Urdunama

On 14 January 1919, Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi was born into a family of zameendars of Mizwan – a small village in the district of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. While the usual worries that grip every child’s heart are either about what, where or with whom to play, Kaifi’s anxieties lay elsewhere. One of the couplets from the first ghazal he wrote at the age of 11 shows the genius of a child prodigy that he...

Faiz’s iconic poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ has always been borrowed by protesting voices across the globe. The poem calls out the oppressors of every age, ideology and society. The poem was written as a mark of protest against the regime of Pakistani dictator Zia-ul-Haq, whose government was communal and regressive. A set of laws called the ‘Hudood Ordinances’ was the central policy of his government to en...

Mirza Ghalib - who is to Urdu literature what Shakespeare is to English - whose poetry has continued to find admirers even a century and a half later when he is no more. Born in 1797 in Agra, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib moved to Delhi wherein the court of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, his talents found new heights. These heights of his literary brilliance often prod you on a deeper...

'Madam' Noor Jehan was perhaps one of the earliest stars of Hindi cinema. She later migrated to Pakistan. The cleft-chinned darling of the newly formed Pakistan, Noor Jehan was not only a singer and an actor admired by her audience, but also respected by even the great poets and artistes of both the countries. On her 93th death anniversary on 23 December 2019, find out why Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Fai...

In this episode of Urdunama, find out how our Justuju or desire for better things is actually the essence of our lives. Our aspirations, goals, and all the planning we do to achieve them prepares us for the great scheme of things in our lives. Urdu poet Altaf Hussain Hali has written about this thought in this beautiful couplet. Hai justuju ki khoob se hai khoob tar kahaan,  ab theherti hai dekhiy...

From patangbaazi (kite flying or kite making) to bahaanebaazi (making excuses). The Urdu word baazi, which literally means a game or a bet, has been used as a suffix creating more colourful words than one can imagine. Naarebaazi, which means sloganeering, ishqbaazi which is romancing (someone), pangebaazi which is being up to some mischief... the word is immensely dynamic. In this episode of Urdun...

Hai Raam ke wajood pe Hindustaan ko naaz Ahl-e-Nazar samajhte hain us ko Imam-e-Hind The above couplet is from Allama Iqbal’s poem ‘Ram’. Iqbal asserts that Ram is the leader of not just one particular faith, but he paves the way for everyone to the path of spiritual success. He calls Lord Ram, ‘Imam-e-Hind’ or the leader of all of Hind or Hindustan. This Diwali, we remember Ram through the prism...

Arzi means an application or a request; the word arziyan, in Sufi poetry, is a medium which makes one feel close to God. However, here’s a question: Why do we need arziyan when God is everywhere? In this episode of Urdunama, we try to answer this. From reading Mallik Mohammad Jayasi’s poem ‘Padmavat’ to drawing parallels between ‘Aham Brahamasmi’ and ‘Ana-al-haq’ in Indian philosophy, this episode...

Have you heard the Dastaan-e-Gandhi? ‘Dastaan’ means ‘story’. Gandhi means....well...Mahatma Gandhi. The '-e-' sound in the word ‘Dastan-e-Gandhi’ means ‘of’, that’s used to join these two words. On this special edition of Urdunama, we bring you Dastaan-e-Gandhi, the story of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India and his journey from being an ordinary man to the man India calls ‘Mahatma’. To the uninit...

Fabeha Syed catches up with Delhi University professor Dr Najma Rehmani. She talks about poet Mir Taqi Mir who provided a window to 18th century Delhi with his politics, love, loss, and his feelings for an attaar ka launda (son of a perfumer). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘Mukammal’ means complete, or perfect. We tend to believe that adding something special to our life – like a dog to our family, a new skill, or a new goal – will make our life ‘mukammal’, or complete. While thinking so, we are hoping for our life to look better than it does right now. It’s one thing to aspire to have things, qualities and people who add meaning to your life and make it mukammal. B...

Qamar, Mah, Mahtaab, are different ways to refer to the moon in Urdu. In this episode of Urdunama learn about how the 'moon' has been used as an expression of beauty in Urdu poetry. Poet Azhar Iqbal talks to The Quint's Fabeha Syed, and recites some of the moon-lit ashaar for you.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Revolution usually comes into play when reform is desired, to change one's personal life for the better. On a social level, it addresses oppression and exploitation. Learn the meaning of 'Inquilab', Poetry of Resistance aka Inquilabi Shayari and more in this episode of Urdunama.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are the memories of the relationship you had for a 'Mukhtasar' time now haunting you? Is that affair you had for a 'Mukhtasar' period not letting you move on? In this episode of Urdunama, The Quint's Fabeha Syed explains the importance of everything that's 'Mukhtasar' in our lives – how to embrace it if it nurtures, and how to avoid it if it pricks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...