Idioms and Proverbs: The Shared Cultural Heritage of Urdu and Hindi
Language is not merely a means of communication; rather, it is a mirror reflecting the civilization, culture, and psychology of any society. The depth of the relationship between Urdu and Hindi can be gauged not only from their grammar but also from their everyday speech, idioms, and proverbs. This is the cultural wealth that has been forged in the crucible of centuries of interaction, shared joys and sorrows, and collective social experiences.
The frequency with which compound verbs and idioms are used in Urdu and Hindi is hard to find in other languages of the world. Idioms based on body parts are a prime example of this. Just looking at the idioms formed with 'munh' mouth face and 'aankh' eye makes the unity of both languages evident. Hundreds of idioms like 'munh ki khana' to suffer a humiliating defeat, 'munh par taala lagna' to be silenced, 'munh tod jawab dena' to give a smashing reply, 'aankhein bichhana' to welcome warmly, 'aankhein chaar hona' to meet eyes fall in love, 'aankh ka tara' apple of the eye, and 'aankh micholi' hide and seek are used with equal fluency by both Hindus and Muslims in their daily conversations.
The case of proverbs kahawatein is no different. Proverbs are the essence of popular wisdom. Countless proverbs like 'jaisa des waisa bhes' when in Rome, do as the Romans do, 'dhobi ka kutta na ghar ka na ghaat ka' belonging nowhere, 'honhaar birwa ke chikne chikne paat' coming events cast their shadows before, 'naach na jaane aangan tedha' a bad workman blames his tools, 'jis ki lathi us ki bhains' might is right, and 'chor ki daarhi mein tinka' a guilty conscience needs no accuser are the shared heritage of Urdu and Hindi. Many of these proverbs are borrowed from pure Indian mythology and traditions, such as 'na nau man tel hoga na Radha nachegi' an impossible condition for an impossible task or 'kahan Raja Bhoj kahan Gangu Teli' a comparison between two vastly unequal things.
Furthermore, Urdu has combined Persian and Arabic words with Hindi words to create hundreds of beautiful compounds that are now part of both languages. Words like 'daak khana' post office, 'raj darbar' royal court, 'chitthi rasan' postman, 'gulab jamun' a popular sweet, 'jeb katra' pickpocket, 'ghar damad' resident son-in-law, and 'shaadi byah' marriage and wedding are living examples of this linguistic blending.
According to the famous lexicographer Syed Ahmad Dehlvi, out of Urdu's vocabulary of fifty-five thousand words, approximately forty thousand words come from Sanskrit and Prakrits. This means that seventy-five percent three-quarters of Urdu's vocabulary is shared with Hindi. This extraordinary linguistic commonality testifies to the fact that no other language in India is as close to Hindi as Urdu. It can rightly be said that Hindi's greatest strength is Urdu, and Urdu's greatest strength is Hindi.
