Wakhi community holds literary gathering

CHITRL: The Wakhi community of Broghil valley in Upper Chitral held a literary programme, the first ever of its kind in the area. The event was attended by poets, writers and singers of the Wakhi language.

The event was followed by a musical night. More than 50 people from the community were present on the occasion.

The programme started with interviews of senior Wakhi poets who inspired young people to use their language for literary activities. The participants highlighted the evolution of Wakhi language and culture and shared their memories with the youth.

An informal poetry session provided an opportunity to the young poets to express themselves in front of their parents, teachers and community elders. The event concluded with a musical programme which involved youth and elders alike.

The participants appreciated FLI for holding the event and resolved to play their part for strengthening their language.

The Wakhi language is spoken in the sparsely populated upper portions of four of the northernmost valleys: Hunza (Gojal), Ishkoman, Yasin and Broghil. The latter is located in Upper Chitral while the others are in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

The community youth claim there are 1,500 people in Broghil who speak Wakhi as their mother tongue. Wakhi in GB is a literary language but a lot of work needs to be done for the language in Chitral. The educated people of the community in Chitral show commitment to work for the language who approach FLI for assistance.

FLI will continue to encourage the youth from the Wakhi community and more engagement activities will take place in future so that the language could be strengthened by involving the community.