hi, I'm Saifra.
my parents gave me Urdu. I'm trying to figure out how to give it to my children. and if you're here, I think you're trying to do the same thing.
I am fluent in Urdu the way my parents raised me to be. I can argue in it, make someone feel loved in it, and navigate a family WhatsApp group in it. but ask me to read it? write it? sit down and formally teach it to my first born? well... that's where things got complicated.
when I became a mother, I told everyone we that would only speak in Urdu around the baby. aunties would look at me like I was speaking in another language (ha!) when I said it. we listened to Urdu children's songs all day, but I couldn't read in Urdu... so I looked for audiobooks. I found weird YouTube videos with weird AI voiceovers, stories that switched between English and Urdu, or Urdu content mostly focused on religion. I wanted Urdu stories that she would actually want to listen to, like the ones I heard as a child. I looked, I couldn't find it, so I created it: Jaani Ki Kahaani.
I am still learning to teach it, slowly. None of us have this perfectly figured out, and I think that is okay. This whole thing was built in an imperfect space, for every parent who is in it too.
anyone can put Urdu words on a flashcard.
your tooti pooti Urdu is more than enough for us. your desire to teach your child the language of your dadi's stories, your ammi's duas, and every generation before them... jaani, that is everything.
researchers call it the third generation problem:
by the third generation, many children of immigrant families can't speak their parents' language at all — and the shift usually starts sooner than families expect, in the second generation, not the third. it's not because parents stop caring. it's because English starts to feel easier, and Urdu quietly gets shelved.
the science backs it up.
here's the flip side: bilingual kids test stronger on attention and cognitive flexibility than monolingual kids, and heritage language fluency is one of the strongest predictors of how connected kids feel to their ethnic identity. why now? because the window where this is easiest to hold onto is small — and it's open right now.
Meet the team:
Jaani's Nani
Nani is the voice behind every episode: the one telling the story, editing the scripts until they sound like they came from a real nani's mouth, and making sure every "phir kya hua" lands exactly right.
Binge watches:
The latest drama on Hum TV.
Beverage of choice:
Chai, no negotiation on that one.
hidden talent:
Bhoons gosht faster than the internet can load a recipe for it.
favorite dessert:
Ras malai or Jaani's nana's gulab jamun cake.
most often found:
Wearing a fresh string of jasmine from her husband's garden — rain or shine.
Meet JAANI's AMI →
Can tell you the “correct” Roman Urdu spelling of any word.
Meet the team:
Meet JAANI's NANI →
Saifra (aka Jaani's Ami)
Ami is the one turning midnight voice memos into scripts, building curriculum between nap times, and convincing herself that replying to Instagram DMs counts as "getting work done today." She started Jaani Ki Kahaani because she wanted her daughter to have the Urdu she almost lost — and somewhere along the way, realized every other parent scrolling at 1am was looking for the same thing.
Binge watches:
Daniel Tiger and Pakkay Dost. Obviously.
Beverage of choice:
Doodh paati chai, no matter the temperature outside.
hidden talent:
favorite dessert:
Tres leches ras malai.
most often found:
Re-recording the same three words in Urdu until they finally sound "right" — whatever that means at this point.
Here's what we're building
a podcast that has kids asking "phir kya hua?" before the episode even ends. flashcards for the words that actually come up in daily life: animals, feelings, family. worksheets and printables for the parent who wants to sit down and practice, not just listen. all of it made in the in-between space of English and Urdu, for families figuring this out in real time.
