things like bumper stickers and vehicle-poetry are a common way of showing a part of one's identity (not merely regarding politics; rickshaw poems are often written by the drivers regarding love-sickness, heartbreak, loneliness, the difficulties of life, etc. and in the United States the topics of bumper stickers goes far beyond that of just politics).
Cultural Post 4
While looking through sources on the internet regarding the connection between poetry and politics in Pakistan, I stumbled upon a very interesting phenomena; rickshaw poetry. Although in Nepal many trucks that travel long distances might have a short phrase that is often witty, about love or philosophy (like “no money, no Honey”), in Pakistan whole poems are written on the backs of rickshaws (which are three-wheeled vehicles, often used as “taxis”). Rickshaws became a popular form of public transport during fuel shortages and economic problems in the 1970's, but the political and economic problems that birthed their popularity are still felt by the drivers of rickshaws until this day; rickshaw drivers are amongst the poorest workers of the transport industry in Pakistan. As a result, much of the rickshaws have political poems written on the backs of their rickshaws, asking the government for something, questioning the actions of the government or just general cynicism regarding politics. The rickshaw drivers engage in politics in their own way; they spread their political ideas as they traverse the cities and towns as they work. It seems interesting that in the United States bumper stickers often serve a similar purpose, but in less words and, usually, a less personal way. Bumper stickers supporting political candidates are a way that drivers show their identity to those they drive around, similarly with the rickshaw drivers, but the rickshaw drivers have their poems hand-painted on and can decide exactly what words go on the backs of their vehicles (often times poetry they have written themselves!)
Culture Post 3
I began to look at the role of poetry in Pakistan, which I started through discussions with two of my friends from Pakistan who know and enjoy a fair amount of poetry and Pakistani history. Once I had a general idea of about poetry in Pakistan – e.g. its generally performative (usually sung) nature, widespread populariy in recent history (though it is dying out now) – I began to read up on some of the most popular poets pointed to by my friends. First, the man considered the “Spiritual Father of Pakistan” was a poet: Muhammad Iqbal. His poetry about the Muslim nation needing a separate state in order to achieve peace in India lead to the “Pakistan Movement”, the movement eventually succeeding in establishing the state of Pakistan (a few years after Iqbal's death). However, something else I found interesting was that two of the most popular Pakistani poets (Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Habib Jalib) were agnostics and socialists, despite Pakistan being a devotedly Muslim nation. It was interesting to see how such poets fit into Pakistan's predominantly Muslim culture; though their work was received and well acknowledged by much of the public, Jalib's work was banned for a time, and Faiz was exiled for over a decade, and furthermore, both poets did not marry Pakistanis, but rather, non-Muslim westerners. It was interesting to see that both the United States and Pakistan exiled “communists” during the Cold War era, while, similarly in both nations, much of the public did not demonize those poets, writers and artists considered “communists” by their respective governments.
Culture Post 2
While going through summaries about the beginnings of Urdu I was struck by an inconsistencies in accounts of when Urdu began to develop as a language. Like many languages, it clearly is difficult to give a date for when a language “began” to be spoken. However, some of the inconsistencies I found were not merely disputes on specifics of how or when exactly the language started to develop. By researching more I discovered that one of the misconceptions about Urdu is that it is considerably older than is sometimes thought. This is in part due to the fact that the first time the language was actually referred to as “Urdu” was by the poet Mushafi who lived from 1750-1824. In reality, the language began developing out of languages local to the western Indian-subcontinent around the first millennium (around 1020 AD). Even for those who understand that the language existed long before it went by the name we use today, it is often thought that the language developed around the mid-thirteenth century. This misconception is because Urdu came to the rest of India predominantly through Delhi after Qutbu l-Din Aibak (a general under Muhammad of Ghor) took power in Delhi in 1193. From this, it is sometimes incorrectly thought that Urdu developed out of Delhi around then, but there had been Persian-speaking soldiers living farther east, around the Lahore area in Pakistan, for at least 200 years before that. Most scholars agree that Urdu began developing out of local languages around the time that the first permanent occupation of Persian-speaking soldiers occurred in 1027, aside from some earlier Arabic influences on the language from the Muslim conquests beginning in the middle of the 7th century.
I found it very interesting to realize just how amorphous and blurry the distinctions are for identifying when a language begins to “develop.” Though I knew that languages do not just develop overnight, doing the research really showed how hard it is to understand and analyze the origins and developments of languages, especially in oral cultures where very little is written down. Furthermore, I found it interesting that most all of the writing in Urdu before the turn of the 19th century is all by poets –though there are other documents in other languages from the area during those time periods, it was the poets who felt it was most important to use their language for the poetry despite other languages being used to write down other information.
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urduhindilinks/baile...
http://www.sailanmuslim.com/news/history-of-urdu-language/
http://www.dawn.com/news/681263/urdus-origin-its-not-a-camp-language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu