taksīm = division

A story of Sadaat Hassan MANTO in Roman Urdu / Roman Hindi with definitions of difficult words.

taksīm

ek ādmī ne apne liye lakṛī kā ek baṛā sandūk muntakhab kiyā jab use uṭhāne lagā to vo apnī jagāh se ek iṃc bhī nā hilā

ek śakhs ne jise śāyed apne matlab ki koyī cīz mil hī nahī rahī thī, sandūk uṭhāne kī kośiś karne vāle se kahā, "maiṃ tumhārī madad karūṃ?"

sandūk uṭhāne ki kośiś karne vālā imdād lene par rāzī ho geyā. us śakhs ne jise apne matlab kī koyī cīz mil nahī rahī thī apne mazbūt hāthoṃ se sandūk ko jinbaś dī aur uṭhā kar apnī pīṭh par dhar liyā.

dūsre ne sahārā diyā, dono bāhar nikle.

sandūk bahut bojhal thā. us ke nīce uṭhāne vāle ki pīṭh ciṃkh rahī thī, ṭāṃge doharī hotī jā rahī thīṃ. lekin inām kī tokā ne us jismānī maśakat ka esesās nīm mardā kar diyā thā.

sandūk uṭhāne vāle ke mukāble meṃ sandūk muntakhab karne vāla bahut kamzor thā. sārā rasta vo ek hāth se sahārā de kar apnā hakk kāyam rakhtā rahā. jab dono mehfūz mukām par pahuṃc gaye to sandūk ko ek taraf rakh kar sārī maśakat bardāśt karne vāle ne kahā. bolo is sandūk ke māl meṃ se mujhe kitnā milegā.

sandūk par pehelī nazr ḍālne vāle ne javāb diya, ek cothāyī.

bahut kam hai.

kam bilkul nahī, zeādā hai. isliye ki sab se pehele maine hī is par hāth ḍālā thā.

ṭhīk hai, lekin yahāṃ tak is kamar toṛ bojh ko uṭhāne ke liye kon hai?

ādhe ādhe par rāzī ho?

ṭhīk hai. kholo sandūk.

sandūk kholā geyā to us meṃ se ek ādmī bāhar niklā, hāth meṃ talvār thī. bāhar nikalte hi us ne dono hisedāroṃ ko cār hisoṃ meṃ taksīm kar diyā.

muśkil alfāz ke matlab

muntakhab karnā = cun nā

imdād = madad

jinbaś karnā = hilānā

tokā = umīd

nīm mardā karnā = kam karnā

Audio reference guide to Roman Hindustanti (Roman Urdu or Roman Hindi)

I wrote a post last month on informal Roman Hindi and Roman Urdu as it is used in the subcontinent. Today, I am going to post a video in which I am reading out the sounds. There is nothing no new information in the video. The only use I can think of is that this video can help you make sure you have got the sounds right.

Reference guide to Roman Hindustanti (Roman Urdu or Roman Hindi)

Here is a short guide to the Roman Hindustani (Roman Urdu or Roman Hindi) as it is used in sign boards, internet forums, mobile texts and for mostly casual written conversation in North India and Pakistan.

There are a few exceptions. They tend to show influences of the script one uses. Compare ahasaas (feeling) vs ehesaas (feeling). Indians (influenced by Devnagari) write it the former way, while Pakistanis (and some Indians like me) prefer the latter.

Consonants

Single consonants

b – as in boy. Bechna (to sell), Banaras (the name of a city)

c – not used, foreign words are an exception. (cola, not kola)

d – sometimes as "th" in "the", dadi (grandmother), dimag (brain, intelligence)

      at other times as "d" in "command", danda (stick, baton), damru (a musical instrument)

      There is also a third sound which does not have any English equivalent. Mod  (turn), tod (to break)

f – as in fish, faltu (useless), fir (then, again)

g – always hard as in go; gerna (to let fall), gana (song)

h – as in house; harna (to lose), holi (the name of a festival)

j – as in jam; jamun (Jambul), jija (brother-in-law)

k – as in quick (unaspirated); kela (banana), kala (black)

l – as in London; lamba (long, tall), litna (to lie down)

m – as in man; maal (money), mohit (enchant)

n – as in nanny; nana (mother's father), neem (a herb)

      as in French "pardon"; men (in), saans (breath)

      as in kan (grain). No English equivalent.

p – as in blip (unaspirated); Patna (capital of Bihar); papa (papa)

q – not used, except in some words of Arabic or Persian origin ("qaum", "qafila", "quran")

r – as in Russian; roshni (light), rasta (way)

