In Urdu, the word ‘Daftar’ means an office or a work-place. Siyahi kali sahi raushnai hai phir bhi Daftar Thus, the archaic Persian word Raushnaaii, or writing ink, too, finds its usage in Urdu. But the color black is also considered a symbol of evil, misfortune, and mourning, and can be found in Urdu poetry in countless idiomatic expressions. Even in everyday speech the phrase ‘Kaghaz Kalaa Karnaa’ is common. The word Musawwada, meaning ‘blackened’, came to be used in the sense of writing. Since in those days, black ink (Siyahi) made from a lamp’s collyrium, was used in writing, the word came to be used in the sense of writing. But how? In Arabic, the color black is called ‘Aswad’. In Urdu, a manuscript or an initial draft of a book is called ‘Musawwada’ or ‘Masauda’- a word strangely related to the color black. Whatever the case might be, the universe of words is really fascinating. It could also be possible that the custom of wearing crown sprung from this very ritual. Then people began addressing these chiefs as Shaakh, and gradually, the word morphed into Shaah. In ancient Iran, it was customary for local chiefs to wear ‘ShaaKH’ or horn on their heads. Shaakh phutegi Khudaaya halqa-e-zanjir meinīut the relationship between the word ‘ShaaKH’ meaning horns, and ‘Shaah’ meaning King began in the days when man lived in the forests, hunted animals to satiate his hunger, and rejoiced by adorning animal horns over his head. Gar yahi rona hai aage dekhiye kya gul khile In Persian, the word ‘ShaaKH’ is also used in the sense of horns, while primarily it means the branch of a tree, or anything that stems forth from something else. The word ‘Shah’ or king is closely related to the horns of animals. Ustaadon ka ustaad hai ustaad hamara Shaakh Shagird hain hum ‘Meer’ se ustaad ke ‘Rasikh’ In Indian films, characters of all sorts are depicted as Ustads, and films named ‘Ustadon ke Ustad’, ‘Do Ustad’, and ‘Ustadi, Ustad Ki’ also exemplify this. Endearingly, friends too address each other as Ustaad these days. Today, in everyday speech, the word has taken a new meaning and now being artful has come to be known as Ustaadi dikhaana. The word has become an inseparable part of the names of the virtuosos of Indian classical music. Nowadays, a master of an art, or a skill, is referred to as Ustaad too. Originally, the word was used only for those who understood religious texts but later it became an appellation for one who taught and tutored. Gradually, the word first became ‘Avesta-ved’, and then morphed into ‘Ustaad’. The word ‘ved’ is still used for ‘Hakim (wise)’, or ‘Daanaa (learned)’. The one who understood Avesta was known as ‘Avesta-ved’. Its journey began with the Zoroastrian religious text Avesta which was written in the ancient Iranian language but there were not enough people who could understand it. The word ‘Ustaad’ entered the Urdu language from Persian. It is interesting to note that in Urdu the word Nastaleeq is also used for a cultured, well mannered and refined person. Both of them were merged to become Nastaleeq. While ‘naskh’ is the script in which Arabic is usually written ‘taaleeq’ is a Persian script. This was designed in Iran in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Nastaleeq is a beautiful script in which Urdu is written. So, let us get together and witness the ever-changing colorful world of Urdu words. Probing them further could be quite addictive. In the same manner, there are countless other examples. Similarly, the Arabic pluralization when combined with the Persian ‘Dih’, gave birth to ‘Dehaat’. For example, the Persian word “rang” was combined with the Arabic grammatical root “t” to make the Urdu word “Rangat”. This results in the appearance of a new word. A lot of these words are such where a root word combines with the grammatical rules of another language. Interestingly, these new words have appeared in new garbs with variations in meaning, pronunciation, and spelling. In fact, there is another treasure which is even bigger than that of DaKHiil words. In Urdu, there is a huge treasure of such words which are known as ‘DaKHiil’. Linguists have long been following the traces of words which have voyaged around the world and have successfully camouflaged themselves in other languages. Regardless of the trajectory that history follows, language and words, like genuine trustees, lead us towards the true story of the past. There is hardly any language that does not borrow words from another language.