Prof Laila Chaman Khan interacts with students during a class at Punjabi University in Patiala on Wednesday. Tribune photo
Patiala, August 31
In order to give an opportunity to students to learn Persian language, Punjabi University has taken a new initiative. A visiting Iranian Prof Laila Chaman Khan, who is working in the USA, will now take classes of Persian at the Bhai Veer Singh Chair on the university campus.
The university otherwise has the Department of Urdu and Persian. Officials said the department does not have a professor, who can teach Persian to students. They said classes for the course, which would be run under the banner ‘Aao farsi sikhiye’ (Lets learn Persian), would continue for three months. Students would get beginner-level coaching free of any charge in these classes, they added.
Prof Laila Chaman Khan has held talks and written on Zafarnama, a letter written by the tenth Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh, among others. While speaking to students during an introductory class, she said, “Persian has been the language of literature and administration. Hope all students will do well.”
University Vice-Chancellor Prof Arvind, said Punjabi and Persian languages had a lot in common. He said the grammar of Punjabi was similar to that of Urdu and Sanskrit while Urdu was closely related to Persian. He said, “The two cultures of Persian and Punjabi speaking people have been mingling for long. As such, reading their literature is of vital importance.”
Prof Arvind further said the university would like to strengthen the Department of Persian and Urdu.
Prof Harjodh Singh of Bhai Veer Singh Chair said over 70 students from various departments, including Punjabi, economics, fine arts, computer science and others had enrolled for the Persian course.
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