The love-life of Jigar Moradabadi

The Love-Life of Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869)

Ishq se tabeeyat ne zeest ka maza paaya

To think of love and life is to think of Ghalib the lover, and Ghalib the beloved. He was not angelic in form and moving, nor a god in his apprehension but he surely was a piece of work, not very noble in reason but infinite in faculty. He was indeed Shakespeare’s ‘quintessence of dust’ who saw his love going to dust with emotional attachment and philosophical detachment.

Gandhi: “My Life is My Message”

Gandhi was a Sufi and a Yogi, a liberator and a martyr for whom India was the karma bhoomi.

Zafar Iqbal – the canon maker of modern Urdu ghazal

Ye Tamasha Ab Sar-e-Bazaar Hona Chahiye

Zafar Iqbal’s poetry contains an element of protest. Here are some couplets of Zafar Iqbal that will surely awaken your conscience.

Ishq Naama Banaam Momin Khan Momin (1800-1851):

Tumhein Yaad ho ke na yaad ho

Momin lived to love and loved to live but he could not have luck with any of his beloveds.

Akbar Allahabadi in a New Avatar!

7 Urdu shayari memes for the millennial idea of humour

In Akbar Allahabadi, Urdu language found a humorist, a satirist, a commentator, and a reformer. Unlike many, his satire is not corrosive, or black in nature. He lived during the British Raj and his poetry provides glimpses into the socio-political conditions of that age. He chose to be jovial and politely critical in his poetry… continue reading