In Urdu, the word ‘Mallah’ means a sailor or mariner. The word finds its roots in the Arabic word ‘Milh’, meaning salt. Since seawater is salty, those who made salt from the sea were originally called Mallah. Later, those who frequented the sea came to be known as Mallah. And now, boatmen of sweet-water lakes are referred to as Mallah, too. The word ‘Malahat’, quite common in Urdu literature, is also related to ‘Milh’, it means being salty, sallow, or beautiful. Poets have brought out different shades of this word in various couplets.
Another word which is very common in Urdu poetry, and related to boat and water voyage, is NaaKhuda’. It is a combination of two words ‘Naav (boat)’ and ‘Khuda (Lord)’, and comes from Persian, it means the Lord of the boat or captain.

tumhii.n to ho jise kahtii hai naaKHudaa duniyaa
bachaa sako to bachaa lo ki Duubtaa huu.n mai.n

With respect to idioms and proverbs, Urdu is a very rich language. Ghazal poets, in particular, have helped in fortifying these idioms. In the lexicon, Farhang-e-Asifia, the idioms relating to the word ‘Aankh (eye)’ are spread over 45 pages. Along with it, many couplets and given as examples, to help readers easily understand the meanings of these idioms. Some of the idioms in Urdu poetry come from Persian, but most are purely Indian. In Dagh Dehlvi’s poetry, the effortless use of idioms and everyday speech reached a crescendo. A book named ‘Muhawarat-e-Dagh’, by Wali Ahmad Khan (1944), illustrates thousands of couplets in which various idioms have been used with their finest vividness in Urdu poetry; most of these idioms include Aankh. Dr. Abdul Moaz Shams, a skilled eye surgeon, and connoisseur of literature published a 400-page book named ‘Aankh Aur Urdu Shairi (2018)’ depicting several couplets by distinguished poets featuring idioms relating to the eye.

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.

Poetry that’s recited without a Tarannum (tune) is known as ‘Taht-ul-Lafz’, or differently, ‘Taht Mein Padhna’. If read in Tarannum, the reciter’s tone and voice largely draw the attention of the audiences. However, in Taht-ul-Lafz, one enjoys the full effect of poetry with the grandeur of words and the crescendo of the rise and fall of the reciter’s voice. Although Taht-ul Lafz recitation is common in Mushairas, but those who recited Marsiyas (elegies) in this manner in mourning assemblies, turned it into a dramatic artform. A contemporary of famous Marsiya-reciter Meer Anis, and who didn’t find favor with Anis’s Marsiya composition, wrote:
“Ek martaba Ittefaqan Anis Ki Majlis mein shirkat hui. Marsiye Ke doosre hi band ki Bait…
Saato.n Jahannum Atish-e-Furqat mein jalte hain
Sho’le tirii talaash mein baahar nikalte hain
… Anis ne is andaz se paDhi ki mujhe sho’le bhadakte hue dikhai dene lage aur main un ka padhna-sunna mein aisa mahv hua ki tan-badan kaa hosh na rahaa.”
When new poetry appeared in the form Azad Nazm, it found no takers as no one seemed willing to listen to it. Then, Famous actor and broadcaster Zia Mohiuddin experimented with reciting Noon Meem Rashid's poems at various events. He recited some of these poems in such a way that the listeners, for whom these poems were ambiguous, meaningless and far from poetry, they too became enchanted by them; even managing to discover in those poems a bit of poetry.