As much as an expression of emotions and ideas, poetry is also a manifestation of the culture, tradition and socio-political conditions of a society. Language, the cloak of poetry, is itself deeply ...

(These ideas visit the imagination from the beyond: in the scratchings of the reed pen (I hear) the angel’s song.) In this couplet, Ghalib expresses the age-old belief that the provenance of poetry is ...

Anisur Rahman, currently senior advisor to the Rekhta Foundation, and formerly professor and head of English at Jamia Millia Islamia University, is the author of numerous books and essays on ...

Mirza Ghalib, who died on February 15, 1869, was a powerful, eloquent and erudite poet who investigated and captured life’s experiences and occurrences with capering humour in his enigmatic ghazals.

Sanjiv Saraf, founder of Rekhta Foundation, started a website celebrating Urdu poetry in 2013. Within a year, it had become so popular with lovers of the language that he felt he had to take it beyond ...

Mellifluous Mohammed Rafi once sang -‘Divaso judai na jay chhe ae jasey jaroor milan sudhi.’ Few know that these lyrics were penned by a Surti ghazalkaar- Abdul Gani Dahiwala. The Persian form of ...

September 6, 2018. A historic day for queer Indians and their allies. The Supreme Court decriminalises homosexuality. My friends and I celebrate by getting a cake with Azadi piped on it in white icing ...

The Ghazal is a form, with its emphasis on Radif, Makta and Matla (and a sensibility that’s innate to Persian, Turkic and Urdu poetry), which isn’t easy to pull off in English. Of the modern English ...

The NDTV Creators Manch witnessed an evening of powerful poetry as renowned poets and shayars came together to celebrate the beauty of Urdu verse. The panel featured celebrated voices including Waseem ...