Gyan-Pravaha

‘Literary Traditions of Allahabad’ by Professor Shabnam Hamid

Gyan-Pravaha

Description
Professor Shabnam Ansari from Allahabad University talks about the literary traditions of Allahabad, where tehzeeb is based on the idiom of the Ganga-Jamuna. She talks about Allahabad's Sangam which is not just a sangam of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati, but a sangam of people, a sangam of tehzeeb. This Sangam of sangams deals with the Urdu language, which in itself is a sangam of languages, a mixture of many tongues. She explains that since ancient times, the mother of all languages was Sanskrit; however, since some restrictions were imposed, not all could speak it. Thus, for the general public, Prakrit became the language to converse in. First Prakrit, then Apbhransh, then the interaction between the two led to the making of a language, in Markaz, which later on evolved into Urdu lavzi. She mentions popular names in this sphere, like Akbar Allahabadi, Sapru Anand, Narayan Gully, Tariq Dan, Sain Dan, Maulvi Zaka Ullah, Tara Chand, and Amarnath Jha. Firaq Gorakhpuri was one of the stars of Allahabad, and the city is, according to her, incomplete without his name. She talks about the importance of ‘continuity over change’ for the development and preservation of this culture.
Project Title
The Ganga Project
Duration
14:25
Language
English, Hindi
DOCUMENT TYPE
Video
Identifier:
LIV003
Related Term
Oral Traditions
USE RESTRICTIONS
In Copyright
RIGHTS HOLDER
INTACH

Related Organisation
Intach
NMCG