Quiz A collection of interesting questions related to Urdu poetry, prose and literary history. Play Rekhta Quiz and check your knowledge about Urdu!
aaj ik aur baras biit gayā us ke baġhair
jis ke hote hue hote the zamāne mere
Compilation of top 20 hand-picked Urdu shayari on the most sought-after subjects and poets
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aap dariyā kī ravānī se na uljheñ hargiz
tah meñ us ke koī girdāb bhī ho saktā hai
aap dariya ki rawani se na uljhen hargiz
tah mein us ke koi girdab bhi ho sakta hai
from the Ghazal "ek ek pal tera nayab bhi ho sakta hai" by zafar iqbal zafar
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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 ‘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’.
When it comes to couplets of love, Urdu poetry abounds with verses of Sham’a and Parvanah, the lamp and moth.
parvaano.n kaa to hashr jo honaa thaa ho chukaa
guzrii hai raat sham.a pe kyaa dekhte chale.n
SHAD AZIMABADI
But in Urdu, there is yet another Parvana, that has nothing to do with a moth. This Parvana means an approval, a warrant, or a government or royal order. Now, what does this legal term has to do with poetry?
Well, Akbar Allahabadi, while sarcastically needling at Sir Sayyad's educational mission and the revelry of Englishmen, ropes in this “legal-Parvana” into Urdu poetry, along with two other English words, loyalty and honor:
Dila de ham ko bhi sahib se loyalty ka parvana
Qayamat tak rahe Sayyad tire honor ka fasaana
Additionally, Urdu dictionaries also tell that Parvana is a small animal famous for walking ahead of a lion and raising a scream so that other animals would become aware of the lion’s presence and hide. Let’s see, maybe one day some poet would write a couplet on this Parvana as well.
Ever wondered how the act of making counterfeit notes and the word ‘Qalb’, or heart, are related? Sounding much like medical lingo, counterfeiting notes is known as ‘Qalb-Saazi’, which is made from the Arabic ‘Qalb’ and the Persian ‘Saazi’, meaning, making, or creating. Although Qalb is commonly used for the heart, it also means to inverse, turn upside down, or transform completely. The term ‘Qalb-Saazi’ can be best understood with respect to these other meanings of the word Qalb.
Miyan Dad Khan ‘Sayyaah’ (1829/30 - 1907), a famous and playful Urdu poet with a thing for traveling, was tried under ‘Muqaddama-e-Qalb-Saazi’ for printing counterfeit currency notes and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. On the occasion of Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee, he wrote and sent an ode in Her honor, as a result of which his sentence was shortened by several years.
Wonder what’s ‘Khaama-ba-gosh’? Well, ‘Khaama’ means pen, and ‘gosh’ means ear, that is, pen-upon-ear. This interesting pen-name was adopted by Mushfiq Khawaja, an accomplished researcher, poet, and critic of Urdu literature, to write a literary column in a Karachi newspaper. These columns became very popular due to their witty and biting extracts, which were later published in the book ‘Khama-ba-gosh Ki Qalam se’. Mushfiq created an interesting character called 'Laghar Muradabadi' who spoke through Khama-ba-gosh and commented upon the works of Indo-Pak authors and poets. Having authored numerous books, Mushfiq was also famous for his personal book collection which had over 17,000 books. His house in Karachi had eleven rooms, ten of which contained books, and several people were assigned to look after them. Mushfiq Khawaja was also very fond of photography and held a collection of several cameras and hundreds of photographs.
In the Iranian romantic tale of Shereen and Farhad, Farhad, who digs a mountain with his ax to draw a canal of milk, is called "Koh-Kan", meaning the one who digs a mountain.
kaam aa.ii kohkan kii mashaqqat na ishq me.n
patthar se juu-e-shiir ke laane ne kyaa kiyaa
Mirza Rafi Sauda
This construction has made its way into Urdu from Persian. The word ‘Kan’ means a digger, and thus, a laborer digging in mine (Kaan) is called ‘Kaan-Kan’ or mine-digger. Likewise, the act of carving impressions into stone, wood, and metal is called ‘Kananda Karna’, or to engrave.
Kan also means ajar or edge. Like the idiom ‘Kan Ankhon se Dekhna’, meaning to look at from the corner of the eye.
Wo go kuchh na sunti na kahtii use
Kan aankhon se par dekh rehti use
(Meer Hasan- Masnavi Sehr-ul-Bayan)
Another Persian construction is ‘Kaar-Kun’, which is created by bringing together Kaar, meaning work in Persian, and Kun, meaning a doer, which together means one who carries out a work. Similarly, there are other such constructions like ‘Hairan-Kun’- that which astonishes, ‘Parishan-Kun’- that which disturbs or scatters, and many others.
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