HYDERABAD : Irani chai and biryani are not the only two things that Hyderabad is famous for. If you’ve lived in Hyderabad long enough, you must have heard someone say nakko, haw, aaraon, jaatey. These words are part of a peculiar kind of Dakhini Urdu called Hyderabadi.
After the launch of the movie Hyderabadi Nawabs in 2006, Hyderabadi gained much popularity. Thanks to YouTubers and Instagrammers, Hyderabadi is gaining popularity.
Ruhaan Arshad, the rapper of the famous song Miya Bhai which has 521 million views on YouTube, says that his career would have not reached the heights it did, if it was not for the language. “I have tried mixing other accents but they don’t sound as funny as Hyderabadi.”
He says that among the various Dakhani accents — Zaheerabadi, Warangali or Aurangabadi — Hyderabadi is the most refined. “I don’t think I can rap or talk in any other language,” says Kayden Shama, who rapped in pakka Hyderabadi in his song Nai Sunte. Kayden was born in Rajasthan, but grew up in Hyderabad.
“I picked up the accent here and whenever I go to my hometown, everyone thinks my Hindi is funny. Still, no matter how long I live in my hometown, I do not pick up the local tongue there, for mine is always Hyderabadi. In fact, my close friends in Rajasthan have picked up Hyderabadi words such as baingan and khali and aaraon,” he adds.
Nikhil Vijayendra, an Instagram content creator and YouTube talkshow host, caters to Telugu audiences but shares his love and appreciation for Hyderabadi. “There are many words that are adapted from Hyderabadi into Telangana Telugu. There is pareshan enduku autunau ra (why are you worried), or jaldi ra (come here soon),” Nikhil explains.
Oral historian and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage convenor Telangana Chapter Anuradha Reddy, says, “Hyderabadi is influenced by Telugu and the parent language of the Deccan — Persian. Persian was the official language of our State until 140 years ago, after which it changed to Urdu. Now we have so many accents that have been derived from it. Most popular is Hyderabadi because the city was the centre for all the happenings.”
According to linguists and oral historians, Dakhini is not disappearing but evolving with time. “We have Hyderabadi that is influenced by Telugu and Marathi also Kannada because people from these State stayed here for long. Then we have the influence of Marathi in Nizamabad, where the word nakko is used more. Similarly, there is the influence of Karnataka in the districts bordering Karnataka,” says Anuradha.
Hyderabadi is a homonym; it is an Urdu accent. It also means a person who speaks it or belongs to the city. “Hyderabadi is an accent. We have many accents spread across the Deccan and the language is evolving as many people from various parts of the country are coming to Hyderabad,” says Professor Naseemuddin, Dean of the School of Languages, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.