I know, Hira has been advising me time and again to use my laptop for writing posts, but what to do? The best inspirations come to me when I'm finally tucked in bed after my Isha prayers, done with kids and chores. My eyes heavy with sleep, but my mind dancing like a leaping bunny.

After writing about this hero of my country in my last post, I kept thinking: how many of you would have actually watched the YouTube video that I incorporated? Would you have understood as the lyrics were in Urdu? And then there is a burning desire to let you people think and feel what I'm feeling. The burning wish that you could just know the Urdu lyrics. Not the translated version, but the original lyrics.

I know a friend here (who doesn't want to be mentioned) feels the same about her Dutch German language.

German is the English word for the language and the culture. Deutsch is the German word for the language and the culture. They both mean the same.
Wikipedia

_{This word Deutsch had me confused. I thought of it as Dutch}

I know that feeling. There are so many dialects in a language, so many subtleties, so many beautiful phrases, and yes, so many beautiful curses.

I come from a Punjabi family. Mostly Punjabi-speaking people speak Urdu with a hint of Punjabi accent, but my siblings and I pride ourselves on keeping both accents at bay. I can speak good Punjabi, but when it comes to Urdu, my national language, I pride myself as a true Urdu speaker. I speak very well and am a proper speaker of my national language. There are very few people you will find in our country who speak good English (or at least think that they speak good English) and are good in Urdu; not just spoken but also literary one. Same goes with other regional language speaker. There are only a handful in my circle at least who speak both their regional language and urdu with same proficiency. I would not lie that I learned to speak Punjabi later in my life - I could understand it, but couldn't speak very well.

There is another fun fact about the kind of languages spoken in our family. When we were little, our parents used to talk to us in Urdu only, and they would talk to each other in Punjabi. The same goes for almost all the elders of the family. But as we grew up, they would talk to us in Punjabi, and we would answer in Urdu. The same thing has been happening till now. My spouse and I talk in Urdu because somehow, I still find it hard to speak in Punjabi for a greater length of time. Maybe I'm not used to speaking it with my husband and family. However, I talk to other people who can only speak Punjabi in Punjabi.

Both the languages are very close to my heart and I love to express myself in urdu. However, I don't know how to use keyboard for it. We are not taught computer and typing in urdu at school and college levels.

While I can appreciate a variety of English songs, there's a special place in my heart for those overly romantic Urdu tunes, both from my native culture and across the border in Indian Bollywood. Interestingly, Indian cinema opted for Urdu in their movies and songs (instead of Hindi)—a fascinating tidbit. Have you delved into the history of Pakistan and India? Feel free to Google it yourself; it's a rich narrative. However, when it comes to art, borders don't matter!

I listen to Indian filmy songs. The so-called "burger kids" or modernized youth might frown upon this musical preference, often taking pride in their English song choices. It's not that I have anything against it; in fact, my kids and husband lean towards English songs. (Unfortunately, most quality kids' serials, be it on Netflix or elsewhere, are primarily in English.) Nevertheless, I proudly share these WhatsApp statuses updates featuring these "cringy" overly romantic filmy songs. There - I've said it. Judge me as you want, but this is who I am. ☺️

Wrapping up the jumping thoughts!

Signing off with love for Urdu,

Yours truly,
@soulfuldreamer