Lesson 6 (Additional Vowels Continued)

Lesson 6 Begins :-

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Lesson 5 (Additional Vowels Continued)

Another very important sound in Kashmiri as well as Sanskrit language is that of an "E" vowel in English. This particular sound is obtained in two ways, viz.

NOTE:- य consonant is half vowel according to Sanskrit pattern. The same has been adopted by Kashmiri language. य when used as Y of English is a consonant and when used as "I" and "E" is a vowel.

Lesson No. 4 (Vowels Continued)

उ  औ In addition to the normal sound,these two vowels are also pronounced as वु and वो.As per examples given below:-

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Lesson 3 ( Usage of additional vowels continued)

Lesson 3 begins :-


(i)
() This sound is generally used in english terms as :-


नॉन Non, टॉक Talk, स्टॉक Stock, बॉस Boss, टॉस Toss

(ii) इ and ई ( ) are used same way as in Hindi and Sanskrit. But there is one more sound as half ई and that is written as ( ^- ) as in words like:-

To be continued in the next post....
CL Nagri

Lesson 2 Continued.....(Vowels Continued )

(ii) अS (S)

A brief stop in between two alphabets and insertion of half अ gives rise to this sound. It is used frequently both medially and also some times finally but is not used initially. Some of the important examples of its usage are:-

अSछ = Eye(s)	अSड = Half (Adj. fem.)	रSछ = Amulet
घSर = Watch and 24 minutes	हSज = Curved (Adj. fem.)	गSरि = At/In home
बSदी = Wickedness	रSद्दी = Scrap	अSन्द्रम = Intestines
नSदी = River	कSरि = (He/She/It) will do	ज़Sर = Deaf (Adj. fem.)
पSछ = (After) A fortnight	लSर = House	मSरि = Will die
तSर = She has crossed over	तSरि = He/She will cross over	छSलि = Will wash
गSलि = Will vanish	गSज = She has perished	कSज = (Adj./fem.) Dumb

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(i i i )

NOTE:- In sanskrit language every consonant has inborn sound of (अअ). This visarg restricts this sound of (अअ).For instance क alphabet is pronounced as कअ and the visarg omits अ sound from it.

(iv)

(v)

LESSON NO.2 concludes here.
To be continued in the next post as LESSON NO.3

CL Nagri

Usages of additional vowels and consonants with examples

LESSON No.2 begins....
(a) Vowels

(i) अअ ( अ+ अ) or (Consonant + अ) as in words like :

अअस = Mouth	अअब = Drawback(s)	अअश = Merriment
कअम = Work	गअव = Cows	दअर = Window
तअव = Frying Pan	धअण = Pomegranate	मअश = She-Buffalo
वअर = Kitchen Garden	सअध = Sadhu	लअर = Cucumber

NOTE:This sound is inbuilt in all alphabets in Sanskrit. Generally आ sound in Hindustani is written as अअ as in :

काम	in Hindustani changes into कअम	Work
आदी	in Hindustani changes into अअदी	Addict
कालीन	in Hindustani changes into कअलीन	Carpet
काबिल	in Hindustani changes into कअबिल	Worthy
काली	in Hindustani changes into कअली	Goddess Kali
साथी	in Hindustani changes into सअथी	Companion
मालिक	in Hindustani changes into मअलिख	Owner
दासी	in Hindustani changes into दअसी	Maid Servant

To be continued in the next post...
By CL Nagri

Part II Begins...

Towards making a script for Kashmiri Language

By CL Nagri

In part I of this write up we have seen how kashmiri language was formed, forced and then destroyed by the wheel of time. Its rise and fall is now a past history.

This revised script has been devised to revive its glory by giving it a befitting shape so that it can arise once again on its own legs. Devanagari(Devanagri/Nagri) script (in sanskrit guidance) is the only way to make it a perfect language with its own script so that it could be written and then read with comfort and ease.

The devising of this script is my sincere effort and to accept it or otherwise is up to the kashmiri pandit community.

LESSON 1 begins....

The VOWELS in the kashmiri language are:-

The CONSONANTS in kashmiri language are:-

NOTE:-
is a separate consonant in kashmiri language.



