I grew up in an Urdu speaking literary family. So it truly is one of life’s little ironies that I was never taught to read or write Urdu in my childhood.
As an adult, specially after becoming a professional writer, I tried to learn the language several times but never found the right teacher. They were either clerics or academics, not proficient enough to convey the course of Urdu to me.
Enter Abhishek Shukla!
He was introduced to me by my wonderfully discerning colleague Varun Grover, who vouched for his teaching and human skills. I soon learnt that first hand.
In the 3 month course that I took with Abhishek ji, not only did I learn to read and write basic Urdu but was introduced to the poetic, literary and cultural context of the language.
Abhishek ji is a skilled teacher, a patient guide, a treasure trove of Urdu literature and poetry and a quality poet himself, but above all he is a fine human being.
Take this thoughtful teacher’s class to learn to read and write basic Urdu, and go back with a deeper understanding of Urdu ‘adab’ and ‘tehzeeb’.