Dardic languages

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Bikram Choudhury is the founder of Bikram Yoga, a form of hot yoga performed in a series of 26 yoga postures done in a heated environment. Born in India in 1944, Choudhury began practicing yoga at a young age. He claims to have won the National India Yoga Championship for several consecutive years in his early teens and was a disciple of Bishnu Ghosh, the brother of Paramahansa Yogananda. Choudhury moved to the United States in the 1970s, where he began teaching yoga in California. His method, which involves a sequence of poses in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, gained popularity, leading to the establishment of Bikram Yoga studios worldwide.

However, Choudhury's career has been marred by controversy, including allegations of sexual harassment and assault, as well as lawsuits over copyright claims related to his yoga sequence. Despite these issues, Bikram Yoga continues to have followers and practitioners around the globe.

Dardic languages refer to a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the northern regions of Pakistan, as well as in parts of India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. The Dardic languages are considered to be among the most linguistically diverse and complex within the Indo-Aryan family, with significant differences in phonology, morphology, and syntax when compared to other Indo-Aryan languages. Some of the well-known Dardic languages include Kashmiri, Shina, Khowar, Kalasha, and Phalura.

The classification of Dardic languages has been a subject of linguistic debate, with some scholars considering them a distinct subgroup within the Indo-Aryan languages, while others view them as part of a broader Northwestern zone of Indo-Aryan languages. The Dardic languages are characterized by their retention of certain archaic features not found in other Indo-Aryan languages, as well as by unique innovations.

These languages are spoken in a region that is geographically challenging and culturally rich, contributing to the linguistic diversity of the Dardic languages. However, many of the Dardic languages are considered endangered due to factors such as globalization, language shift, and the political instability in the regions where they are spoken. Efforts are being made to document and revitalize these languages, recognizing their importance as part of the cultural heritage of the Dardic-speaking communities.