Except for a few people, nobody really touches anthologies of Urdu literature nowadays. Where Urdu books could be found in the shelves of typically our grandparents and other people of the last century, there now sit either gaming consoles or popular English fiction books. There is nothing wrong with reading books of other languages but aren’t we promoting what is not inherently ours a little more than we should? It is injected in the minds of youngsters that everything English is good and everything Urdu lacks class and standard. One reason why it is now a common practice might be the inclusion of romantic Urdu poetry in the curriculum. When introducing someone to a form of literature, one should make sure that the content they are being introduced to complements their level of understanding.
Whereas English medium schooling is crucial today, acquiring basic knowledge of one’s own culture, which is largely based on language, is just as important. Right literature should be taught at the right time, no shame should be felt in being an avid Urdu reader and pride should be taken in being close to one’s own language for it is beautiful in all its forms. Iqbal, Faiz, Ghalib, Manto and the post-modern writers, too, are the pride of our language and can stand abreast with John Keats, Wordsworth and Percy Shelley etc. We should own what is really ours.
Arbia Javed
Karachi