Lesson 4 Contd...
Letters in Cutchi
Letter writing in Cutchi has been totally forgotten. It is not known whether there had been any correspondence or accounting carried out in Cutchi after the migration from Cutch. In Kerala, for the past two hundred and odd years Gujarati, followed by Malayalam and then English were the media in use. It is also not known whether the Cutchi language was ever used earlier. If the members of the community who might have in their possession some very old records, would be good enough to examine them it would serve as an addition to our understanding of the history and culture of our language.
I remember, my father's mother Rabia Bai, having mentioned to me that, in her life time, she had received only two letters in Cutchi both written in Gujarati script and that she had replied to them in Cutchi in the Arabic-Sindhi script. She had taught me the book "Noor Namo" (It had a Hindustani version -not Urdu- by name "Tarteeb-e-Salaat). printed in Arabic-Sindhi. If my impression is correct, there must be some copies of Noor Namo in the collection of books with old timers, and possibly there will be a copy in some old bureau of Iqbal Library, Kochi, disguised as a book in Arabic. The script was of the same print as of Quraan known as Bombay Print.
A genuine question might arise as to the relevance of letter writing in Kutchi when there is no script of its own and the spoken language has become practically localised. I am compelled to recall a meeting of the All India Kutchi Memon Federation, some time in 1990 or thereabout, which I attended. With exception of one or two delegates every one spoke in Urdu and others in English. That none spoke in Cutchi pains me even today. Purposely, I talked in Cutchi to express my anguish and concern. In his reply the chairman, Jb. Haroon Kabli confessed that he did not understand much of what I said and that it must be a lesson to him and people like him who had forgotten their mother tongue. He declared that the Federation will take up a programme to rejuvenate the language. But even after a quarter century, I am afraid, the status -quo- ante prevails. It is under this background that the work on this primer was commenced. It was strongly felt that those who are interested in the Cutchi language and in employing that language in their personal correspondence should not be denied an opportunity to do so. This section makes a beginning in that direction.
I remember, my father's mother Rabia Bai, having mentioned to me that, in her life time, she had received only two letters in Cutchi both written in Gujarati script and that she had replied to them in Cutchi in the Arabic-Sindhi script. She had taught me the book "Noor Namo" (It had a Hindustani version -not Urdu- by name "Tarteeb-e-Salaat). printed in Arabic-Sindhi. If my impression is correct, there must be some copies of Noor Namo in the collection of books with old timers, and possibly there will be a copy in some old bureau of Iqbal Library, Kochi, disguised as a book in Arabic. The script was of the same print as of Quraan known as Bombay Print.
A genuine question might arise as to the relevance of letter writing in Kutchi when there is no script of its own and the spoken language has become practically localised. I am compelled to recall a meeting of the All India Kutchi Memon Federation, some time in 1990 or thereabout, which I attended. With exception of one or two delegates every one spoke in Urdu and others in English. That none spoke in Cutchi pains me even today. Purposely, I talked in Cutchi to express my anguish and concern. In his reply the chairman, Jb. Haroon Kabli confessed that he did not understand much of what I said and that it must be a lesson to him and people like him who had forgotten their mother tongue. He declared that the Federation will take up a programme to rejuvenate the language. But even after a quarter century, I am afraid, the status -quo- ante prevails. It is under this background that the work on this primer was commenced. It was strongly felt that those who are interested in the Cutchi language and in employing that language in their personal correspondence should not be denied an opportunity to do so. This section makes a beginning in that direction.