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Compilation of top 20 hand-picked Urdu shayari on the most sought-after subjects and poets
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Browse Rekhtabooks.comQuiz A collection of interesting questions related to Urdu poetry, prose and literary history. Play Rekhta Quiz and check your knowledge about Urdu!
The word ‘Kah-Kashaa.n’, or, Milky-Way, has been used quite beautifully in Urdu poetry. This famous couplet is etched in everybody’s memory:
inhii.n pattharo.n pe chal kar agar aa sako to aa.o
mire ghar ke raaste me.n ko.ii kahkashaa.n nahii.n hai
Interestingly, this word, which is also written as ‘Kaah-Kashaa.n’, literally means to pull dry grass on the soil. This word is made up of two Persian words, 'kah' meaning dried grass, and 'kashan' meaning pulling. Similar to the marks left by a bundle of dried grass dragged on wet ground is the cluster of stars that appear in the night sky, consequently giving it the name ‘Kah-Kashan’. In Hindi, it is known as ‘Aakash-Ganga’, a word which flashes every so often in Urdu poetry.
Dilip Kumar had an extremely cultivated taste of Urdu literature. He spoke and wrote a very refined Urdu and English language and also knew Persian, often reciting couplets of the likes of Rumi, Hafiz, and Iqbal during his conversations. What’s more, he had even committed to memory phrases from Urdu short-stories. He also read literary journals like Adab-e-Latif, Nuquush, Funuun, Saaqi and Adabi Duniya, and even had a large personal library; one where he would read every night. At Mushairas, he would very fervently participate and read speeches as the chief guest which were no less than any other piece of literature. In 1976, at a Mushaira in Hyderabad, he recited a Nazm by Akhtar-ul-Iman which he remembered word for word. Dilip Kumar was also a script writer. In 1964, he wrote the script for the film ‘Leader’ under an old thick-shaded tree in ‘Filmaaya Studio’. In this film, the politics of voting is depicted.
Mir Anis and Mirza Dabir were contemporary poets who took the art of Marsiya, or elegy-composing, to its zenith. During their time, the whole of Lucknow was split into two groups; Anisiye, the followers of Anis, and Dabiriye, the supporters of Dabir. But, the two master-poets had immense respect for each other. When in 1874 Mir Anis passed away, Mirza Dabir wept over his dead body and announced, “with the demise of such an eloquent, enchanting, and appreciative poet, pleasure has departed.” He also composed a legendary piece on the death of Anis, whose last verse:
Aasmaa.n be-maah-e-kamil, sidra be-ruuh al-amiin
Tuur-e-siina be-kaliimullah, mimbar be-aniis
is inscribed on the epitaph of Anis.
The earliest dissension between Josh Malihabadi and Shahid Dehlvi took place in the 1960s by way of Urdu magazines. The famous Josh-special edition of the monthly ‘Afkar’, issued in 1961 by Sahba Lakhnavi, included Shahid Ahmad Dehlavi's article ‘Josh Malihabadi Deeda-o-Shunida.’ Responsively, Josh, who took this article to be an attack on his pride, wrote an article in 1962, titled ‘Zarb-e-Shahid ba-Farq-e-Shahid Baaz.’ In this article, Josh not only smeared Shahid’s literary standing but also outdid his father, Deputy Nazir Ahmad.
In response to this, Shahid Dehlavi issued a voluminous Josh-edition in the monthly Saqi in 1963, comprising of columns against Josh from all over the country. All its copies were sold out in a flash. Readers were even ready to give Rs 3,500 for this Rs 6-magazine, but could not find one. Moreover, despite the repeated insistence of readers, Shahid Dehlvi never published its second edition.
The word ‘Afshan’ refers to golden flakes or filings that women sprinkle in the parting of their hair or foreheads as adornment. Afshan is especially graced upon, or “etched (Chuna Jaana)” into, a bride’s parting of hair. A couplet of Qamar Jalalvi’s reads:
'qamar' afshaa.n chunii hai ruKH pe us ne is saliiqe se
sitaare aasmaa.n se dekhne ko aa.e jaate hai.n
In Urdu, the word Afshan is also used as a suffix in the sense of sprinkling, shedding, or scattering. Girls are commonly named "Mehr Afshan" (She who spreads love) and “Noor Afshan”. In couplets, we see the heavens scattering dew (Shabnam-Afshani) on somebody’s grave, or someone shedding flowers (Gul-Afshani) from their eloquent conversation. Like Ghalib, in this following couplet:
phir dekhiye andaaz-e-gul-afshaanii-e-guftaar
rakh de ko.ii paimaana-e-sahbaa mere aage
In Urdu, another idiom is present for the expression ‘gul-afshaanii-e-guftaar’, namely ‘Phuul JhaDna’. A famous verse by Ahmad Faraz reads:
sunaa hai bole to baato.n se phuul jha.Dte hai.n
ye baat hai to chalo baat kar ke dekhte hai.n
Another Urdu word ‘Ifsha’, means to reveal a secret. In thousands of Urdu couplets, the secret of love is revealed through eyes. Also, interrogation done by the police to solve a crime is called ‘Taftish Karna’.
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