Urdu teachers orientation course at Bhopal gets underway
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: A 10-day orientation course / workshop for Urdu teachers got underway here at Mulla Ramuzi Sanskriti Bhavan, the headquarters of Madhya Pradesh Urdu Academy, (MPUA).
The orientation course is being held jointly organized by Urdu Teaching & Research Centre, (UTRC), Solan, under Union HRD Ministry’s Central Institute of Indian Languages, and the Madhya Pradesh Urdu Academy. The course will conclude on December 30.
The inaugural function was presided over by chairman of MPUA Padam Sri Dr. Bashir Badr, a renowned poet. The Additional Director Dr. Kaushal Kishore Pandey of Directorate of Public Instructions, Madhya Pradesh was the chief guest on the occasion. Joint Director Dr. O. P. Sharma & Bhopal District Education Officer R. S. Tomar, Directorate of Public Instructions, Dr. Z. R. Siddiqui of UTRC (Solan), MPUA vice chairman Jafar Baig and secretary Mrs. Nusrat Mehdi were present on the dais. Iqbal Masood, joint secretary MPUA, conducted the inaugural function.
Dr. K. K. Pandey speaking as chief guest on the occasion mooted the idea of writing Urdu in Devnagiri script which would enable it to break barriers and enter the Hindi-knowing world and broaden its base. He said when Urdu is spoken and heard then 90 per cent of it is understood However, when it comes to writing and reading Urdu then the language which is so easily spoken and heard becomes “French” for the Hindi knowing people.
Dr. Pandey said if through Urdu medium mathematics, Science and all Arts subjects are taught then it would be a revolutionary step in propagating Urdu language. He hoped that one day Urdu books for school curriculum would be published from Bhopal and his Directorate would not have to call it from Aligarh and other places.
Padam Sri Urdu poet Dr. Bashir Badr said Urdu is one of the biggest language after English. He said Urdu Ghazal talks with people for its simplicity as does the Hindi Ghazal. While criticizing legendry poet Mirza Ghalib for the complexities of the language he used in his works, Dr. Badr claimed that in the 40-50 books which he had authored he has not used any phrase of Persian or Arabic language but relied on pure and simple Urdu which is very easy to understand for one and all.
It may be mentioned here that some of the unpalatable remarks about Urdu and internationally acclaimed Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib caused indignation in the minds of some people among the audience and left a sour taste in their mouth.
Meanwhile, Dr. Z. R. Siddiqui threw light on the aims and objects of Urdu Teaching & Research Centre at Solan and the one also at Lucknow. He said the focus is on to develop methods, materials and aids for teaching Indian languages and conduct language courses in India and abroad. He expressed happiness that for the first time the orientation course for Urdu teachers is being organized in Bhopal by UTRC in collaboration with M. P. Urdu Academy for which he was thankful to the academy authorities. He hoped this would go a long way in propagating Urdu language in Bhopal and elsewhere.
Dr. Siddiqui said noted educationists of the country including Prof. Naseer Ahmad Khan (JNU, New Delhi); Dr. Mohammad Nauman Khan (NCERT, New Delhi); Dr. Rizwan-ul-Haq (Regional College of Education, Bhopal); Dr. Yasmeen Khan (M. P. Rajya Shiksha Kendra, Bhopal); Anwar Pasha (NCERT), Anwar Hussain (Bhopal) and himself are the resource persons for the orientation course.
Dr. O. P. Sharma, said it is a challenge as how to inculcate love for languages in the masses. He said language is a medium through which one’s thought transcends into heart and mind of others. As a teacher one should be in touch with books continuously in order to keep interests in books intact, he opined. R. S. Tomar also spoke on the occasion.
At the outset Mrs. Nusrat Mehdi, who is also a poet, welcomed the guests and the Urdu teachers who had come to attend the orientation course. She said that the objective and purpose of this orientation course, in which 35 teachers are participating, is to adopt simple methods of teaching Urdu and making it interesting. ([email protected])