Mathematics and Urdu Intersections Decoded
what is common
between khalib and the theory of
infinite sets
yo have a look at this
this is just me writing that my name is
arjun
but how did i get here well
let me introduce you to something that i
believe is one of the most significant
parts
of my life right now the nastali script
which is the calligraphic font of the
urdu language
now how did i reach here why nastali
let me take you back to june 2018.
dazzling lights elaborate costumes
elaborate sets my family and i were
waiting in the auditorium
waiting for mukhlayasam to begin and no
not the mugly azam which you reminisce
about being in black and white
but the one which was recently adapted
as a musical
at ncpa in mumbai wow
certain stories stick with people either
for the plot or the message
this was one of those stories except it
stuck with me for a very peculiar reason
the language now being an
unusually great bollywood lover
urdu dialogues were never too unknown
for me
but this was the first time i was
watching something
which was fully scripted in urdu and
that
set the train running and i started
thinking of every single indication
that was telling me to learn urdu well
so why urdu and why would a teenager
just get up one day
and decide to learn the art of reading
and writing it
let me tell you urdu is actually all
around us
at least in mumbai yes it is every
single day as i went to school on my
school bus
and as the bus pass by my locality i saw
that there were urdu signboards
everywhere
on top of restaurants shops banners
billboards and all along there was only
one question that plagued me
what does it feel like to be in your own
country
in your own city and not be able to read
the language on these birds
every single time i picked up a piece of
hindi literature
i realized that the sporadic urdu
vocabulary
actually gave me an outlet to imagine to
grow
for my love to grow now
it had been a long time since i had
learnt a language
since english hindi and marathi are
native to me
you must be wondering what this nastaliq
is that i keep talking about
it is the same script which if i show to
my friends today
they would say oh the one that looks
like arabic and they are not wrong
nastali is the peugeot arabic form of
writing urdu
and persian or farsi it is the same
script which was used in the courts of
mughal emperors
the ones we studied in history now
let me tell you three things there are
three reasons why i fell in love with
nasa
and why you should do first
where do you find a language with such
magnificent
strokes second
where do you find a script which goes
from right to left
when the whole world is accustomed to
the left to right way of reading and
writing
and third my personal favorite where do
you find a language which has
etiquette decency respect embedded in it
as a native would say so that actually
set the ball running
and i started thinking of math learning
and language learning as a concept
going one step behind let me talk about
the concept of multilingualism
something which has always intrigued me
basically i kept thinking about how the
brain
can quickly switch between different
languages
between math and a language how these
neural connections actually adapt to the
varying syntax
vocabulary punctuation grammar
and that’s when i realized like the mad
scientist in a movie
what better subject to experiment on
than yourself
and therefore i have five observations
for you
these five observations have broadened
my perspective and hopefully will do the
same for you
coming to number one let me start with
my journey learning nastali
obviously the first challenge was
getting used to the right to left way of
reading and writing it
at first it seemed uneasy the space felt
limited
everything seemed like it was upside
down
and that’s when i realized oh god my
brain is
really challenging me right from the
outset
and then i realized isn’t this like
something else we do in math
working backwards reverse engineering
that’s right reverse engineering a
technique which we use in math so often
think about that inverse function which
you had to find
or that geometry mcq which you had to
solve
working backwards is everywhere well
as recent as the induction inequality
which i had to prove in my test
was something i worked out backwards so
isn’t
math learning somehow connected to urdu
learning
or any language learning well
time for number two since we’re anyway
on this topic
let me tell you about urdu letters and
the urdu alphabet as used in nastali
urdhu words are written as one
continuous stroke
where the writer does not have to lift
his hand
unlike other languages there are no
spaces between letters
hence isn’t this very interesting
add a pinch of complexity to this and
then you get a script
where each letter looks different
whether it’s placed in the start
in the middle or at the end of a word
quite complex yet interesting for me
another interesting aspect actually is
the pronunciation
you must be knowing that these urdu
pronunciations are quite popular and
even daunting for
for hindi speakers considering they have
arabic roots
now it would not be uncommon for someone
to walk into my room
at two am in the morning and hear me
enunciating my
ho go and go i mean
quite an experience this is primarily
due to
the guttural articulation or from the
epiglottis as you see
since we’re already on this topic let me
pose one more fun fact in front of you
in the nostalic script there are four
different
letters all making the z sound
three different letters all making the
sound
and two different letters making the
third sound
so in such a scenario how does one know
which one to use where
how to spell a word the answer is there
is no way
it’s all about getting used to the
patterns and knowing which letter comes
where in a word
do you see a link yet yes math for me
is a language of patterns and i for math
patterns
is needed just like an eye for nostalgic
patterns is needed
think of the first conjecture which was
formed think of maybe an olympiad
problem which you had to generalize
think about that progression which you
thought oh this looks like an arithmetic
progression to me
it’s all about patterns and patterns
actually link
my love for math learning and language
learning
well it’s time for number three
since we’re already on the topic of
alphabets and letters
year this out the nastaliq form of
writing urdu
conveniently omits the short vowels and
