Wali Dakni and the Early Journey of Urdu: The Struggle to Emerge from the Shadow of Persian
The story of Urdu's evolution holds a unique and fascinating place in the history of Indian languages. It is a language nurtured amidst the hustle and bustle of bazaars, the grandeur of royal courts, and the serene atmosphere of Sufi shrines. However, its early journey was not easy. For a long time, Urdu could not achieve the status it deserved, primarily due to the overwhelming dominance of the Persian language. Although the commoners and the elite of Shahjahanabad Delhi spoke Urdu and had even named it 'Urdu-e-Mualla' the Exalted Urdu, they hesitated to compose poetry in it when it came to scholarly and literary expression.
Gopi Chand Narang illustrates this situation with a beautiful and profound proverb: 'Not even grass grows under a banyan or peepal tree.' At that time, Persian was like a giant peepal tree whose deep shade and sprawling branches left no room for a nascent language like Urdu to flourish. The language was ready in the hearts and on the tongues of the people, but it needed a psychological anchor to overcome its deep-seated inferiority complex.
This historical and psychological support was provided by the Diwan poetry collection of Wali Dakni. Nurtured in the favorable environment of the Deccan, Wali's poetry created a sensation when it reached Delhi. The popularity of his verses and the sweetness of his language made the writers of Delhi realize that high-quality poetry was entirely possible in their own language Rekhta. It was Wali's influence that inspired people to abandon the imitation of Persian and turn toward their mother tongue, Urdu.
Interestingly, during this early period of the language, the general rule of the evolution of prose and poetry was reversed. Usually, in any language, prose develops first and poetry follows, but this was not the case with Urdu. Fazl Ali Fazli's 'Karbal Katha' is a prime example of this. When Fazli wrote this book, his purpose was to explain the tragedy of Karbala to women and less-educated people who did not understand Persian. Fazli writes in his preface:
"Sabab-e-talif is majmua-e-mahmuda ka aur bais-e-tasnif is nuskha-e-masuda ka ki har harf iska ek guldasta bostan-e-vilayat ka hai... Waqia-e-shahadat Shah-e-Karbala ka is mein likha hai, sunata tha lekin mani us ke nisa-o-aurat ki samajh mein na aate the. Aksar auqat kitab padhne ke baad sab ye zikr karte ki sad-haif-o-sad-hazar afsos jo hum kam-naseeb Farsi ki ibarat nahin samajhte aur rone ke sawab se be-naseeb rahte."
The reason for compiling this praiseworthy collection and authoring this blessed manuscript—every letter of which is a bouquet from the garden of sainthood... The event of the martyrdom of the King of Karbala is written herein. I used to recite it, but its meanings were beyond the comprehension of women. Often, after the reading of the book, everyone would remark, 'A hundred pities and a hundred thousand regrets that we unfortunates do not understand the Persian text and remain deprived of the reward of weeping.'
Reading this prose, one realizes that although it possesses the innocence of an early era, the sentences are still heavily shackled by Persian constructs and rhymed prose. In contrast, the poetic language of that era had become quite refined. It was as if when the dam of Urdu expression finally broke, the natural inclination toward poetry was so intense that prose was left standing on the sidelines, watching as poetry rapidly scaled the heights of evolution.
