Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry

Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry
Author: Khushwant Singh
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2011-11-10
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 9386057336

Maangey Allah se bas itni dua hai Rashid Main jo Urdu mein vaseeyat likhoon beta parh ley All Rashid asks of Allah is just one small gift: If I write my will in Urdu, may my son be able to read it. Urdu, one of the most widely used languages in the subcontinent, is, sadly, dying a slow death in the land where it was born and where it flourished. This definitive collection spans over 200 years of Urdu poetry, celebrating well-known and relatively unknown poets alike. It is essential reading for all who love Urdu verse and for all looking for the ideal introduction.

A Treasury of Iqbal

A Treasury of Iqbal
Author: Abdur-Rashid Siddiqui
Publisher: Treasury in Islamic Thought an
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2022-02-15
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9781847741653

Muhammad Iqbal (d.1938), thinker and philosopher - poet of Indo-Pakistani sub-continent was one of the key architects of contemporary Islam. Through the medium of his thoughtful writing and soul-transforming poetry, both Urdu and Persian, he infused a new spirit in the Muslims, not only of India and Pakistan but also Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Middle East. He challenged the western concept of nationalism and expounded the concept of Islamic nations, on which the idea of Pakistan is based. A Treasury of Iqbal is a glimpse of his thought and contribution.

Islamic Mystical Poetry

Islamic Mystical Poetry
Author: Mahmood Jamal
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2009-10-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0141932244

Written from the ninth to the twentieth century, these poems represent the peak of Islamic Mystical writing, from Rabia Basri to Mian Mohammad Baksh. Reflecting both private devotional love and the attempt to attain union with God and become absorbed into the Divine, many poems in this edition are imbued with the symbols and metaphors that develop many of the central ideas of Sufism: the Lover, the Beloved, the Wine, and the Tavern; while others are more personal and echo the poet's battle to leave earthly love behind. These translations capture the passion of the original poetry and are accompanied by an introduction on Sufism and the common themes apparent in the works. This edition also includes suggested further reading.

The Taste of Words

The Taste of Words
Author: Raza Mir
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2014-06-15
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 935118725X

Have you ever been enchanted by the spoken cadence of an Urdu couplet but wished you could fully understand its nuances? Have you wanted to engage with a ghazal more deeply but were daunted by its mystifying conventions? Are you confused between a qataa and a rubaai, or a musadda and a marsiya? In Urdu Poetry, Raza Mir offers a fresh, quirky and accessible entry point for neophytes seeking to enhance their enjoyment of this vibrant canon—from the poems of legends like Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib to the lyrics of contemporary game changers like Javed Akhtar and Gulzar. Raza Mir’s translation not only draws out the zest and pathos of these timeless verses, but also provides pithy insights and colourful trivia that will enable readers to fully embrace this world.

Selected Poems

Selected Poems
Author: Gulzar
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 8184756089

Gulzar, one of India’s finest film-makers and lyricists and has always been a poet at heart. His oeuvre is steeped in a poetic sensibility, marked by a lyricism rare in the world of Hindi cinema. Today, Gulzar is regarded as one of India’s foremost Urdu poets, unparalleled in his exploration of human relationships and the insight and sensitivity with which he addresses the many facets of daily life. The sophistication and cadences of Gulzar’s work come alive in this bilingual edition of some of his best poetry, sensitively translated by Pavan K. Varma.

The Best of Faiz

The Best of Faiz
Author: Shiv K Kumar
Publisher: Random House India
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2013-04-26
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 818400415X

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry continues to inspire and enthral contemporary readers. The Best of Faiz consists of Shiv K. Kumar’s translations of Faiz’s most popular Urdu poems into English. The collected poems include ‘Mujh Se Pehli Si’, ‘Subhe Azadi’, ‘Sochne Do’ and ‘Bol’. This edition also includes a translator’s foreword and the original poems in nastaliq and devanagari scripts.

Diwan-e-Ghalib

Diwan-e-Ghalib
Author: Kuldip Salil
Publisher: Rajpal & Sons
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2008
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9788170286929

A Selection of Ghalib's Ghazals in Devnagri and English, along with the English Translations

Master Couplets of Urdu Poetry

Master Couplets of Urdu Poetry
Author: K. C. Kanda
Publisher: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2001-07-01
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 9788120723573

This book offers a representative selection of humorous and satirical Urdu poetry, drawn from the works of seventeen major poets, including the classics like Mohammed Rafi Sauda and Akbar Allahabadi, besides the famous practitioners of this art in the 20th century. The poems are chosen on the basis of their artistic and thematic quality. These are then translated, verse by verse, into English, and transliterated in the Roman script for the benefit of the non-Urdu-knowing reader. This is probably the first book of its kind in Urdu-English translated literature.