The ADDITIONAL VOWELS used in kashmiri language are:-


















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The ADDITIONAL CONSONANTS in kashmiri language are:-

To be continued in the next post...
By CL Nagri

(c) The Revival

Presently the pandits are using Hindi pattern of Devanagari script for kashmiri writing in different publications organised by various fora of our community. But in spite of best efforts, same difficulty persists. To read and grasp merely a page of such publications, it takes even the kashmiri knowing person, an hour or so. How could our future generations, who might not be knowing even a word of their mother tongue, be benefited with these writings in the currently used script or scripts? Kashmiri as a language for pandits will cease to exist right from my third generation onwards. In other words within a period of say thirty years from now Kashmiri language will be a past history so far as pandits of the valley are concerned.

Once, sometime in 1997, I suggested to my grandson, then aged five, that if he would narrate only ten kashmiri words, I would be pleased to meet his entire demands. After a lapse of a few months I met him again in Jammu. He started narrating as "Treth", "Tawan", "Tapale", "Mazhar" etc. etc. On my asking him whether he could tell me any proper word he had learned,he replied in affirmative. "What is it?" I asked him again. He murmured something like "Dek Bode". Enable to locate the term, I told him whether he could write it on paper. He then wrote as "डेक बोड". I understood it, but my shaking soul was signalling me that, there was no future for our progeny to maintain their identity. This incident had a telling effect on my conscious self. Besides creating a strong stir and the great urge in me, to find some way to locate a suitable script for our language which could be easily understood and studied as a subject by our future generation.

There was no use trying Hindi pattern of Devanagari script as it lacked all the requisite qualities of reproducing our sounds (vowels). Kashmiri language has a bulky set of plus twenty-one vowels, besides the specifically sounded six additional consonants. Then there was the only alternative left with me and that was the switching over to Sanskrit pattern, where I found most of our sounds could be accommodated. No other script of the world had the capacity to entertain this huge stock of sounds. The next practical problem for me was that I knew nothing of Sanskrit language, excepting a few hymns which I had memorized in my childhood and that too without knowing their meaning.

I had gathered in my childhood that the kashmiri language was an off-shoot of Sanskrit. My probe in this direction led me to the conclusion that our language had, indeed, its origin in Sanskrit. Our ancestors of yore had modified the Sanskrit language in a simpler way so as to make it easy to understand and also to avoid its gigantically built grammar.

After fixing a majority of vowel sounds of our language, I still felt that a few of the sounds remain yet to be fixed. In between, I had a chance to lay my hands on some Sanskrit works published in South India, where I found that some additional signs were being incorporated by them to suit their local pronunciations and diction. From those indications I got the desired clue for updating the missing links. In this way, after a strenuous labour of 3-4 years, I was finally able to devise a perfect and workable script for our language. Besides being an easy-to-grasp, it is a complete script capable of recording the most tedious terms and complicated sound system of our language. Quite pertinent to mention here that no knowledge whatsoever of Sanskrit is required in studying the proposed script. One has to just memorize twenty odd steps to master the script so has to write and then read with utmost comfort and ease. Gone are the days when kashmiri reading and writing was considered a big botheration. Our language with this script in use shall have all the qualities of being a perfect language with a script of its own.

Before I proceed further in introducing the proposed script to my community, I wanted to inform all the members of my august community that I have already prepared an encyclopedic collection of volumes of Kashmiri spoken words, terms, phrases and old sayings etc. with the idea of compiling an encyclopedia of all such material for the benefit of our future generations. The material has been recorded haphazardly as and when these terms occurred to my mind, as past reflections. I had to do it all my myself as none was either willing or able to help me in this gigantic adventure. The whole material is now required to be rearranged in an alphabetical order so as to give it a shape of a dictionary. My advanced age and failing health does not permit me now to carry on any further with this task. I would, therefore, appeal to such interested persons of my community as are willing to share this work with me and help fulfilling a noble cause. Actually I need at least 10 to 15 kashmiri knowing persons to whom this work could be entrusted on voluntary basis for completion before the same is sent to the press for printing.

My address at Delhi is WZ-1079/C(F.F), Nagal Raya, New Delhi- 46 and at Jammu it is - H.No.227-B, Lane No.2, Adarsh Enclave, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu

My phone numbers are--

011-28520700

0191-2474131

and my mobile numbers are--

(+91) 9868601622 and

(+91) 9796022713

I shall be eagerly awaiting your phone call.

