Urdu poetry

Amir Khusrau, a 13th-century Urdu poet.

Urdu poetry (Urdu: اُردُو شاعرى urdū śāʿirī) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. 1869), Mir Anees (d. 1874), Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) and Josh Malihabadi (d. 1982). The language of Urdu reached its pinnacle under the British Raj, and it received official status. All famous writers of Urdu language including Ghalib and Iqbal were given British scholarships. Following the Partition of India in 1947, it found major poets and scholars were divided along nationalistic lines. However, Urdu poetry is cherished in both countries. Muslims, as well as Hindus and Sikhs alike from across the border, continue the tradition.

It is fundamentally performative poetry, and its recital, sometimes impromptu, is held in Mushairas (poetic expositions). Although its tarannum saaz (singing aspect) has undergone major changes in recent decades, its popularity among the masses remains unaltered. Mushairas are today held in metropolitan areas worldwide because of the cultural influence of the South Asian diaspora. Ghazal singing and Qawwali are also important expository forms of Urdu poetry.

Forms

Ghulam Hamdani Mas'hafi, the poet first believed to have coined the name "Urdu" around 1780 AD for a language that went by a multiplicity of names before his time.

The principal forms of Urdu poetry are:

Collection forms

The principal collection forms of Urdu poetry are:

Formation

Urdu poetry forms itself with following basic ingredients:

Genres

The major genres of poetry found in Urdu are:

Pen names

In the Urdu poetic tradition, most poets use a pen name called the Takhallus (تخلص). This can be either a part of a poet's given name or something else adopted as an identity. The traditional convention in identifying Urdu poets is to mention the takhallus at the end of the name. The word takhallus is derived from Arabic, meaning "ending". This is because in the Ghazal form, the poet would usually incorporate their pen name into the final couplet (Arabic: مقطع, romanized: maqta') of each poem.

Scripts used in poetry

In Pakistan and the Deccan region of India, Urdu poetry is written in the standard Nasta'liq calligraphy style of the Perso-Arabic script. However, in northern India, where Urdu poetry is very popular, the Perso-Arabic script is often found transliterated into the Devanagari script, as an aid for those Hindī-speakers who can comprehend Urdu but cannot read the Perso-Arabic script. With the dawn of the internet and globalisation, this poetry is often found written in Roman Urdu as well as in Hindi script.

Example of Urdu ghazal

The following is a verse from an Urdu ghazal by Syed Khwaja Mir Dard:

Urdu:

دوستو، دیکھا تماشا یہاں کا بس
تم رہو؛ اب ہم تو اپنے گھر چلے


درج ذیل غزل اردو کے نوجوان شاعر نقی نقوی کی ہے

Urdu Ghazal:

خشک آنکھوں میں ذرا پانی کا قطرہ چھوڑ دو

مجھ کو تھوڑی دیر کی خاطر اکیلا چھوڑ دو

مت بنانا قتل کا منصوبہ دشمن کے لئے

مارنا ہی ہے اگر اس کو تو زندہ چھوڑ دو

وہ ترستا ہے تمھارے ہونٹ چھونے کے لئے

تم بھی پانی مت پیو دریا کو پیاسا چھوڑ دو

میں ابھی مصروف ہوں اپنی ہی صلح و جنگ میں

خود کو سلجھاتے ہوئے خود میں الجھتا چھوڑ دو

جانب ِ منزل قدم اپنے بڑھاؤ تیز تیز

یا پھر آگے چلنے والوں میرا رستہ چھوڑ دو

صرف اپنے کام سے ہی کام رکھّو اے نقیؔ

جو بھی جیسا چل رہا ہے اس کو ویسا چھوڑ دو


Roman Urdu:

Dōstō, dēkhā tamāśhā yahān kā bas
Tum rahō; ab ham tō apnē ghar chalē.

English translation:

Friends, I've seen the spectacle of this place enough
You stay here; I'm heading home.

Note Dard's use of the royal we in this couplet, a technique characteristic of formal Urdu poetry.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paul R. Brass (2005). Language, religion, and politics in North India. Lincoln, Neb.: IUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-34394-2.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Maria Isabel Maldonado. "The Urdu language reforms." Studies 26 (2011): 97.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bailey, Thomas Grahame (2008) [1932]. A History of Urdu Literature (PDF). Association Press (Y.M.C.A.). ISBN 978-0-19-547518-0. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Encyclopedic dictionary of Urdu literature p. 565
  5. ↑ The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume Five) p. 4146
  6. ↑ A Brief History of Persian Literature, by the Iran Chamber Society.