"ka" for a genitive suffix
I've always been curious about the origin of -ka, -ke, -ki, which are clitics (or postpositions) that are declined to agree in number and gender with the possessed noun (phrase). I took a look round,
Where? My dictionairs don't have this sort of detailed etymology.
On the subject of possessives, I always enjoy the pairing of का with ए in shers. As in this example:
अंजाम-ए-वफ़ाई (The) result of (my) faithfulness
उल्फ़त के मुक़द्दमे trial of love
the first structure is from persian and reads as the English "result
of faithfulness" with ए meaning "of"
The second could literally be translated "love's trial" with the के equivalent to the English
's. I used to feel a little sorry that Urdu is being squeezed out of Indian life but I have recently learned that Urdu is doing the same to Panjabi even in the heartland of the Pakistani Panjab, Lahore.
