Words Define Identity

Kashmiri has the power to grow with the world and mold how we think, imagine, and create.

- Umair Ul Umar

Last week, my niece held a tablet and asked, “What do we call this in Kashmiri?”

She looked at me with curiosity, and I realized there was no ready answer.

The words we used came in English: computer, tablet, internet. These words have become part of everyday life. We use, explore, and teach them. Kashmiri has a place here too, waiting to give these tools a name, to make them our own.

Kashmiri has always been alive. A vehicle became gaadie, a tiler became albaen, and a needle became sechan. When airplanes arrived, our ancestors called them jahaze.