Ghalib and Faiz

Urdu poetry made accessible to those unfamiliar with the script

This elegantly produced volume brings Urdu8217;s characteristic poetic grace back on to the radar for those who love the verses but are today unable to read them because of unfamiliarity with the script. It also revives this question: should a language as rich, as nuanced and as graceful as Urdu be lost just because the number of people who can read it has drastically gone down.

Urdu was born in the heart of India some centuries back with a rare distinction 8212; the script of one language, the syntax of another and the sensitivity of a composite ganga-jamuni culture. Prior to Independence, the maximum number of journals and newspapers published in India were in Urdu. Over six decades, Urdu suffered a setback as it lost its prime position as an official language to Hindi and due to the misgiving that Urdu was associated with a particular religion. But Urdu does not belong to any region or religion. It developed as Braj Bhasha-speaking natives came into contact with the Mughal army. The word Urdu means Army Camp. It was not developed by pundits and moulavis. It is a people8217;s language, and a very subcontinental one. Today, the main hurdle with Urdu is that it is written in the Persian script.

Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry is a step towards taking out this hurdle from the path of anyone wanting to know more about Urdu poetry. A collection of verse spanning three centuries, this anthology opens the treasure trove of Urdu poetry to those who are familiar with the verse, but not familiar with the script, as well as to those who would like to know more about it.

Khushwant Singh and Kamna Prasad have put together this extremely readable collection of verse. Singh8217;s passion for Urdu Shairi has been more than established through his translations of Iqbal8217;s Shikvaa and Javaab-e-Shikvaa. In this collection too, he and Prasad have compiled their favourite Urdu verse for the lovers of the Urdu language and all who love poetry.

Singh8217;s characteristic zest for life seeps through the translations. In most places, the poems rhyme in English as well, retaining the music of Urdu verse, giving the readers a feel of the original composition. In his characteristic candid style he deals with idioms and ideas so typically Urdu 8212; concepts like 8216;jigar8217;, is it truly the 8216;liver8217;, he asks, yet writes of it as 8216;the core8217;. Or the concept of the 8216;maikhana8217; the tavern. There were no taverns in those days and people bought their liquor from shops and drank at homes, he says.

The book contains verses from icons classic and contemporary. Mohammad Rafi 8216;Sauda8217;, Meer Taqi Meer, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Zauq, Mirza Ghalib, Daagh Dehlvi, Akbar Allahabadi, Iqbal, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Kishwar Naheed and many others create a rich tapestry. As Prasad says, choosing poets for the book was not easy. Few carefully chosen verses follow brief introductions to the poets and their times.
This is an appetising book that will compel you to look for more Urdu poetry.