considers them implied for readers
heavy statement i know let me break this
down with an english analogy
suppose you were writing the word
biscuit
if you were writing in nastali you would
write
b s c t and leave it for your readers to
interpret
whether it’s basket or booskit or buskut
or buscat anything this has happened to
me
whenever i read urdu nastaliq i have to
quickly put in an
o e or u and check which one makes sense
as long as i sound like say
a normal human being and not an alien
invading the earth
then oh good i have a right word and
this brings me to trial and error
a very important concept and technique
in mathematics
it’s all about trial and error right
think about that number theory question
in which you have that last co prime
integer pair
or think about that diophantine equation
which you had to solve in an mcq
it’s all about trial and error if it
fits well
then you’re at it great if it doesn’t
you need to try different combinations
math learning urdu learning you see what
i’m getting at
right now time for number four
let me talk about the construct of
grammar
hindi urdu grammar is so popular
worldwide
it’s world renowned grammarians call it
to be
complicated refined elegant why
because there are so many verbs in hindi
and urdu which have connotative meaning
you have to string together these
conjunctions prepositions
nouns verbs and it’s all in the brain
i would like to give you an example in
the tenth grade my hindi teacher used to
tell me
suppose x is a synonym for y that does
not mean that a sentence with
x would also work with y quite baffling
but that’s hindi and urdu grammar in a
nutshell
what is this like is it something like
we’ve encountered in mathematics
that’s right the art of proof writing
writing proofs for me is like grammar
you need to figure out how these numbers
symbols all come together in an elegant
structure
once you have that you have a good proof
therefore i always say that for someone
to be good at writing proofs
you need to have that grammatical
prowess
you need to know how to fit in your
corollaries lemmas
theorems propositions to make an elegant
proof
hence math learning is again like
language learning
now that was a lot of information but
behold number five
i will now come to the literature aspect
of urdu
urdu literature is world renowned as we
all know
the razzles the poems the short stories
everyone knows them take ghalib for
example
the revolutionary urdu writer now
i just pick up one gazelle from him
one share one couplet and you will see
that there’s so much ambiguity and so
much abstractness in it
the depth of that is capable of drowning
a hundred humans
therefore when i read a hazel i’m always
thinking
um okay is this a cry for help
is this an expression of love is this an
expression of jealousy
is it a call to my beloved and all of
them will make sense at the same time
hence what i am saying is that this
ambiguity
this abstractness is also seen in the
world of
pure math think of that abelian group
a ring a field everything in pure math
can toss set theory even understanding
infinite sets
it’s all about embracing the ambiguity
embracing the enigma
and then realizing the abstract nature
of it
therefore i always say that math
learning is like urdu learning even in
this aspect
and i hope that question which i asked
you in the beginning
what connects ghalib and the theory of
infinite sets
that has been answered till now but
coming to the main point
what do i want to drive through this
talk what do i want to tell you about
when research in neuroplasticity is so
trending
it is seen that the neural connections
which are involved in learning language
learning syntax grammar vocabulary is
similar
to the neural connection which is
involved in learning mathematics
just as you code switch between english
to hindi to marathi
in the same way you code switch to
english and mathematics as well
because english and mathematics are both
languages to me
languages of patterns just like urdu and
nastalica’s
so what has this done for me urdu
learning
learning nastali has actually opened up
so much for me
it has opened up new literature for me
past
mysteries the rich cultural heritage it
has shown me all that
math learning has shown me a whole new
world of numbers
i look at the world differently today
therefore
when i learn both simultaneously i
realize
that urdu learning was just like math
learning for me
so what is in it for you
we have often segregated the stem fields
and the linguistic fields
but what about the magic that lies in
between
what about the wonders that float
between stem learning and language
learning
i consider it to be a symbiotic
relationship
one is incomplete without the other and
i think it’s high time you should too
think of language learning it’s just
like you’re learning a math topic
or think of math learning it’s just like
a learning nastali
so the point that i am trying to drive
here again is that
if you feel you want to learn a language
go ahead
don’t think about it the opportunities
are there your resources are out there
all you need to do is make a decision
hesitance that is good being reluctant
that is good if you have any sort of
hesitation it only means
that you will be able to appreciate the
wonders at the end of it
better therefore don’t be scared
today go sign up today learn a new
language
learn a new math topic it’s all i want
to tell you
when you start learning the languages
you will realize that you will
understand numbers better
when you start learning mathematics you
will realize
that not only have you opened up a new
avenue for language learning
but you’ve also opened up a treasure
trove of rich
literature therefore i always tell you
that once you learn a language once you
learn mathematics
just like learning nastaliq for me was
i was anyway passionate about
mathematics but when i learned nastali
i realized that the streets which i
travel weren’t the same anymore
you will also realize that the streets
which you traverse every day
will not be the same for you the lengths
with which you view the world
is not going to be the same i can assure
you of the fact that the world is going
to turn
and make a full 360 degree turn for you
every single aspect of life is going to
be different
and the day won’t be long when ralib in
your imagination
explains the schroder-bernstein theorem
and a euclidean algorithm flows like the
lines of a ghazal
every step of the way thank you