Lost Worlds

As an outsider,these are far far away lands ravaged & lost,but for an insider,their land is alive,breathing & fighting for survival

Language is identity,a thread that strings age-old cultures,traditions and weaves them into this rich,colourful tapestry that speaks volumes and stitches century old stories. Perhaps this is one of the most reasons why Chura Mani Bandhu picked the study of linguistics. A professor,folklore scholar,editor and writer in Nepal,this celebrated littérateur was in town for the SAARC Folklore Festival seminars at CRRID. And we,in between papers and tea,got a chance to share a few notes,of a land lost in the folds of Himalayas,called Nepal. “Very few know that Nepali is not the only language we speak…there are hundreds of dialects in Nepal,and together,they form the Nepali language,” Prof Bandhu adds how it’s the people in the mountains who keep the folklores alive via songs and performances. “There is no money in it,but a pleasure,a sense of belonging and history,” with his roots in a little village,Prof Bandhu often journeys back into the mountains,these days with students,to research and document these treasures. But with the political mayhem lately,things have been difficult and the country has witnessed a lot of brain drain. “You can’t stop children from leaving,but there are groups,NGOs who are trying to retain talent and keep the good things alive,” he’s hopeful and does his bit by writing children’s books and encouraging them to write too. “And then there is love for linguistics and folklore,” he smiles.

From the cold mountains of Nepal to the ‘frozen’ lands of Afghanistan where editor,writer,journalist and former editor-in-chief of Kabul Times Daily,Abdul Ghafoor Shukoori takes us to his land,struggling for a new identity and fighting for survival. “There was a time when Afghanistan was the centre of art,culture,literature,poetry,dance,and most importantly,civilization,but nothing civilized is left now,” he speaks with a heavy heart,his land caught in a crossfire between two forces and a lack of political will making the situation more dismal. “We’ve been a victim of confrontation,between the communist and capitalist,” he wishes they weren’t the geo-political focus of everything. “Because of this war,the Afghan people have lost everything…our art,our history lies in houses of the powerful in Pakistan and Iran,and we’ve been looted over and over again,” he says. What can help,according to Shukoori,is an international dialogue and intervention,in which countries across the world come together to put an end to this nightmare. “It’s a far-fetched idea,but it is. Three decades of war has made us lose our cultural and economic resources,and all that was precious to our land,” he leaves us with a point to ponder – ‘it takes one building to reconstruct a city,but it takes centuries,may be more to reconstruct and rehabilitate a civilization’.