Saadath Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat,(19) has developed a podcast application named as “Aao Unhe Yaad Karai” (let’s recall them) to promote Sufi poets of Kashmir as well as reviving the Kashmiri language.
Saadath hails from Hutmurah, a small village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Dialysis Technology from Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Punjab.
“I have no poetry background, but back in my school days, a teacher Mr. Majid besides teaching us the subject of history used to give us information about novels and different poets mostly about Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rumi(R.A). It was because of him that I got attracted to poetry, especially Kashmiri Sufi poets,” says Saadat.
A podcast is a series of episodes in which contain humorous, entertaining or educational audio files with a podcast hosting company. “Once you subscribe to them, it makes it easy to receive notifications through our podcast app whenever the new episodes are released,” says Saadath.
Saadath started this podcast series last year during the lockdown when the Covid 19 engulfed the whole world.
He says that the aim behind the app was only to recall our Sufi poets and to draw the attention of the youth towards the Sufi culture, and to promote Kashmiri language. He believes that somehow the younger generation of Kashmir has forgotten their real legends and their culture. “We seldom use Kashmiri language while communicating with each other. Our younger generation now feels ashamed to speak in their mother tongue. Such is the situation that many don’t even know how to converse in it,” lamented Bhat.
Saadath recently authored two books namely “Why online presence matters, it is time to make your online presence” and “Aao unhe yaad karai (Let’s recall them).” He says that both the books have been published recently and are yet to come in the market.
“Aao unhe yaad karai” is all about Sufi poets and their poems especially the poems of Wahab Khar and Shamas Faqir- the Sufi poets of Kashmir,” says Saadath.
Being a hard working student, his parents have always supported his decisions.
“When I see his poetry, I feel proud. He has always been a good student, but for a long time, he has been trying to put the Kashmiri language at the forefront. People sometimes have an inferiority complex if they speak in Kashmiri and Sadath through poetry encourages people to speak the language,” said his father Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Bhat.
Saadath is working for the podcast series from his own pocket money. He has employed a script writer, graphic designer and few others for the said podcast. “We approached J & K Tourism Department and Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages for support but we got no response from them. We request the government to support us,” appealed Saadath.
In a message Saadath said that parents should guide their children and help them in learning Kashmiri language because every language has its own beauty and no language is superior than the other.
