British Missionary’s Contribution  to Kashmir Literature

( Kashmir Rechords Exclusive)

A  British Missionary, James Hinton Knowles has done a Yeoman’s service to the people of Kashmir and its literature. Apart from looking after health and education of Kashmiris in 19^th Century, he had added two valuable books to Kashmir’s vast library while bringing up a dictionary on Kashmiri proverbs and sayings in 1885 and compiling over 100 Kashmiri folktales in 1893.

James Hinton Knowles (1856-1943) through his great work has tried to explain all these proverbs, blended with local-folklore, with accuracy and perfection. Proverbs like  Aki Tsat Sum Ta  Sass Gav Kouli , Anim Soi, Wavum Soi, Lajim Soi Pansasi,  Bir Balun Katt, Hapath Yaraz, Harmukhuk Gosani and scores other Kashmiri proverbs, which are still in use,  have been compiled  and presented  with a local Kashmiri story behind their origin and popularity.

This British Missionary had visited Kashmir in 1880s, where he authored two important books about Kashmiri language and culture. Apart from compiling `Kashmiri Proverbs and Sayings’’, James Knowles during the same period, also penned down another valuable book on Kashmir, titled   “Kashmir’s Folktales’’ (1893).

Kashmiri Proverbs and Sayings

While sharing his experience in compilation/publication of “Kashmiri Proverbs and Sayings’’, the author states that the book was the “result of many hours of labour, study and anxiety during his stay in Kashmir. As a missionary, on arriving in the Valley, the author says “ he had   devoted his attention to the study of the language and believing that Proverbs taught the real People’s speech. I quickly began to make a collection of them’’.

Source of Kashmiri Proverbs, Folktales

The author  informs his readers that  sometimes it  was a  great and learned Pandit instinctively uttering  a proverb in his  hearing; sometimes a  barber  and sometimes a  poor coolie “ A few learned Muhammadan and Hindu friends also, have very materially helped me in this collection and its arrangement ; and here I again heartily acknowledge their kind and ready service’’, the author says.

The author says that he felt  Kashmiri language was  virtually “minus a Dictionary and Grammar’’, and that besides one or two very unimportant works written in the Persian character, all true Kashmiri books were  printed in a kind of `mongrel-Devanagari’ character called Sharada, which only a very small proportion of the population can properly read.

He admits that Kashmiri language itself is very difficult, and is spoken differently by different persons—the Hindus and Muhammadans, especially, speaking distinct dialects.  “I have honestly tried hard to render correctly in the Roman character what I heard; but the different dialects made this very confusing work; and there were some sounds, which could not possibly be written in either Roman, Urdu or Devnagari’’.

The author had devoted the whole profit of his work to the “sorely strained’’ funds of the Medical Mission Hospital, Kashmir.