I used to do a lot of plays in English, Hindi, and Urdu. I wanted to be an actor since I was three and a half.
I feel French is very close to Urdu. Both languages are beautiful. Sadly, their beauty is lost in translation.
I can't understand Urdu, Bahasa or Russian, but when the Pakistani Faiz, the Indonesian Rendra and the Russian Rosdentvensky declaim, I can feel the living throb of rhythm and music, the warmth and passion of their poetry, as do the hundreds, not a mere roomful, of poetry lovers in the audience.
A few words of Hindi appear here or there, but it's all Urdu. I feel that if the popular culture, which is what Hindi films are, uses Urdu, it's not going to diminish.
We recognised Urdu as the second official language and made it a medium of examination in all Bihar Public Service Commission tests.
My identity comprises of more than just my faith. I am a proud Muslim, but I am also a liberal, a Briton, a Pakistani, a Londoner, a father, a product of the globalised world who speaks English, Arabic and Urdu.