A proverb is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.
Literature of Kashmir has a long history, the oldest texts having been composed in the Sanskrit language. Early names include Patanjali, the author of the Mahābhāṣya commentary on Pāṇini's grammar, suggested by some to have been the same to write the Hindu treatise known as the Yogasutra, and Dridhbala, who revised the Charaka Samhita of Ayurveda.
Lalleshwari, also known locally as Lal Ded, was a Kashmiri mystic of the Kashmir Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy. She was the creator of the style of mystic poetry called vatsun or Vakhs, literally "speech". Known as Lal Vakhs, her verses are the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language and are an important part in the history of modern Kashmiri literature.
Kashmiri or Koshur is a language from the Dardic subgroup of Indo-Aryan languages, spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris, primarily in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kashmiri Pandits are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region located within the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits originally lived in the Kashmir Valley before Muslim influence entered the region, following which large numbers converted to Islam. They are the only remaining Hindu community native to Kashmir.
The Dardic languages are a subgroup of the Indo-Aryan languages natively spoken in northern Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern India's Kashmir Valley and Chenab Valley and parts of eastern Afghanistan. Kashmiri is the most prominent Dardic language, with an established literary tradition, alongside official recognition as one of India's 22 scheduled languages.
Prithivi Nath Kaul Bamzai (1910–2007) was a Kashmiri scholar and historian who wrote several books on the history of Kashmir and Central Asia.
Wellerisms, named after sayings of Sam Weller in Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers, make fun of established clichés and proverbs by showing that they are wrong in certain situations, often when taken literally. In this sense, Wellerisms that include proverbs are a type of anti-proverb. Typically a Wellerism consists of three parts: a proverb or saying, a speaker, and an often humorously literal explanation.
Mattur is a village in Shivamogga district near the city of Shivamogga in Karnataka state, India, known for the usage of Sanskrit for day-to-day communication, although the general language of the state is Kannada.
Kashmiris are a Dardic ethno-linguistic group and first-language speakers of the Kashmiri, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley in the portion of the disputed Kashmir region administered by India.
Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad, known by his pen name as Mahjoor, was a poet of the Kashmir Valley, along with contemporaries, Zinda Kaul, Abdul Ahad Azad, and Dinanath Nadim. He is especially noted for introducing a new style into Kashmiri poetry and for expanding Kashmiri poetry into previously unexplored thematic realms. In addition to his poems in Kashmiri, Mahjoor is also noted for his poetic compositions in Persian and Urdu.
Koul is a surname used by the Kashmiri Pandit community in India.
Amin Kamil (1924–2014) was a major voice in Kashmiri poetry and one of the chief exponents of modern ghazal in the language. His influence is widely accepted by his contemporaries and later generations. Kamil, besides being a poet, has also written short stories and a novel and works of literary criticism. He has also written a number of plays and musicals for the radio. His critically edited collection of Sufi poetry remains a definitive text which has been widely acclaimed. He has also edited the collected verse of Nund Reshi, and that of Habba Khatun. Kamil is also known as a scholar of high calibre.
Omkar Nath Koul was an Indian linguist. As a researcher, his interests included the areas of linguistics, language education, communications management, and comparative literature. Since the 1970s he has held several academic and administrative positions. In particular, he had been a professor at the LBS National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, India, and a professor at the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, India. Koul also served as the director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages from 1999 to 2000.
Vatsun is derived from Sanskrit ‘Vachan’ meaning word/speech. This is because it has no particular pattern of versification or rhyme scheme. The metres and rhyme schemes of vatsun are varied, but generally each unit is a stanza of three lines followed by a refrain (vooj). Vatsun bears a resemblance to Urdu lyric. Vatsun is also similar to the ghazals of the Middle East and iambic pentameter of the Western world.
Haksar is a Kashmiri Pandit surname. They are native to the Kashmir Valley within the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and they have a long tradition of Indian administrative service based on fluency in a link language - Persian under the Mughuls and English under the British. In light of this fact, the Haksar family historically became a prominent administrative family in other parts of India, namely in Indore and Gwalior.
The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c, was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 1933. It was founded by the archaeologist James Burgess to enable the sharing of knowledge between scholars based in Europe and in India and was notable for the high quality of its epigraphic illustrations which enabled scholars to make accurate translations of texts that in many cases remain the definitive versions to this day. It was also pioneering in its recording of Indian folklore. It was succeeded by The New Indian Antiquary (1938–47) and the Indian Antiquary (1964–71).
Sheikhgal or Watali is an unclassified Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Its speakers, the formerly nomadic Watals, are found throughout Kashmir, particularly in the districts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama and Kupwara. Among its speakers the language is also known as Opedigal or Phiri kathi.
Sarazi or Sirazi is an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is native to the Saraz region, a hilly area taking up the northern half of Doda district and parts of neighbouring Ramban and Kishtwar districts.
Pogali or Poguli is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Its area encompasses the Pogal and Paristan valleys, and currently falls within the boundaries of Ramban district's Pogal Paristan tehsil. Like its neighbours Sarazi and Rambani, Pogali is intermediate between Kashmiri and Western Pahari.
