Dhundi-Kairali language

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The Dhundi-Kairali language ^[1] is spoken throughout the Circle Bakote, and the joining Murree Hills and Galyat areas. ^[2] In this region the Dhond Abbasi and Kareal Tribe are dominant, forming some 80% of the population. More than 1.5 million people speak this language from the north of Islamabad to the Kaghan Valley in South and in the east from the right bank of River Jhelum to eastern bank of the Silk Road from Hasanabdal to Abbottabad. Nazim Afaq Abbasi and some General Councillors of Union Council Birote objected to the name of Dhondi/Kareali language and passed a resolution on 28th Oct 2006, in which they demanded all linguistics to change the name of said language as "Kohsari Language" because this language is not only the language of Dhond Abbasi or Kareal tribes of the area but it is spoken by all tribes of region.

1 History
2 Literature
- 2.1 Writers
- 2.2 Urdu Literature
3 References

[edit] History

The linguist Rev. T. Grahame Bayley had contributed in the 1901 census of India report on the "dialects spoken in the hills between Murree and Kashmir"^[3]. And Bayley was the first to study the language, which he published in his book "Languages of the Northern Himalayas Studied in the Grammar of twenty-six Himalayan Dialects", published the by Royal Asiatic Society London in 1908. With reference of Grahame Bailey, Grearson narrated the nature and translation of Sattiali language in Linguistic Survey of India (Linguistic Survey of Pakistan Vol IV) published from Lahore in 1980. Linguists consider the Dhondi/Kareali language to be the same as Pahari (Sattiali), Pothwari (Potwari), Chibhali, Punchhi (Poonchi), Mirpuri, varying slightly in dialect. This language belongs to the Western Pahari language family - which is a branch of the Indo-Iranian language - Indo-Iranian (also known as Aryan) being a branch of the Indo-European family of languages.

[edit] Ancient History

The earliest known roots of the language go back to 5,000 BCE when Indo-Aryan priests wrote the Vedas on the high brinks of Mukeshpuri and Murree hills. The Sattiali Language evolved from an ancient Prakrit in 3,500 BCE and by the first century emerged as Sharda language. This language developed and changed into Sharda language of Kashmir, the official language Buddhist University of Taxila's Sharda Campus sixteen century before invasion of Huns from Central Asia. Kautilya and Pāṇini were the great scholars of this language.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Muslim conquest

After the Muslim conquest of Kashmir in twelfth century - many Muslim tribes such as Satti, Awan, Seyed, Dhond Abbasies^[4], Kareal (They were already occupied in Bakote and they embraced Islam among Kethwals by Seyed Ali Hamdan), Gakhers (Main feudal lords of area) and many more came in Kashmir with Mahmud of Ghazni, they partly changed the social and political culture as well as Sharda language of Kashmir.

[edit] Effect on language

This influx, resulted in a new linguist influences on the language, like the impact of Norman French had on English, this dramatically altered the language, literature, poetry, philosophy and some 35% of the vocabulary and created another version of Sharda language. In the mid of second millennium some social changes occurred, Gakhers displaced the Kareal tribe from Bakote to Galyat and promoted Dhonds as their allies. Gakhers granted Circle Bakote and Murree Hills jagirs to Rattan Khan (Abd-u-Rehman)- the grand grandson of Shah Wali Khan (Dhond Khan) as a sub-feudal chief under Gakhers rule as a reward. This jagir was geographically a hilly and mountainous area, that was developed by Katwals, Satties, Gujars and lastly Kareals through centuries. Today a pure form of this language is spoken by Satties, resultantly, the language is now referred to as Sattiali in this area.

[edit] Literature

Dhondi/Kareali is a rural language and has never had an urban centre and as a result has never had a standardised written form, poetry and history are recorded in an oral form.

[edit] Writers

There are only three persons of modern times who wrote books in Dhundi language. One is Poet Salim Showalvi of Murree City, the second is Sardar Akash Abbasi of Kundan Murree and third is Muhabbat Hussain Awan of Birote, Circle Bakote.

Salim Showalvi is an immigrant Kashmiri poet of Dhundi language originally from Srinagar, living in Murree since 1959. He is a highly qualified journalist and an authority on culture of Murree. He has written many poems and songs.

