A Maulana narrates his own anecdote:
"During the era of undivided India, I used to visit Delhi frequently. Once, I attended a gathering where I was introduced to a religious scholar (Mawlvi) from Delhi. In the promotional posters, the people of Delhi had written the title 'Sher-e-Punjab' (The Lion of Punjab) with my name, and 'Fakhr-e-Dehli' (The Pride of Delhi) with that Mawlvi Sahib's name...
All the friends were sitting together in a gathering, and the poster was right in front of us. The Delhite Mawlvi Sahib jokingly said:
'Maulana! If the letter "Yaa" (ی) is removed from Sher-e-Punjab, what will be left?'
(His witty implication was that removing 'Yaa' from 'Sher' turns it into 'Shar', which means 'mischief/evil of Punjab').
I replied:
'And Maulana! If the letter "Fe" (ف) is removed from the "Fakhr" of Fakhr-e-Dehli, what will be left then?'
(What remains is 'Khar', and 'Khar' means a donkey in Persian).
The audience thoroughly enjoyed this witty exchange.
A gentleman present there, who was also a poet—and that too from Delhi—said with great poise and seriousness:
'Respected elders! Do not drop these letters "Yaa" (ی) and "Fe" (ف); rather, put them to use:
Give the "Yaa" of Sher (Lion) to this Maulana, so he can place it in the middle of "Khar" (Donkey) to attain "Khair" (Goodness/Well-being). And you take the "Fe" of Fakhr (Pride), so you can place it before "Shar" (Mischief) to attain "Sharaf" (Honor/Nobility).'"
The timely and appropriate use of words is indeed a beautiful art, and the one who knows this art is truly highly skilled!



