Anantnag, July 25: Hailing from south Kashmir’s Anantnag District, Saadath Mohiuddin Bhat, a 19-year-old boy, has taken to technology to contribute towards Kashmir language and literature.
Bhat, an undergraduate student, says that in 2020 he first started a video series on the valuable writings of many old Kashmiri Sufi saints.
In July 2020, he developed that concept into a podcast ‘Aao Unhein Yaad Karai- Waliv Tem karhoukh Yaad’.
He said that after receiving a good response from the people, he developed a website to increase the reach of his podcasts based on Kashmir Sufi literature.
Today, Bhat has a team of around 40 people who help him in podcasting the Sufi Kalaam of Kashmir’s old Sufi saints in the form of many audio series.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Bhat said that he had taken onboard many voice-over artists, translators and others who volunteer for him with the sole purpose of preserving the Sufi literature along with Kashmiri language.
“I used to present podcasts myself in the beginning but now I have a proper team including interns who help me in handling the website and app out of their love for Kashmiri culture to preserve its language and literature. We have seen Kashmiri people today shy away from speaking in their own mother tongue. This is why I have come up with the idea of a podcast where I can at least contribute my bit to promote and preserve something that forms an age-old aspect of Kashmiri lives,” Bhat said.
In order to present his content in most understandable form, Bhat has started to include subtitles to podcasts so that it reaches a wider audience.
For now ‘Aao Unhein Yaad Karai’ app can be downloaded on Play Store by android users only while those having IOS can listen to the podcasts by visiting the website and other music platforms like Spotify, wynk and gaana as well where podcasts are streamed. The app mostly highlights the work of Kashmiri mystics and Sufi saints like Shamas Faqir, Rasul Mir, Wahab Khar, and others.
As far as the financial aspect is concerned, Bhat said that he does all the work by spending his own pocket money.
“I once tried to approach the cultural academy of J&K but I didn’t get any response,” he said.
Bhat said that the youth should proudly embrace the culture they have been born in and should contribute to the culture via technology also.
“Today’s youth should be technically sound so that they can make small contributions. This will not only help them to be self-sufficient but can also make a difference if they decide to contribute their bit towards the society tomorrow,” he said.
The youngster said that he has started to add youth-centric blogs to his application and is striving to add more valuable features in the coming days.