Sahitya award winner bats for revival of Kashmiri

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 17

Writer Dheeba Nazir, who will be conferred this year’s Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, wants the Valley youth to speak their mother tongue and help in reviving the Kashmiri language.

“Try to speak your own mother tongue — Kashmiri. We (youth) have to revive our language,” Dheeba said while talking to the Tribune.

Though the announcement of award winners was made last month only, she is scheduled to be officially conferred the Sahitya Akademi Youth Award for her Kashmiri book “Zareen Zakhm” (Glistening wounds) in December.

A Kashmiri language teacher at Delhi Public School, Srinagar, she said “Zareen Zakhm” – a collection of short stories – was her first book. However, she had earlier translated three books namely “Gul Bakawali Dastaan”, “Kuliyaat Abdul Ahad Azad” and “Kuliyaat Ropi Bhawani” from Urdu to Kashmiri.

“Though I had translated three books earlier, ‘Zareen Zakhm’ is a collection of short stories written in Kashmiri. I am overwhelmed by the good response it received in literary circles. I hope the book and the award attracts the youth towards our mother tongue Kashmiri,” said Dheeba, who originally hails from Eidgah in old Srinagar city and is now settled in the Nowshera area of the summer capital after her marriage.

Deeply inspired by the 17th century Kashmir mystic poet Roop Bhawani, Dheeba said among the present generation she drew inspiration from Valley’s well-known poet and Sahitya Akademi award winner Prof Naseem Shafaie, who incidentally also taught her during her graduation days. “I had started writing in school days only and my father always encouraged me in my endeavours,” she added.

In her message, Dheeba said: “Dear young people do not bury your talent… the gift that the God has given to you… do not be afraid to dream of great things.”