To My Fiery Star

To My Fiery Star

 In the heart of a flame, there’s a kindness so deep,

A spark in your eyes, where your passions keep

You blaze through the world, fierce, unafraid,

With courage and wisdom your path is laid.

You fight for the truth, with both fire and grace,

But show tender mercy in each heated case

You lift those in need, with a heart open wide,

Yet stand like a warrior, with justice your guide.

An artist at heart, with colours you play,

And the law in your hands, moulding each day

You’re a beacon of strength, both gentle and bold,

With stories to tell, yet more to unfold.

So here’s to the fire that never will dim,

To the kindness within that flows to the brim

Happy 23rd to the soul so rare,

With a heart full of love and a spirit laid bare.

Ajith Dharmakeerthi 19/10/2023

Written for my daughter Shania's birthday 

Happy Birthday Shani Bani

'Stan' Meaning

If anyone remembers, right-wing demonstrators once referred to London as "Londonistan." I believe this was because London elected Sadiq Khan as mayor again, who is Muslim. It seems like they associate the suffix "-stan" with anything Muslim, which isn't accurate. As I mentioned earlier, the Soviets (specifically Lenin) in 1924 created five republics: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.

However, the term "-stan" actually comes from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient language from India and the mother of Indo-European languages. In Sanskrit, "stan" means "place," similar to "Sthanaya" (ස්ථානය) in Sinhalese, spoken in Sri Lanka. For example, "Hindustan" means "place of the Hindus." The Soviets adopted this concept for naming the republics: Uzbekistan means "place of the Uzbeks," and so on. This might explain why Kyrgyzstan was once called "Kirgizia."

Another point: In Samarkand, there are many Tajik people who speak both Uzbek and Tajik. Uzbek, Kazakh, Azeri (spoken in Azerbaijan), and Kyrgyz are Turkic languages, which have Turkic origins. On the other hand, Tajik comes from the Persian language, which in turn has roots in Sanskrit. So, Tajik is linguistically connected to Sanskrit. 

And this part from Chatgpt (AI tool):

Tajik is an Indo-Iranian language, which is a branch of the larger Indo-European language family. Latin, on the other hand, is part of the Italic branch of the Indo-European family. So, while Tajik and Latin are both part of the Indo-European family, they are from different branches, and their development diverged long ago.

As for English and German, they are part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family, not directly from Latin. However, English has borrowed a lot of vocabulary from Latin, especially through French, but its core structure and grammar come from Germanic roots.

In summary:

• Tajik and Latin both come from the Indo-European family but from different branches.
• English and German come from the Germanic branch, not Latin.
• English has a significant Latin influence due to historical factors, but it is not derived from Latin.

 Tajikistan, located near Nepal, as well as Uzbekistan, were once Buddhist countries. This is because Buddhist monks from India used the Silk Road to reach Central Asia.