by Zabaan | May 19, 2020 | Arabic, Etymology, Hindi, Vocabulary
Ka-ma-la, the Arabic trilateral root for ‘perfection’. Most Hindi/Urdu speakers are familiar with this root from usages like kamaal ka meaning ‘excellent, wonderful’ and ‘kamaal hai!’ which means ‘Great!’ but more often...
by Zabaan | Dec 12, 2019 | Learning and Teaching, Urdu
In this blog Rakesh Saraf talks about the challenges he faced while learning how to read and write Urdu. “Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning. And the Hebrews learn it backwards, which is absolutely frightening.” I remember these...
by Zabaan | Dec 3, 2019 | Learning and Teaching
In this blog Rakesh Saraf talks about the benefits of continuing learning well into one’s silver years. I was 67 years old when I looked at my collection of old Urdu literature, with prints from the 1920s onwards, once again in despair. Was I going to the...
by Zabaan | Sep 11, 2019 | Classical languages, Philosophy, Sanskrit, Spirituality
The Upanishads are a repository of some of the finest and most intricate thoughts and sayings in the Indian philosophical and spiritual tradition. Of these, traditionally, four sayings (vākya), one from each of the Vedas, are said to sum up the essence of all the...
by Zabaan | Mar 27, 2019 | Learning and Teaching
One of our student coordinators, Varsha, shares her thoughts about the importance of learning any language. रफ़्तार से दौड़ती यह ज़िंदगी और इस ज़िंदगी में ‘ज़बान’ की अहमियत बहुत कम लोग समझ पाते हैं । ज़बान ही तो है जो कभी नज़रों में उठा देती है और कभी नज़रों से गिरा...