To All my non-kashmiri readers-In this post there are some kashmiri words. Should anybody wish to know the meanings of these words they are requested to write in their comments.

By CL Nagri

To be continued in the next post....

(b) The Disaster

During their long absence from home land, in exile, for more than 150 years in different spells, all kashmiri pandits maintained their brahminical culture and kashmiri language. A minuscule community of Brahmins on return to the valley where forced by a mutually agreed upon arrangement to bifurcate themselves into "Karamkandi" and "Karkun" (korkun) Brahmins. The former were made responsible to pursue with the "Karamkanda" and other religious duties. The latter were to earn for their livelihood and also for sustaining the families of "Karamkandi" Brahmins.

Initially, the main hindrance to "karkuns" was that of the language as those days the court language of Kashmir was Persian. The first thing for karkuns was to learn Persian for the sake of job hunting. They had, therefore, to drift through and pick up Persian as quickly as they possibly could. They were, in fact, able to gain a fair knowledge of Persian within a short spell of few years and attained high positions in governmental and non-governmental concerns. The converted kashmiris, on the other hand, did not respond so quickly with the result that karkuns were given due preference in all sorts of jobs in government circles.

The pandits, as a whole, had to pay heavy price towards this arrangement for their sustenance, in terms of losing hold on their on language. Gradually almost all kashmiri terms, especially nouns and adjectives, were replaced by Persian equivalents. Within a period of say 2-3 generations the old kashmiri terms faded out, with never to return, from the minds of newer generations. However, sizable portion of old kashmiri terms remained somewhat prevalent in Muslims and in far-flung areas like Kashtawar(Kishtwad) etc. , where most of the old kashmiri terms are in vogue even these days.

During the entire period from the beginning of 18th century AD. to end of 19th century AD., Persian language remained in high esteems, especially with karkun Brahmins ; so much so that, Persian knowing people were labeled as literates with high profiles and those bereft of Persian were categorized as illiterates and mean. A study of merely two primary Persian books namely "Gulistan" and "Bostan", was enough for a man to become a literate one. The matter did not end at that. Even the hymns in praises of different deities and other devotional songs (Leelas and Bhajans) where swollen with Persian terms. The famous mystic poets Pandit Krishan Joo Razdan says ".....Mushtaq loguth kaman madano.....". Same way Pandit Krishen Kar of Rainawari says ".....Mehter Chhu Panai Krishen Kar.....". There are hundreds of such instances where Persian was freely used in our devotional songs sung by Kashmiri Pandits.

In spite of these drastic changes in kashmiri language, the silver lining was that its fluidity i.e. , verb construction pattern and grammar etc. remained unchanged. All this is still going on according to what was basically derived from Sanskrit. This fluidity in kashmiri language is firm footed and hence cannot be changed under any circumstances. Even a slight amendment is not possible. This eternal quality in our language is a boon bestowed by Sanskrit.

The whole trend changed gradually during the 4th decade of 20th century. The Persian terms faded away steadily and English terms began to be used instead. Nowadays kashmiri spoken words contain nearly about 20% of English terms.

Towards the end of 17th century AD., the once flourishing kashmiri language with Shardha script in use, was reduced to a mere dialect with no script of its own. "Nastalek" script was tried and used but it did not fit in well to meet the requirements of most of the sounds spoken in kashmiri. Similarly, pandits on their part used Hindi pattern of Devanagari script which again was found miserably unsuitable for accommodating all the sounds (vowels). It became too difficult to read and write kashmiri freely in either of these two scripts. Hence people of both the communities got dispirited in learning kashmiri language as a subject like Hindi, English or Urdu etc.

To be continued in the next post...

By CL Nagri

The Origin

Kashmiri language started developing in the Kashmir Valley sometime towards the fag end of 5th. century AD. It got the royal patronage during the reign of Lallitaditya in 7th. Century and by the by the beginning of 9th. century, this language, during the reign of Awantivarman obtained a status of a full fledged language for which Shardha script was chiefly in vogue.Sanskrit script in Devanagri was also in use side by side.The language of that era is now termed as 'Old Kashmiri'.This language developed strictly on the pattern of Sanskrit but with an "easy to understand" grammar.General vocabulary like nouns and adjectives etc. was Sanskrit based and its fluidity like verb constructions scheme etc. was akin to Sanskrit scheme of "allankars" and "vibhuktis" prior to 4th century AD Sanskrit was the common language of the people of Kashmir.

