Quiz A collection of interesting questions related to Urdu poetry, prose and literary history. Play Rekhta Quiz and check your knowledge about Urdu!
Compilation of top 20 hand-picked Urdu shayari on the most sought-after subjects and poets
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apne hī ḳhuun se is tarah adāvat mat kar
zinda rahnā hai to sāñsoñ se baġhāvat mat kar
apne hi KHun se is tarah adawat mat kar
zinda rahna hai to sanson se baghawat mat kar
from the Ghazal "apne hi KHun se is tarah adawat mat kar" by Abbas Dana
Quiz A collection of interesting questions related to Urdu poetry, prose and literary history. Play Rekhta Quiz and check your knowledge about Urdu!
Nawab Mirza Dagh (1831-1905), was one of the last of classical poets who kept the tradition of Ghazal alive with full vigor. Forsaking cumbersome Persian constructions, Dagh, composed couplets in unattainably simple words, playfully addressing his beloved, and thus, laying the foundation of a new and fresh style.
His mother Mirza Khanum alias Chhoti Begum was among the most well-known women of Delhi. Dagh's father, Nawab Shamsuddin, was sentenced to death for the murder of a British man, and his mother married Crown Prince Mirza Fakhru. Dagh was brought up in a courtly environment where he bonded with a number of courtesans. After the death of Mirza Fakhru, Dagh moved to Rampur.Here he met Mani Bai Hijab. Dagh had to go from Rampur to Hyderabad where he was received by Nawab Mehboob Ali Khan, and his stipend was fixed at a thousand rupees. Courtesan splayed a major role in popularizing his poetry. Agra’s Sahib Jaan, Merath’s Umda Jaan and Ilahi Jaan and, Surat’s Akhtar Jaan regularly sang Dagh’s Ghazals and enjoyed his patronage.
The proverb ‘Haath Kangan ko Aarsi Kya’ is quite common, but do you know what an Aarsi is exactly? Well, it was a ring worn on the thumb by women of earlier times that had jewels surrounding a mirror in its center. Women used to keep a check on their makeup by looking into it. In Urdu poetry, Aarsi is a theme that’s been extensively explored:
Aaiina saamne na sahii aarsi to hai
Tum apne muskuraane kaa andaaz dekhnaa
Going back to the proverb ‘Haath Kangan ko Aarsi Kya’, it literally means that to check the Kangan (bangles) worn on the hand, there is no need to look into the mirror; for they are right in front of the eyes. Figuratively, the proverb is used to point out something so obvious that there is barely a need to put it out explicitly. Further, the proverb has also been extended into the following:
‘Haath Kangan ko Aarsi Kya, PaDhe likhe ko Farsi Kya’
Interestingly, there is also a ritual in marriages called "Arsi Mus’haf" in which the bride and groom are seated face to face with a dupatta is placed on their head and a mirror is placed in the middle. The two look at each other’s face, reciting a Surah of the Qur'an. Mus’haf refers to the Holy Qur'an itself.
To write the script of his famous TV serial Mahabharat, BR Chopra had first reached out to Rahi Masoom Raza, who initially refused. When this news published in the newspapers the next day, thousands of people wrote letters to BR Chopra probing why he insisted on getting the Mahabharata written by a Muslim. Chopra sent these letters to Rahi Sahib, who, after reading them, said that now he will write the Mahabharata, for he was the son of the Ganges. Rahi often said, “I have three mothers, one who gave birth to me, second, the river Ganges, and third my elementary school.”
Eventually, it was Rahi Masoom Raza who wrote the TV serial Mahabharat, and its script and dialogues became exceptionally popular among the masses. A case in point of its popularity was his house which was laden with letters written by audiences praising and blessing him for his work. Although he had a pile of letters around, he always kept a small bundle lying on the edge of his desk. These were the letters that slandered him. These letters were written by Hindus who expressed their anger about how Rahi, as a Muslim, dared to write for the Mahabharata, and also Muslims who were angry with him because he wrote a book ascribed to the Hindus. Rahi stated that this small bundle actually reminded him that there are so few bad people in the country and encouraged him to write more.
Wondering how much reverence did Iqbal had for his teachers? Well, in 1923, the British government decided to give him the title of "Sir", but he stated that he would only accept the title if his childhood teacher Ustad Maulvi Mir Hasan, from whom he received his primary education, would be conferred with the title of Shams-ul-Ulama. The British government asked him how such a big title could be given to Maulvi Mir Hassan, and if he had a known work or book credited to his name. Iqbal replied, ‘I, right in front of you, am his writing, incarnate.’
Consequently, the British government gave the title of Shams-ul-Ulama to Maulvi Mir Hassan.
Initially, when Iqbal was beginning to write poetry, he had received corrections (Islaah) from Mirza Dagh Dehlvi for a while. Though he had never met him in person, the two only corresponded through letters. After some time, Dagh wrote to Iqbal that there was no need for any more corrections in his poetry. When Dagh passed away, Iqbal wrote an elegy (Marsiya) in which every couplet was immersed in sheer love and reverence.
Ashk ke daane zamiin-e-sher mein botaa huu.n mai.n
Tuu bhi ro aye khaak-e-dilli ‘Daagh’ ko rotaa huu.n mai.n
In one of his poetry collections, titled 'Surili Bansuri' Aarzoo Lakhnavi did not use a single word from Persian and Arabic root. This collection of his, is famous among poetry enthusiasts. Like :
khilnā kahīñ chhupā bhī hai chāhat ke phuul kā
lī ghar meñ saañs aur galī tak mahak ga.ī
aisī niiñd aa.ī ki phir maut ko pyaar aa hī gayā
raat bhar jāgne vaale ko qarār aa hī gayā
aisi nind aai ki phir maut ko pyar aa hi gaya
raat bhar jagne wale ko qarar aa hi gaya
Essential collection of Iconic poets – a list that goes beyond the realm of fame and populism
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