My tryst with that liltingly beautiful language known as Urdu
began years ago, as a response to a challenge that was never proffered. And the
redemption has been wholesome, in full measure but not substantial in the
slightest!
Beginning as a foray into only the easiest of couplets, it
soon evolved towards a deliberate selection of the most delectable nuances of
its poetry. Ruminations on love, cogitations about life, perplexity at
emotions-Urdu always presented an inexorable repertoire to encompass and
articulate the most nebulous of thoughts.
Even better have been the words that it has compelled me to
revisit, words that we all mostly know of but usually employ in their more ordinary
and diluted avatars. Words such as aafaat, nazakat, simatnaa, khwahish, adaa, bahaar,
gulistaan, fateh, maat....an endless list of hauntingly beautiful words. Other
languages might have words that are better than them and are worse than them
but rarely such that are just the same.
One such word is the one that forms the title to this
post-Mukhtasar. It conveys a very simple meaning, yet in an unforgettably beautiful
cadence-the syllables gurgle forth with each enunciation, eliciting the
commensurate sentiment even as they tumble forth from the lips.
And with due deference to the context that initiated this
train of thought, here is Frost’s take on the theme;
"Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length"