[edit] Urdu Literature

In the previous century when modern education spread in this hilly region, Urdu was the medium of learning. Culture and civilization of agriculture revolutionized and new thoughts and ideas came into being. Manu Urdu newspapers and magazines as Daily Zimidar Lahore, Daily Inqilab Lahore, Wakil Amretser, Muslim Rajpoot Ludhheana, Madina Bajnore arose the poetry fantasy among hill people. As a result, many persons take pen and paper and wrote the revelations of thoughts from heaven but they have no forum for their expression. Many persons poetry is available now in unprinted form. Many of them had lost their treasures of writings but some scriptures are available.

These Urdu/Persian poets of Circle Bakote are:

Molana Yaqoob Alvi Birotvi was the first poet of Arabic, Persian and Urdu in Circle Bakote. He was a modern teacher by profession. He took part in the Kashmir jihad in 1948 along freedom fighter of Circle Bakote in Kashmir. He wrote his book Neghm-e-Jehad (Melody of Jehad) during the jihad. He is also a wrestler and broke the legs of many locals in his prime. He was paralysed in his last days and died on 18th June 1985, unfortunately his tomb is without epitaph after 21 years. He won prestige and reputation as a poet of epitaphs, today every tomb of Birote is decorated by his verses. A stanza of his Urdu poetry is below:-

HER BAHAR-E-GULL KO HE DOR-E-KHAZAN ANE KA GHAM
GHUNCHA KO GULL BAN NE KA ORE GULL KO MURJANE KA GHAMM
PAEY UMR-E-NOH INSAN YA HO MERG-E-NOJWAN
IS DUNYA ME HE HER INSAN KO MER JANE KA GHAMM

Gohar Moeen, real name was Seyed Muzaffer Hussain Shah was a Sufi Urdu poet with high calibre religious as well as modern education. He was Controller of Schools in Northern Areas and resided at Gilgit during his service. He was son-in-law of Molana Mohammed Saeed of Rawat (Murree) and son of first vice head teacher of Vernacular Primary School Birote, metric from Osia in 1942 ant then he came in Rawalpindi for employment and further studies. He was MA in Islamic studies and his favourite subject was Sufism. He wrote hundred of poems about nature of man, soul, life after death etc. He migrated from Birote forever and settled at Jhang Seyedan Lehtrarh road Islamabad after his retirement. He died in July 2003 and buried in Kirpa nearby village. His urs is heard on every first Friday of July every year.

Mukhlis Birotvi (Syed Iqbal Hussain Shah) is another first poet of first printing book named FIKR-E-FARDA OF Birote now settled in Mansehra. He is a teacher by profession and retired as vice principal of Government Higher Secondary School Birote in 2000. His wife Phool Bibi died on same year that he moved to Mansehra as his elder brother Mumtaz Shah teased him and his family very ruthlessly. He was engaged with a girl in Lehtrarh (Kotli Sattian) during his first employment in 1966 and this incident changed him into a sensitive person. This period poem shows anthoism and life passions, but he became an effigy of sadness when he returned from there and all loneliness compressed his poetry. He is the John Keats of Circle Bakote. A stenza of his poetry is as below:-

AY KOH-E-MUSHPORI, AY SHAKH-E-KOH HAMALA
TO NE MERI NAZAR KO APNI AAGHOSH MAIN SAMBALKA

Khilash Birotvi (Aasif Alvi) was the younger son of first head teacher of Vernacular Primary School Birote Molana Ismail Alvi and he had lost his eyesight in the prime of his life. He wrote poems and songs on national issues. His poems were printed in monthly Akhbar-e-Watan Karachi. He was a correspondent of weekly Tarjuman Karachi (Cilcle Bakote first newspaper in 1973 by late Ghulam Kibrea Abbasi of Kahoo Sharqi, Union Council Birote). His poetry book is under custody of his younger sister and teacher Balkees Alvi. He died in 1988 in Birote.
Shahid Islam alvi is a very highly thought of poet of Circle Bakote. He is known as SHAH-E-GAZAL (King of Ghazal) and wrote blessings in his poetry. He is a younger son of Alvi Birotvi.

Fazal Hussain Abbasi Sahri is a poet of Urdu poetry from the adjoining Union Council Dewal of Murree. He is a social leader of his tribe as well as UC. He is an ex-service man by profession and naturally an admirer of Sufiism.

Omar Tariq Abbasi is a poet of Urdu from UC Rawat.He is a highly qualified person and belongs to a well educated familly.He has just started his journey in the poetry world but has been succeeded to inspire many people by his aggressive style of poetry.