Arguably, Ghazal is the most popular form of Urdu poetry. The passion for poetry, from Mushairas to simple recitation of the Urdu poems, has kept us all engaged with Meer, Ghalib, Iqbal, Faiz, Firaq and other giants of Urdu. We try classic as well as new forms of poetry recitation. We also learn how to recite the following:
Ghazal- Primarily in sets of two liner couplets (sher) in metre (behr) where the verses must strictly follow and end-rhyme scheme, called radeef and qafiya.
Dil-e-naadan tujhe hua kya hai,
Aakhir is dard ki dava kya hai
– Mirza Ghalib
Nazm- A free style form of poetry where the poet can use any verse style with various meters and rhyme scheme.
Baat niklegi to phir door talak jaayegi
Log be-vajaha udaasi ka sabab poochhenge
Ye bhi poochhenge ke tum istni pareeshan kyun ho……
– Kafeel Azar Amrohvi
Rubaii- A form of quatrains, meaning four lines, comprising the first, second and fourth lines, having the same rhyming words.
Hamd is written in praise of Allah, the Almighty.
Naat is in praise of Prophet Muhammad.
Marsiya is an elegy written in remembrance of the death of a loved one.
Qasida is like an ode written for some benefactor or represents some important event.
Prose in Urdu is called ‘Nasr’ – actually an Arabic word, meaning spreading or sprinkling but to put it simply its repertoire includes Afsana, dastan, novel, drama, sketches (Khaake), bio and autobiography (savaneh Umri), travelogues (Safarnaama), letters (khutoot), reportage, memoirs, essays (Inshaaiyye) and everything except poetry.
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