Previously at ATP we have talked about ‘Redundancy’ and about ‘Naming Names’ in Pakistan. At those posts lively comments by many of our readers made the original post even more interesting. Once again we are hopeful that our loyal readers will come forward and add to this post with their own interesting questions.
So question is: what is it?
Is it Shala-mar as written in most Mughal historical manuscripts or is it ‘Shali-mar’ as written on the boxes of expensive French perfume named after the famous gardens in Lahore and in Kashmir? What is it?
Is it Mumtaz Mahal as the queen of Emperor Shahjahan for whom he built that magnificent mausoleum in Agra at the banks of river Yamuna, or is it the gaudy and tasteless casino Taj Mahal built by developer Donald Trump at the shores of Atlantic Ocean in the US of A. Which one is it?
Is it Badeshahi Qala or simply Shai Qila as pronounced by Lahorites?
Is it Poto-har, Pot-war, or Poth-war Plateau (all at once in the same government of Pakistan official publication)?
Again is it Ka-ra-chi or Ka-ran-chi as my great-aunt used to say? Which one is it?
Is it University of the Punjab as printed on the left side of my diploma or is it Punjab University as printed on the right side of the same document. What is it?
Is it Syed as in Tahira Syed the famous singer-daughter of the famous singer-mother, or is it Syeda as in Syeda Abida Hussain the famous politician-daughter of famous politician-father Syed Maratab Ali Shah.
Is it Mohammad Nawaz s/o Mohammad Sharif as stated on his original birth certificate or is it Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif Sahab as printed on his election campaign posters? Which one is it?
Is it Jillani as ‘Shaikh Abdul Qadar Jillani of Bagdad or is it Gillani as Pir-Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani of Multan.
And then, is it Enlightened Moderation or Moderate Enlightenment.
Which one is it?
The above are some of the questions in my mind and in the minds of other readers of ATP which need a resolution.
Jalal: Pakistani actors, singers and ‘film-walas’ are often (but not always) poorly educated. This is more true for our female artists. Lacking originality and creativity, these folks generally copy Indian song and dance industry. The words like ‘ooperwala’ and ‘shurooaat’ are few examples of this ‘monkey see, monkey do’ mind set. In northern India ‘ooperwala’ is a generic substitute for words like Allah/Khuda and Bhagwan/Eeshwar. May be in a multi-religious society such substitutions are needed. But why our Pakistani singers/actors import these words? I guess lack of self awareness may be!
MQ: I have been researching about Shala-mar/Shali-mar and about ‘taj-mahal’ for long time. Every historical manuscript from the Mughal period I have come across shows word ‘shala’ with the Arabic (and hence Urdu/Persian) letter ‘Alaf’ at the end. When did ‘shala’ become ‘shali’ in some quarters, we really do not know. Similarly nowhere it is written ‘taj-mahal’. It is always some thing like ‘Maqbara Malika (mausoleum empress) Mumtaz Mahal’. But you are right. In Hindi and Indian/rural Punjabi the ‘Z’ sound is often substituted by the ‘J’ sound.
@jalal,
I find it ironic that you credit “hindu mentality” for changing Mumtaz to Taj, and then in the same post mention Faisalabad, which used to be Lyallpur.
Do you have any comments about muslim mentality?
i think that Egyptians pronounce J (jeem) sound as g (gaaf).
i think they remember their president as Gamal abdul nasir, we call him Jamal abdul nasir.
May be the same difference appears in the pronunciation of Jillani or Gillani…
Both Gilani and Jilani are correct. The Arabic letter ‘jeem’ is pronounced as G (as in God) in Egypt and Sudan. Like, Gamal Abdul Nasser in Egypt was pronounced as Jamal Abdul Nasser in the rest of the Arab world.