Guren Osay is an organisation that was established to promote the culture and art of Brushos of Gilgit-Baltistan. The core objective of organizing this is to instil in the young generation the importance of their dwindling native cultural values. This would help in the preservation of their indigenous culture and language.
Under Guren Osay, events are held to encourage youth in participating in activities like career counselling, book reviews, admissions guidance, thematic hikes and much more—this apart from annual cultural events.
Burushaski language is spoken in Yasin, Nagar and Hunza in GB, around 150,000 speakers are said to be speaking this language. Having said so, this language is considered as an endangered by various linguistic research institutions.
Guren Osay team has initiated a vital effort to reunite the speakers and encourage the research and development of this language amidst the sad demise of the great Burushaski poet and researcher Basharat Shafi(late) who had put in his indefatigable effort to enrich and revive this vulnerable language. In fact, the phrase “Guren Osay” is taken from one of the verses of his poetry which literally means “to take care”.
The core aim of this organisation is to preserve the language in various linguistic dimensions and promote the indigenous culture and art. This organisation has already accomplished many projects in current past in collaboration with Lok Virsa to engage the Burushaski speakers across the country. Also, it has successfully organized three seasons of the annual event along with various thematic activities promoting this language.
The purpose of Guren Osay’s third season was to arrange a cultural event for the people of GB and Chitral.
Recently, in the third mega event held in Lok Virsa heritage Museum, youth proactively participated and performed Burushaski theatre, Burushaski Mushaira, Musical performances, documentaries, comics etc.
At the end of the event, token and appreciation awards were also distributed among the participants. Among award holders was a Burushaski poet named Sher Nadir Shahi. The “Basharat Shafi” Award was given to Sher Nadir Shahi.
This third mega event was appreciable and such events must continue to preserve our languages that are on the verge of extinction.
NEELAM WALI
GILGIT-BALTISTAN