Even elsewhere in India with the dwindling of Rishi culture and gradual vanishing of Sanskrit scholars,many a number of regional languages mushroomed every where replacing the tedious grammar and other intricacies of Sanskrit,by a simpler spoken languages suited locally to each region,sphere and smaller dwellings. The valley of Kashmir was no exception.

The so called "old kashmiri" language in Shardha script flourished till end of the 13th. century AD. during which period volumes of treatises, novels, story books and translations of Hindu scriptures from Sanskrit to Kashmiri were prepared by able authors. The whole literature was written on Burge sheets(Bhoj Patra) and on homemade kashmiri papers and remained in the safe custody of Brahmans of the valley. The tendency during those days was to somehow avoid the boring and tedious grammar of Sanskrit. Writers were more than willing to switch over to Kashmiri for carrying on their literary pursuits.

To quote an instance Jaghdhara Bhatta, a renowned grammarian of artistic taste could not relish the words of school of Panini on account of their terseness. Consequently he composed "Balabodhini" an artistic work for the sake of his son Yashodhara. But irony of fate is that such a piece of literary work has not seen the day of light, even though a press copy of it was being prepared by the Kashmir Research Department during the 4th. decade of 20th. century AD. Prior to Jaghdhar Bhatta, the scores of Kashmiri scholars composed similar types of works and tremendous progress had been achieved in all walks of literature making in kashmiri language.

With days to come, the popularity of kashmiri language was gaining momentum on all fronts. Even the top class Sanskrit scholars began to quote versus and prose passages from those"Prakratic" kashmiri language of the common people, in their works in Kashmir shaivism. This became a common tradition for nearly five hundred years from 9th.century to 13th. century AD. to express Shaive philosophy in mystic hymns, in the then spoken language of the people. The great Shaiva philosopher of all times to come Abhinavgupta has amply qupted verses and prose passages from those prakrata and aphabhramsa sources in his works like "Tantrasara" and "Paratrisica-Vevarna". Srikantha, the other great Shaiva philosopher composed "Mahanaya-Prakasha" in the 13th. century AD. in purely kashmiri apabhramsa language, which work dealt with the practical yoga of Shaivas than with the theory of Shivism Lallishwari later expressed the same philosophy in charming poetic style in the then modified kashmiri language. She used to chant her sayings(wakhs) on streets and amid localities. No one them took any serious note of those sayings ad people generally discarded those wakhs as insane utterances. It was much later that her sayings were understood, valued and appreciated by people around. Her sayings were not, therefore, recorded in her lifetime but were passed on from one generation to another on "Shruti-Smrati" chain and hence got adulterated and amended from time to time.

Another almost contemporary the great saint poetess of Kashmir, Roeph Bhawani also composed wakhs on the subject of self realization in the then prevalent kashmiri language. Her wakhs differ from those of Lallishwari in content as the wakhs of Roeph Bhawani were recorded during her life time by her kins and hence remained intact even uptil now.

Another equally important factor in kashmiri language is "wanvun". It has its origin right from the days old kashmiri language was in its making. Our lady folk carried it along with them right from their first and subsequent migration and where chanting it, in course, on important occasions like marriage ceremonies etc. , while in exile. Most of its lyrics was in old kashmiri. However, during the beginning of 18th. century AD. it was modified and reconstructed in simpler language prevailing then in the valley. In the present migration our woman folk did not realize its important on our ceremonies, with the result that, this valuable literary legacy has completely faded out in oblivion.

Due to repeated mass migration, owing foreign incursions on the valley, the entire kashmiri literature got either misplaced or destroyed. Nothing what-so-ever could be saved by the fleeing pandits as for them the question of self security was of more importance than any literature. Along with our kashmiri literature, our thousands of years old Sanskrit and Shardha literature, also met a violent death, with never to be reborn. The whole sale devastation as decreed by the destiny, was implemented in a phased and planned manner from 14th. century AD. till to date.

To Be Continued in next post...

By CL Nagri