     Sometimes used in place of "d" in words like "Mor" instead of "Mod"

s – as in sip; sona (to sleep; gold); saas (mother-in-law)

t – sometimes as "t" in Italian "alto"; tota (parrot), totla (someone who stammers, stutters)

     in other occasions "t" as in pit (never aspirated); tanki (water tank), tokna (to interrupt)

v – as in van; vasta (sake), vikna (to be sold)

w – Mostly to replace "v."; wasta (sake), wikna (to be sold)

x – rarely used. Pronounced "ksh" as in Lakshmi. Only a few names have it; Laxmi

y – as in yatch; yaari (friendship), yatri (traveller)

z – as in zoo; zameen (earth), zar (gold)

Digraphs

bh – aspirated "b". No English equivalent. Bhárat (India)

ch – unaspirated, as in "church"

dh – aspirated "d."

       There are two sounds neither of which has an English equivalent.  

      Dhám (a place of pilgrimage) 

       and dhol (an musical instrument)

gh – aspirated "g." No English equivalent. Ghee

jh – aspirated "j." No English equivalent. Jhánsi (the name of a city)

kh – aspirated "k" as in car, cap

ph – sometimes used in place of "f"

rh - No English equivalent. Used as "d" of "mod" (turn) at the end of the names of cities and states: Chhattisgarh, Rajgarh, Junagarh

sh – as in slush

th – two sounds.

       One is of "th" in "think"

       the second does not have an English equivalent. Thand (cold)

Trigraphs

chh - aspirated "ch". As in "church". Chhattisgarh   

Vowels

Single vowels

a – mostly as "u" in cut. Kab (when)

      sometimes long as in father. Kitab (book), sipahi (soldier)

      Mostly long when it comes in the end of a word. Gita (Gita), pita (father)

e – as in elephant. Jan-e-man (darling)

     sometimes as in academy. Ke (that)

     sometimes as in may. Akeli (alone; female), jhelna (to bear)

i – as in inch. Kitna (how much)

     Long as in machine at the end of a word. Pani (water)

o – as in hot. Langot (a trouser), mota (fat, obese)

u – mostly short as in put. Lutna (to be robbed), pul (bridge)

      sometimes as in cut. Hum (we)

Diaphthongs

aa – long "a" as in father. Saari (an Indian dress), maali (gardner)

ai – as in animal. Hai (is), main (me)

au – as in ought. Aur (and), Qaum (society)

ay – In Pakistan, "ay" is found instead of "ai." Hay (is), mayn (me)

ei – as in freigh. Mein (in)

ee – as in feed. Bijlee (electricity)

Sample

Kal jab ham vahaan ja rahe the to hame ehesaas hua ke is dunia men sab kuchh theek nahi hai.

We realised not everything in the world was well when were going there yesterday.

Kya maths ka ijaad hua tha, ya fir us ko khoja geya hai?

Has mathematics been invented, or has it  been discovered?

Kaash hamaare politicians bhi hamaari tarah samajhdaar hote. Ha ha ha!

If only our politicians were as wise as we are. Ha ha ha!  

WW2 propaganda in Roman Hindustani

Found an interesting webpage a few days ago. It tells a fascinating account of the propaganda war between the British Colonial Government on the one side and the Axis powers (Germany and Japan) and a group of Indian freedom fighters on the other.

I have yet to read the whole thing. But skimming through it I noticed something damn interesting. The British, Germans, Japanese and Indians were using Romanised Hindi/Urdu to reach the masses. 

The title of a leaflet from the Indian National Army of the Provisional Indian Government reads: 

Burma par dobara qabza karna ger-munkin hai.

(It's impossible to conquer Burma again.)

The leaflet refers to the British attempts to recapture the territory from the INA and its Japanese allies.

A German propaganda pamphlet asks Indians if they were aware of what was happening in the world. 

It reads:

Hindustánio! Tum ko kuchh khabar haí kih dunyá men kyá ho ráhá haí?

Another example of German efficiency. They mark long vowels! It makes the text easier to read.

That was more than 60 years ago. What makes it so fascinating is that the people writing them were no scientists experimenting on a new script. They were propagandists of desperate regimes trying to woo Indians. And this makes me wonder, why would they chose to put forward their side in Roman script. I don't have the faintest idea.

Aside from the script, the propaganda is chiefly in four languages: English, Hindi/Urdu, Bengali and Tamil. English probably for the educated urban populace, Hindi/Urdu for the North and the West, Bengali for the Eastern parts and Tamil for the South.