Urdu is a Persianised register of the Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, where it is also an official language alongside English. In India, Urdu is an Eighth Schedule language, the status and cultural heritage of which are recognised by the Constitution of India; and it also has an official status in several Indian states. In Nepal, Urdu is a registered regional dialect and in South Africa, it is a protected language in the constitution. It is also spoken as a minority language in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, with no official status.
The ghazal is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. Ghazals often deal with topics of spiritual and romantic love and may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation from the beloved and the beauty of love in spite of that pain.
Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau, better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the period of the Delhi Sultanate.
Urdu literature comprises the literary works, written in the Urdu language. While, It tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ghazal and nazm, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of the short story, or afsana. Urdu literature is popular mostly in Pakistan, where Urdu is the national language, and in India, where it is an Eighth Schedule language.
Hindustani is one of the predominant languages of South Asia, with federal status in the republics of India and Pakistan in its standardized forms of Hindi and Urdu respectively. It is widely spoken and understood as a second language in Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Persian Gulf and as such is considered a lingua franca in the northern Indian subcontinent. It is also one of the most widely spoken languages in the world by total number of speakers. It developed in north India, principally during the Mughal Empire, when the Persian language exerted a strong influence on the Western Hindi languages of central India; this contact between the Hindu and Muslim cultures resulted in the core Indo-Aryan vocabulary of the Indian dialect of Hindi spoken in Delhi, whose earliest form is known as Old Hindi, being enriched with Persian loanwords. Rekhta, or "mixed" speech, which came to be known as Hindustani, Hindi, Hindavi, and Urdu, also locally known as Lashkari or Lashkari Zaban in long form, was thus created. This form was elevated to the status of a literary language, and after the partition of colonial India and independence this collection of dialects became the basis for modern standard Hindi and Urdu. Although these official languages are distinct registers with regards to their formal aspects, such as modern technical vocabulary, they continue to be all but indistinguishable in their vernacular form. From the colonial era onwards, Hindustani has also taken in many words from English, with an urban English-influenced variety emerging known as Hinglish.
Rekhta was an early form of the Hindustani language. This style evolved in both the Perso-Arabic and Devanagari scripts and is considered an early form of Modern Standard Urdu and Modern Standard Hindi. According to the Pakistani linguist and historian Tariq Rehman, Rekhta was a highly Persianized register of Hindustani, exclusively used by poets. It was not only the vocabulary that was Persianized, but also the poetic metaphors, inspired by Indian landscapes and seasons, were abandoned in favor of the Persian ones i.e. bahaar (spring) replacing barsaat.
Bashir Badr is an Indian poet. He was teaching Urdu in Aligarh Muslim University. He primarily writes in Urdu language particularly ghazals. He also wrote a couplet titled Dushmani Jam Kar Karo in 1972 during Shimla Agreement that revolves around the partition of India. Badr's most of unpublished literary work, including uncertain poems was lost during the 1987 Meerut communal riots, and later he moved to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Zehra Nigah is a prominent Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan, affectionately known as 'Zehra Apa'. As one of the pioneers of Urdu poetry by women, Nigah was one of the first female poets to gain recognition in a male-dominated field. Nigah's achievements are particularly notable in the realm of mushaira, where she is regarded as the first female poet to fully participate and leave a lasting impact. Additionally, Nigah occasionally works as a songwriter and scriptwriter.
Wali Muhammad Wali (1667–1707), also known as Wali Dakhani, Wali Gujarati, and Wali Aurangabadi, was a classical Urdu poet from India.
Sayyid Sirajuddin, commonly known as Siraj Aurangabadi (1715–1763), was an Indian mystic poet who initially wrote in Persian and later started writing in Urdu.
Aurangabad is one of the historical cities of the Deccan, India. It is well known for its literary and cultural traditions. As this city was the stronghold of the Mughals, a number of civil and military officers, men of letters, citizens, etc., from Delhi came here with the result that Aurangabad was so much influenced by the North Indian culture that it was considered to be the Delhi of the Deccan. Thus, till 1763, Aurangabad was the seat of Government and the capital of the Deccan. Afterwards when Hyderabad was made the capital, poets, literary men and learned people gradually left Aurangabad and this city lost its literary prominence. Still the city continued to produce men of literary genius well into the 20th century. Though, Aurangabad had gained its importance since the time of Malik Ambar, up to 1700 AD the literary achievements of that city in regard to the Urdu language are not traceable. The Urdu spoken in Aurangabad is Hyderabadi Urdu, which in itself is a form of Dakhini Urdu.
Raza Naqvi Wahi was an Indian Urdu-language poet during his time. He used the takhallus of Wahi.
Rekhti, is a form of Urdu feminist poetry. A genre developed by male poets, it uses women's voices to talk about themselves. It was formed in 19th-century Lucknow, then part of the State of Awadh. The poet Saadat Yaar Khan Rangin is credited with its creation.
Rajendar Nath Rehbar was an Indian Urdu-language poet and Bollywood lyricist. He is the writer of the nazm Teri Khushboo Me Base Khat sung by ghazal singer Jagjit Singh. He is a disciple of the Urdu poet Ratan Pandoravi.
Jashn-e-Rekhta is the world's largest Urdu language literary festival. It is a three-day event held in New Delhi that celebrates Urdu language. This event was the flagship event of the Rekhta Foundation. The festival showcases Urdu poetry, Urdu literature, Qawwali, and Islamic calligraphy, with performances such as Ghazal, Sufi music, recitations, panel discussions, debates, conversations on films, and calligraphy workshops. It also includes shopping and food festivals. It provides a platform for Urdu lovers to share their poetry and stories in various open forums. The slogan of the festival is "Celebrating Urdu", and it is attended by a huge number of Urdu enthusiasts, younger people
Quaiser Khalid is an officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), currently working as Inspector General of Police, Motor Transport, Maharashtra State, Pune.
The Urdu ghazal is a literary form of the ghazal-poetry unique to the Indian subcontinent, written in the Urdu standard of the Hindostani language. It is commonly asserted that the ghazal spread to South Asia from the influence of Sufi mystics in the Delhi Sultanate.
Mohammad Nawaz Khan is an Indian Urdu language poet. He is also a Ghazal writer some of them are sung by famous Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh. He wrote the lyrics for the Ghazal album Amaanat released by singer Sachin Sharma in 2008.
Professor Syed Fazle Imam Rizvi commonly known as Fazle Imam was an Indian Urdu scholar, poet, writer and teacher at University. He is known for his literature expertise in various languages Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani. He has written books, ghazals, and nazms, articles in Urdu, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani.
Sanjiv Saraf is an Indian entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. He founded Rekhta Foundation, a not-for-peofit organisation which promotes Urdu literature. The Foundation has curated the Rekhta portal to document Urdu literary works and it hosts Jashn-e-Rekhta, an annual literary festival, since 2015. Saraf wrote Love Longing Loss and Nava-e-Sarosh, focusing on Urdu literature and culture.
