ABOUT

Our Story

When the COVID-19 lockdown began in March 2020, many of us turned inward looking for small routines, new hobbies, or anything creative that could keep us steady. For my friends and I, that outlet became a deeply personal way to reconnect with our heritage language in a time when visiting the motherland felt impossible. As lockdown lifted, that same disconnect persisted in Urdu-speaking circles across the diaspora.

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Urdu is the 10th most spoken language in the world, yet its beauty, history, and literary depth are still often overshadowed, misunderstood, or treated as inaccessible in the South Asian and global zeitgeist. Older generations worry it won’t catch up with modern technology and fail to connect with the youth. Younger generations, especially in the diaspora, don’t even know where to begin! My little brother thought bhai jaan was one word, my mother read Urdu classics before dinner. Surely there had to be an easier way to bridge this gap..

That’s where Kosh-E-Lughat comes in. The goal was simple: to bring Urdu to where the people of today already are: on their screens, in their scrolls, and participating in popular culture. I set up an Instagram account where my language meets modern design, and my grandparents' weathered, dust-mantled books meets today's sparkly and attention-grabbing feeds. Haven't looked back since!

We wanted to show that Urdu isn’t just a language of the past or one limited to poetry and formality, though her eloquence is incomparable of course. It’s one that can evolve with trends, culture, music, and storytelling. It’s living, breathing, and constantly evolving with us (remember the Allah/Khuda Hafiz craze?) We wanted to present it with the charm, complexity, and context the language deserves through pieces that feel like a small exhibit on your phone each day. A word, couplet, motif, a forgotten phrase or cultural footnote, we were determined to do it all for audience of three. Today, @koshlughat reaches an audience of more than 11 thousand. Far from the goal, but growing steadily due to the care and concern of Urdu speakers! The next frontier: tasteful designs to encourage Urdu nazm and ghazal in everyday clothing.

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Whether someone speaks Urdu fluently, understands it thori bohot, or is meeting it for the first time, giving them a space to explore, learn, and feel connected to the langauge is critical for the relevance and growth of our beloved Zubān-E-Urdu.