SRINAGAR, INDIA, January 4, 2003: In a place where hundreds of people have died in terrorist attacks for over a decade, the death of a script has gone unnoticed. Sharda, the script that gave Kashmir its former name, Sharda Desha, is understood by few Kashmiris today. One of the last Sharda scholars in Srinagar, Professor T. N. Kunju, cannot keep pace with the documentation required — 300 books need to be catalogued. The last man who could read the script in the Srinagar University library retired 30 years ago. “I had to carry an apron and duster to go through the works in Sharda in the library. Very little of it remains,” says Prof. Kunju. “Most of the rare books could be found in the libraries of Kashmiri Pandits. They left the books behind. These were later sold by the kilos,” he added. Sharda evolved as a direct descendant of Brahmi and has been in use in Kashmir from the ninth century AD until recently. It’s the script in which Kashmiri language came to be written and until 30 years ago, horoscopes and birth records were written in Sharda. Today, the young write Kashmiri in Urdu and Devanagiri. It is hoped that perhaps temple priests can read Sharda. however, a trip to the Mata Khir Bhawaniji temple in Ganderbal north of Srinagar tells another story. No one there has heard of Sharda. A visit to the Sankaracharya temple in Srinagar is little different. As part of a Discovery Channel-UNESCO effort to increase awareness about endangered languages in the world, Discovery will air its dying languages series beginning February. Sharda is part of this project and hopefully, someone will be inspired to take up its cause.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike