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The Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 24: GulzarSend us a textGulzar, born Sampooran Singh Kalra on August 18, 1934, in Dina village in the Jhelum district, stands as one of the most distinguished figures in Indian literature and cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest Urdu poets of this era, with a multifaceted career spanning poetry, film lyrics, screenwriting, and direction. The trauma of India's partition in 1947 profoundly shaped his worldview and creative sensibilities. Seeking to pursue his literary dreams, he moved to Bombay (now Mumbai), where he worked in a family business while writing poetry in his spare time. His i...
2025-12-0520 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 23: Bashir BadrSend us a textSyed Muhammad Bashir, known by his pen name Bashir Badr, was born on February 15, 1935, in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. He emerged as one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Urdu poetry, particularly renowned for his ghazals. Badr completed his education at Lucknow University and later taught Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University for several decades before retiring. His literary career spans over six decades, during which he established himself as a master of the ghazal form, captivating audiences across India and Pakistan. He has published numerous poetry collections, including Aas, Saya, and...
2025-11-2019 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 22: Sahir LudhianviSend us a textSahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980), born Abdul Hayee in Ludhiana, was one of the most influential Urdu poets and lyricists of the 20th century. Born into an affluent family, Sahir's childhood was marked by his parents' troubled marriage and eventual separation. These early experiences of emotional turmoil profoundly influenced his poetry, infusing it with themes of pain, disillusionment, and social critique. He studied at Government College, Ludhiana, but left without completing his degree, moving to Lahore, where he began his literary career. Sahir emerged as a prominent voice in progressive Urdu poetry during the 1...
2025-11-0313 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 21--Kaifi AzmiSend us a textKaifi Azmi, born Syed Athar Husain Rizvi in 1919 in Mizwaan village near Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh), was one of the most influential Urdu poets of the 20th century. He showed literary promise from an early age, penning his first ghazal at the age of eleven. Deeply moved by social injustice, he became associated with the Progressive Writers’ Movement (Taraqqi Pasand Tahreek) in the 1940s—a collective of writers who sought to use literature as a vehicle for social reform, equality, and resistance against colonial and feudal oppression.Kaifi’s poli...
2025-10-1912 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 20: Ali Sardar JafriSend us a textAli Sardar Jafri (1913-2000) was one of the most prominent Urdu poets of the 20th century, born in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. Coming from an aristocratic family, he was educated at Sultan-ul-Madaris in Lucknow and later studied at Aligarh Muslim University. He became deeply involved in the Progressive Writers' Movement during the 1930s and remained committed to leftist ideals throughout his life, joining the Communist Party of India. Jafri's poetry combined romantic lyricism with social consciousness, making him a unique voice in modern Urdu literature. He moved to Pakistan briefly after Partition...
2025-10-0520 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 19: Majrooh SultanpuriSend us a textMajrooh Sultanpuri (1919-2000) was one of Urdu literature's most celebrated poets and a prominent lyricist in Hindi cinema. Born as Asrar ul Hassan Khan in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, he adopted the pen name ‘Majrooh’ (meaning ‘wounded’), which reflected the melancholic undertones often found in his work. He began his literary career as a progressive poet, deeply influenced by the Progressive Writers' Movement in Urdu literature. His early poetry dealt with themes of social justice, love, and human suffering, earning him recognition in literary circles. He was particularly known for his ghazals and nazms that cap...
2025-09-2116 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 18: Parveen ShakirSend us a textParveen Shakir (1952-1994) was one of the most celebrated Urdu poets, known for her distinctive feminist voice and innovative approach to ghazal poetry. Born in Karachi, she earned a Master's degree in English Literature and later worked as a civil servant in the Pakistani government. Shakir published her first poetry collection, "Khushbu" (Fragrance), in 1976, which immediately established her as a significant literary voice. Her subsequent collections included "Sad-barg" (1980), "Khud Kalami" (1990), and "Maah-e-Tamaam" (1994). Her poetry was groundbreaking for its frank exploration of women's emotions, desires, and experiences in a predominantly male literary t...
2025-09-0719 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 17 --Jan Nisar AkhtarSend us a textJan Nisar Akhtar (1914-1976) was a distinguished Urdu poet, lyricist, and writer who left an indelible mark on modern Urdu literature and Indian cinema. Born in Gwalior, he came from a literary family and developed his poetic sensibilities at an early age.Akhtar was known for his progressive ideals and was associated with the Progressive Writers' Movement. His poetry reflected a social consciousness, humanism, and a profound concern for the struggles of ordinary people. He wrote extensively in various forms, including nazms (free verse poems) and ghazals, with themes ranging from...
2025-08-2415 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 16: Ahmad FarazSend us a textAhmad Faraz (1931-2008) gained prominence for his passionate ghazals and progressive poetry. His distinctive style blended classical Urdu poetry traditions with contemporary themes. What he wrote was characterized by romantic intensity, social consciousness, and political resistance. His verse focuses on love, loss, and human dignity, while also addressing issues of social justice and political oppression. Some of his most famous poetry collections include Tanha Tanha and Dard-e-Ashob. His ghazal Ranjish Hi Sahi became particularly iconic and was popularized through Mehdi Hassan's rendition.During General Zia-ul-Haq's military regime, Faraz faced persecution for...
2025-08-1018 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 15 --Faiz Ahmad FaizSend us a textFaiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-1984) was one of the most celebrated and most loved Urdu poets of the last century. Faiz began his literary career in the 1930s and became associated with the Progressive Writers' Movement, which sought to use literature as a tool for social reform. His poetry masterfully combined classical Urdu literary traditions with revolutionary themes, addressing issues of social justice and political oppression. He served in the British Indian Army during World War II, and then worked as a journalist and editor for various publications. After independence, his leftist politics brought...
2025-07-2816 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 14: Firaq GorakhpuriSend us a textRaghupati Sahay, known by his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri (1896-1982), was one of the most celebrated Urdu poets of the 20th century. Born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, he bridged cultural and religious divides through his literary work. Firaq was not only a poet but also a distinguished academic and critic. He served as a professor of English literature at Allahabad University for many years and was deeply influenced by both Eastern and Western literary traditions. His academic background in English literature brought a unique perspective to his Urdu poetry.He received...
2025-07-1412 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 13: Asghar GondviSend us a textAsghar Hussain, known by his pen name Asghar Gondvi, was born in 1884 in Gorakhpur. Despite formally studying only up to the 8th class, Asghar achieved mastery of Urdu, Persian, and Arabic through self-study, and also gained proficiency in English. He was under the spiritual influence of Sayed Abdul Ghani Kazmi, a religious saint and mystic, and led a life of piety and self-control. Asghar worked in various occupations - he traded optical items, worked in the railway engineering department, and later worked at the India Press in Allahabad. He was associated with the...
2025-06-3012 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 12--Jigar MoradabadiSend us a textJigar Moradabadi (1890-1960) was one of the most celebrated Urdu poets of the 20th century, renowned for his passionate ghazals and romantic poetry. Born as Ali Sikander in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, he adopted the pen name ‘Jigar’ (meaning heart or liver, symbolizing intense emotion), which perfectly captured the essence of his deeply emotional verse. During his lifetime, Jigar was considered one of the leading poets, alongside luminaries such as Josh Malihabadi and Firaq Gorakhpuri. His poetry collections gained widespread popularity, and he was known for his powerful recitations at mushairas. His verses of...
2025-06-1618 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 11: Josh MalihabadiSend us a textJosh Malihabadi (1898-1982) was one of the most significant Urdu poets of the last century. Due to his revolutionary poetry during the freedom movement, he became known as Shaayir-e-Inquilaab. Josh was born Shabbir Hasan Khan on December 5, 1898, in Malihabad. He studied at St. Peter's College in Agra and later at Tagore's University, where he acquired proficiency in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and English. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held him in high esteem and frequently attended the mushairas where Josh recited his poetry. The most dramatic chapter of Josh's life came in 1958 when he migrated f...
2025-06-0212 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 10: Hasrat MohaniSend us a textHasrat Mohani (1875-1951), born Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan in Mohan, a town in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, was a multifaceted personality who impacted literature and politics in India. He was not only a romantic poet but also a journalist, politician, parliamentarian, and fearless freedom fighter. When he gave the call of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’—Long Live Revolution—he relentlessly fought for India’s independence from British rule. He was imprisoned several times for his rebellious attitude towards the British, but always maintained his spirit, refusing to succumb to any pressure. After India’s independence, he served as...
2025-05-1915 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 9: Yaas Yagana ChangeziSend us a textYaas Yagana Changezi (1884–1956), born Mirza Wajid Hussain Changezi, was a bold and unconventional Urdu poet known for his rebellious spirit and modernist outlook. Born in Patna, Yagana carved a unique niche in Urdu literature by defying the traditional romanticism and conventional themes that dominated the poetry of his time. He was heavily influenced by Western philosophy, particularly the works of Nietzsche, and brought a tone of existentialism, skepticism, and self-awareness into his verse. His poetry often critiqued religious dogma, social hypocrisy, and romantic idealism, which made him a controversial figure in literary circles. He...
2025-05-0515 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, S5 E8--Fani BadayuniSend us a textFani Badayuni, born Shaukat Ali Khan on September 13, 1879, in Badaun district, was a distinguished Urdu poet renowned for his poignant and melancholic poetry. He hailed from a family that had migrated to India from Kabul during the reign of Shah Alam. He graduated from Bareilly College in 1901 and earned his Bachelor of Laws from Aligarh Muslim University in 1906. Fani began composing poetry at a young age, completing his first Divan by age 20. He persevered despite initial resistance from his orthodox family, who disapproved of his poetic pursuits. His first collection was published in 1917...
2025-04-2116 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, S5 E7--Dagh DehlviSend us a textDagh Dehlvi (1831–1905) was one of the most celebrated poets of classical Urdu ghazal of the late 19th century. He came from an aristocratic family, but his father, Nawab Shamsuddin Ahmed Khan, was implicated in the murder of the British Resident William Fraser in 1835 and was executed by the British. This event drastically altered Dagh’s childhood. Following his father’s death, his mother, Wazir Khanum, married the Mughal crown prince Mirza Fakhru, bringing Dagh into the Mughal court's cultural sphere. Dagh was greatly influenced by Zauq, the poet laureate of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s court...
2025-04-0719 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast -- Season 5 Episode 6 --Momin Khan MominSend us a textMomin Khan Momin (1800-1851) was one of the most significant poets of the late Mughal period in Delhi. Born into a family of physicians, he was educated in Persian, Arabic, and traditional Islamic sciences. His real name was Muhammad Momin Khan, but he is known by his pen name ‘Momin.’ Momin was associated with the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, where he was highly respected for his poetic genius. Unlike many of his contemporaries who wrote primarily in Persian, Momin chose to write predominantly in Urdu, contributing significantly to the...
2025-03-2415 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5, Episode 5--Maulana Altaf Husain HaliSend us a textMaulana Altaf Husain Hali (1837-1914) was a significant Urdu poet and writer from the nineteenth century. He was born in Panipat and wrote in classical Persian and Urdu poetic traditions. However, after meeting Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, he became an essential voice for social reform and modernization in Muslim society. Hali's most famous work is the ‘Musaddas-e-Hali,’ a long poem that critically examined the decline of Muslim civilization and called for social and educational reforms. He was also known for breaking away from the traditional ghazal form to write more socially conscious poetry. He s...
2025-03-1012 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 4--Mirza GhalibSend us a textMirza Asadullah Baig Khan, better known as Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), was one of the most influential and celebrated Urdu poets. Born in Agra during the decline of the Mughal Empire, he moved to Delhi after his marriage at a young age, where he spent most of his life. Despite facing personal tragedies, including the deaths of all seven of his children in infancy and persistent financial difficulties, Ghalib produced some of the most sophisticated and philosophically complex poetry of his time. His ghazals, characterized by their deep intellectual and emotional depth, often explored...
2025-02-1717 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 3: Mir Taqi MirSend us a textMir Taqi Mir (1723-1810) was born in Agra into a family that enjoyed great respect because of his father’s spiritual leanings. His father inspired Mir to follow the path of universal love and compassion. A tragedy struck when Mir was still young. He fell in love with an extended family member he could not marry. Heartbroken, he left Agra for Delhi, but that city was already in turmoil due to foreign invasions. Lovestruck and without any support, Mir lost the balance of his mind. When Nadir Shah attacked, he left Delhi and se...
2025-02-0313 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 2--Khwaja Mir DardSend us a textKhwaja Mir Dard (1721-1785) was born to a highly respected religious family in Delhi. His father had relinquished his position in the Court to lead the life of a Sufi. Dard, therefore, received his spiritual education from his father. Although many poets left Delhi during the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali, Dard stayed in Delhi and witnessed horrible atrocities. He attained mastery over the Arabic, Persian, and Urdu languages. His close reading of the Quran showed in his poetry. He left behind a collection of Urdu ghazals, a Persian Divan...
2025-01-2010 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast (TUGP), Season 5 Episode 1: SaudaSend us a textMirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda (1713-1781) belonged to a family of traders who had migrated to India from Afghanistan. Because of his father's influence in the social circles, Sauda had easy access to nobility and social prestige that others longed for. But this situation didn’t last long. When Delhi came under attack, the family had to find a new place to live. Nawab Asifuddaulah patronized Sauda and was rewarded with an annual stipend of six thousand rupees. Sauda wrote in Persian before coming to Urdu. The Persian literary tradition helped him acquire a to...
2025-01-0617 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 20--Zehra NigahSend us a textZehra Nigah, lovingly called Zehra Aapa, was ten years old when her family moved from Hyderabad, her place of birth, to Karachi after the Partition. Her father was a civil servant who had a deep interest in literature. He passed on his love of books to his children, who excelled in various literary and artistic fields. Zehra Nigah started writing early and gained great popularity among Mushaira audiences. She settled in London after she married Majid Ali. Her house in London became the center of literary activities and poetry recitations, especially when Faiz...
2024-11-0213 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 19-- Rahat IndoriSend us a textRahat Indori was born in Indore in 1950 in a family that was going through a rough financial time, and as a result, he had to face the brutal realities of life, starting in his childhood. Despite these challenges, he struggled to get a good education, including a doctoral degree. His poetry had an element of directness that summed up the social and political difficulties facing ordinary people. In addition, he developed a style of recitation that impressed Mushaira audiences. Many leading ghazal singers sang his ghazals. He passed away in his hometown in 2020.
2024-10-2718 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 18-- Kunwar Mohinder Singh BediSend us a textKunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi 'Saher" was born in 1909 in Sahiwal. After the partition, his family moved to Fazilka. His poetry was stylistically similar to the works of Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The Haryana Urdu Akademi instituted an award in his honor that has been presented yearly since 1990. Bedi was also associated with the film industry, producing three films and acting in one. His published works include ‘Tulu-e-Sahar’ ( a poetry collection) and ‘Yaadon Ka Jashn’ (a memoir). Jagjit Singh produced an album titled ‘Forget Me Not’ in 2002, singing eight of Bedi’s ghazals in his...
2024-10-2018 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 17-- Saghar SiddiquiSend us a textSaghar Siddiqui was born in 1928 in Ambala. He started writing poetry at a young age. In 1947, when he was 19, he migrated to Pakistan during the partition and settled in Lahore. In his later life, he fell into depression, became addicted to drugs, and turned into a homeless beggar. He would often hold mushairas on the footpaths in candlelight. He continued to write ghazals, though most were lost and remained unpublished. In 1974, Siddiqui, who was 46 at that time, was found dead on a street corner in Lahore. It is a very tragic life story...
2024-10-1415 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 16- Obaidullah AleemSend us a textObaidullah Aleem was born in Bhopal in 1939. His family moved to Pakistan at the time of partition. He received higher education at the University of Karachi while pursuing several creative interests. He made an impressive debut as a radio and TV artist. Still, due to the discrimination he faced as an Ahmedia, everything came to a halt in 1978 when he was made to resign because of his religious beliefs. He moved to England in 1991 but soon returned to Pakistan. He passed away in 1998. His first book, ‘Chand Chehra Sitara Aankhen,’ published in 1974, gained grea...
2024-10-0519 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 15--Khaleel-ur Rehman AzmiSend us a textKhaleel-ur Rehman Azmi, a leading Urdu poet and literary critic, was born in 1927. He received his higher education at the Aligarh Muslim University, where he taught Urdu. He was posthumously elevated to the rank of a Professor. He wrote extensively on the progressive writers’ movement and is considered a pioneer of Modernism in Urdu. He mentored the leading British Urdu scholar Ralph Russell and poet Shahryar. He authored nearly a dozen collections of poetry and literary criticism. He passed away in 1978.His famous couplets include:Hazaar tarah ki mai pi...
2024-09-1410 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 14--Hastimal HastiSend us a textHastimal Hasti (1946-2024) came from a humble background in Rajasthan but gained fame while working for the film industry in Mumbai. His poetry found a common ground between Urdu and Hindi, and as such, he endeared himself to a diverse audience. His ghazal, ‘Pyaar ka pehla khat likhne mein vaqt to lagta hai,’ was sung by Jagjit Singh, and it became an instant hit. He is also the author of a famous couplet:Har gaaon mein mumtaaz janam kyon nahin letiHar mod pe ik taj mahal kyon nahin hota
2024-09-0810 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast--Season 4 Episode 13, Shahid KabirSend us a textShahid Kabir was born in May 1932 in Nagpur. He started writing short stories and ghazals early and earned fame and name recognition after he began writing for films. In 1957, he authored a play about the life of Mirza Ghalib that was staged at Rastrapati Bhawan. His books include Kachchi Deewaarein (Novel, 1958) and ghazal collections such as Charon-or (1968) and Mitti Ka Makan (1979). He was honored by the Maharashtra State Urdu Academy. He passed away in May 2001.Jagjit and Chitra Singh have sung Shahid Kabir’s ghazals, including the more famous one:...
2024-08-2912 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 12--Andleeb ShadaniSend us a textAndleeb Shadani was born in Moradabad district, UP, in 1904. He studied Persian at the Punjab University and earned a doctoral degree in England in 1934. He taught at the Hindu College in Delhi before moving to Dacca University. His poetry collection is called Nishaat-e-Rafta. He died in July 1969 in Dacca in what was still East Pakistan. Many singers, including Jagjit Singh, have sung his ghazals. His most famous ghazal is der lagi aane mein tum ko, shukr hai phir bhi aaye to.
2024-08-2414 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast: Gulzar 90th Birthday Special EpisodeSend us a textOn August 18, 2024, we celebrate the 90th Birthday of Gulzar Sahib. Some people say age is nothing more than a number, yet we can’t deny that it is an important milestone. Gulzar’s creative spark is as bright as it has been over the years. He leads a busy life, reading, staying in touch with his friends, and writing new stuff, maybe poetry or something difficult to put in a box. As a long-time admirer of Gulzar’s work, I wish him, along with millions of his fans, many more years of creative living...
2024-08-1618 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 10--Sudarshan FaakirSend us a textSudarshan Faakir, an exceptional nazm and ghazal poet, was born in 1934 in Jalandhar. He studied at the DAV College and earned a master's degree in Political Science. His first job was at the local radio station, but other opportunities attracted him, and he got into directing stage plays and movies. Although he started writing at a young age, his talent surfaced once he became a lyricist for Bollywood movies and even won the coveted Filmfare award. The lyricism of his compositions was so appealing that he became the favorite poet of great ghazal...
2024-08-0720 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 9--Naresh Kumar ShaadSend us a textNaresh Kumar Shaad was born in a village near Hoshiarpur in 1927. He earned great admiration as a poet, prose writer, translator, and editor of several literary journals. Drinking became his weakness and caused him much grief. His father, Dard Nikodari, was also a poet and one of the distinguished disciples of master poet Josh Malsiyani. Therefore, it was natural that Shaad acquired the skill of composing a ghazal at an early age. He was often in and out of government jobs as he pursued his literary passion, but the lack of stability in...
2024-07-2713 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 8: Abbas TabishSend us a textAbbas Tabish, a famous Mushaira poet, was born in 1961. His ghazal poetry is known for amalgamating contemporary sociopolitical themes with the intoxicating flavor of the classical ghazal of the late 19th century. He teaches at the Government College University in Lahore. One of his famous couplets goes like this: chaand chehre mujhe achhe to bahut lagte haini’shq main us se karunga jise Urdu aaye I like moon-like beautiesbut I will fall in love with someone who knows Urdu
2024-07-1914 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 7--Amjad Islam AmjadSend us a textAmjad Islam Amjad was a multi-talented poet, lyricist, and TV serial creator who significantly contributed to Urdu literature. He was born in Lahore in 1944. He held several high positions in institutions connected with arts, entertainment, and education and received several honors from the government and other national and international organizations. He thoroughly mastered the art of ghazal writing, highly appealing nazms in free verse, and plays for TV and the stage. He published nearly a dozen books of poetry and lyrics besides travelogues and translations. He passed away in 2023 due to cardiac arrest.
2024-07-1025 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 6--Kaif BhopaliSend us a textKaif Bhopali was born in 1917 in Bhopal to a family of Kashmiri origin. He gained great fame as a literary poet and film lyricist. Who has not heard and appreciated Mohd Rafi’s classic hit song, ‘Chalo Dildaar Chalo,’ from Kamal Amrohi’s 1972 film ‘Pakeezah?’ Kaif Bhopali wrote that song. Jagjit Singh also popularized several ghazals by Kaif in his melodious voice. The following couplet, one of the most remarkable in Urdu ghazal poetry, was penned by Kaif as well.zindagi shaayad isi ka naam haiduuriyaan majbuuriyaan tanhaaiiyaan Kaif B...
2024-07-0318 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 5--Ahmad Nadeem QasmiSend us a textAhmad Nadeem Qasmi, a leading figure in modern Urdu literature, was born in 1916 near Sargodha. After earning his master's degree, he worked in the Reform Commissioner’s office in Lahore in 1936. During the 1940s, his friendship with Manto inspired him to write scripts for films, but none of those films came to fruition. Following the Partition, he worked briefly as a scriptwriter for Radio Pakistan in Peshawar. Soon after, he joined the editorial board of the reputed journal ‘Savera’ and was elected Secretary General of the Progressive Writers Association, Pakistan. Because of his anti-est...
2024-06-2720 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 4 -- Khumar BarabankaviSend us a textKhumar Barabankvi (1919 – 1999) was named Mohammed Haidar Khan by his parents. His uncle ‘Qaraar Barabankvi’ was a well-known poet of Barabanki who guided Khumar at a young age. His brother Qazim Haider ‘Nigar’, who died at an early age, was also a poet. It was, therefore, natural for the young lad in the family to follow in the footsteps of his elders. He selected ‘Khumar’ as his pen name and started writing ghazal poetry. He became friends with Jigar Moradabadi, one of the greatest poets of his time. In 1945, Khumar came to Bombay with Ji...
2024-06-1818 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 3 -- Sahir HoshiarpuriSend us a textSahir Hoshiarpuri (1913-1994) is less well-known than Sahir Ludhianvi, but they share some commonalities. They were born in places (Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur) that are geographically close. Their ghazal poetry is heart-touching and drowns the reader in the emotional fervor of evocative words. Sahir Hoshiarpuri, originally named Ram Parkash Sharma, studied Persian at the prestigious Government College in Lahore. His friendship with Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi, a student at the FC College, impacted Sahir’s development as a poet. Seven collections of his poetry were published, but they failed to get their deserved at...
2024-06-1121 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 2--Qateel ShifaiSend us a textQateel Shifai, originally named Mohammad Aurangzeb, was born in Haripur in Hazara District in 1919. His father's sudden demise disrupted his higher education. He tried his luck in business but failed. He moved to Lahore in 1946, which was the start of his literary life. He earned great fame as a film lyricist and a literary poet. He published nearly 20 books of ghazals and poems and wrote over 2000 film lyrics. He won many awards, including the Government of Pakistan’s Pride of Performance Award in 1994. He passed away in 2001. His autobiography, ‘Ghungroo Tuut Gaye,’ was publis...
2024-06-0518 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 1 --Shakeel BadayuniSend us a textShakeel Badayuni was born in Badaun in 1916 and received higher education at the Aligarh Muslim University. He became interested in poetry and wanted to be a romantic poet, which was unusual because, at that time, the progressive writer’s movement was at its peak. But Shakeel decided to be an interpreter of his heart. After working in Delhi for a few years, he moved to Bombay in 1944. His association with music director Naushad gave us unforgettable lyrics from films like Baiju Bawra, Mother India, Mughl-e Azam, Chaudvin Ka Chand, and many others. Begum Ak...
2024-05-3019 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 20 Season Finale -- GulzarSend us a textGulzar was born in Dina (District Jhelum, now in Pakistan) in 1934. After partition, the family split and moved to Delhi and Mumbai. Partition and the horrors of partition significantly influenced young Gulzar, and later in his life, he published short stories and a novel about this apocalyptic event. As a student, he was impressed by the poetry of Tagore and Ghalib. After a short stay in Delhi, he moved to Mumbai and worked in a motor garage owned by the family, working on paints and colors. He had a great desire to be...
2024-02-0832 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 19--Javed AkhtarSend us a textJaved Akhtar was born in Gwalior. There is hardly any other Urdu poet connected to such eminent and epoch-making personalities on either side of his birth—maternal and paternal—where the legacy of poetry and knowledge is continuous and uninterrupted. Who wouldn’t know Allama Fazle Haq Khairabadi? He was a talented man and a great scholar of his time. Ghalib appreciated him and was fond of him. He said he assisted in the selection of ghazals for Ghalib’s Divan. Fazle Haq signed the fatwa for the 1857 rebellion and was exiled to a life s...
2024-01-3123 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 18 -- Shahryar (1936-2012)Send us a textPoet Shahryar was born in 1936 in a small town near Bareilly, and early in his life, he came under the influence of Khaleelur Rehman Azmi, a prominent Urdu critic and poet. He joined the Aligarh Muslim University, where he earned his doctoral degree. Shahryar started his career at the Anjuman Taraqqqi-e Urdu, where Professor Ale Ahmad Suroor was the President. Later, he moved to the Department of Urdu at AMU and taught there until his retirement in 1996. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for one of his poetry collections in 1987. In 2008, he b...
2024-01-2423 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 17 -- Jayant ParmarSend us a textJayant Parmar, born in Ahmedabad in 1954, overcame socio-economic barriers to get a good education and succeed as a poet. He also gained fame as an accomplished painter. His work has won recognition both at the national and state levels. He won the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 and three state Sahitya Akademi awards between 2001 and 2008. Six collections of his poems and ghazals have been published. His poetry is known for its natural sensibility and the creative use of metaphors. His keywords are vanishing sunshine, ocean of turbulent blood, melting moon, flowers of words...
2024-01-1218 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 16 -- Dr. Bashir BadrSend us a textDr. Bashir Badr was born in Ayodhya in 1935. He received his college education at Aligarh Muslim University, where he earned his graduate and doctoral degrees. He spent most of his life as a college professor, first in Aligarh and then in Meerut. He now lives in Bhopal. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1999, and the same year, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for one of his poetry collections. Widely published, Bashir Badr is a poet of ghazal, rich in romantic allusions and an appealing choice of words that work like magic in...
2024-01-0517 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 15 --Nida FazliSend us a textNida Fazli (1938-2016) was born in Delhi into a family of Kashmiri descent, but he grew up in Gwalior. During the partition, his parents migrated to Pakistan, but he decided to stay in India. Early in his life, he was influenced by the poetry of saints and bhaktas like Kabir, Surdas, and Mirabai, and this was his inspiration for writing poetry in Hindi, Gujarati, and Urdu. Later in life, he studied Urdu poetry, especially the works of Mir and Ghalib. He moved to Mumbai in 1964, and with time, he became a famous film...
2023-12-2719 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast Episode 14-- Parveen ShakirSend us a textParveen Shakir (1952-1994) attained fame early when her first poetry collection was published in 1976. The literary career that followed consisted of several acclaimed poetry collections and honors. She was highly educated, earning her degrees from Karachi and Harvard Universities. She was selected for the Pakistan Civil Service, and her untimely death in a car accident shocked everyone. With her death, the Urdu language lost one of its most promising young writers who had much more to contribute, especially on themes that concern women. Her poetry is a beautiful blending of classical as well...
2023-11-2915 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 13 --Jaun EliaSend us a textJaun Elia (1931-2002) was born in Amroha, a town in Uttar Pradesh. He migrated to Pakistan in 1957 with some reluctance, but the agony of migration that forced separation from his roots never left him. Coming from a highly literate family, Jaun gained a good grounding in Eastern and Western philosophy and Islamic and Sufi belief systems at an early age. Although he was born into a Muslim family and had studied at the Deoband School of Islamic Jurisprudence, he kept religion out of his life. Still, he did write some philosophic prose on...
2023-11-2218 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 12 --Nasir KazmiSend us a textNasir Kazmi (1925-1972) was born in the Indian town of Ambala in Punjab and moved to Lahore after partition. He was associated with Radio Pakistan for several years. His poetry is known for its mellow and soft lyricism and is rich in novel similes and metaphors. It is rooted in the prakritic tradition of Mir Taqi Mir and reflects sad tones reflecting the uprootedness and tragedy of partition. He wrote perceptively on Mir and also published a selection of his verse. At the same time, he was greatly influenced by Firaq Gorakhpuri, and...
2023-11-0918 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Episode 11 --Ahmad FarazSend us a textAhmad Faraz (1931-2008) was a close friend of both Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ali Sardar Jafri, and he followed in their footsteps to be an icon of modern progressive poetry. Because he opposed the military rule of Zia-ul Haq, he was arrested, lost his job, and on his release, he went into a self-imposed exile, spending many years in foreign lands. He started as a romantic poet, and when Mehdi Hasan sang one of his ghazals, ranjish hi sahi, his popularity touched new heights. Following Faiz, there is musicality and lyricism in his...
2023-10-2512 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast: Season 3 Episode 10--Majrooh SultanpuriSend us a textMajrooh Sultanpuri (1919-2000) was called Mir Taqi Mir of Urdu poetry, as someone who had fully internalized the legacy of ghazal writing. The humanistic aspects of Marxism are very much present in his poetry. He was a poet of the people, which is what he wanted to be. He had one slim volume of poetry that he expanded every few years. Since some of the keywords were common among the progressives, some readers felt that some of Majrooh’s couplets sounded like Faiz wrote them. His significant contributions to the Indian film industry th...
2023-10-0508 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast Episode 9: Kaifi AzmiSend us a textKaifi Azmi (1919-2002) was born in a conservative Muslim family near Azamgarh in UP, but he adopted socialism as his creed. He was an active participant in the Communist Party of India. He published his first collection of poems called Jhankaar in 1943. Sajjad Zahir welcomed Kaifi as a valuable addition to the front-ranking poets in the assembly of Urdu poetry. His entry into Hindi films and his energetic presentations in mushairas brought him great fame. Kaifi stood firmly for three things. First, he was against all forms of communal divisions, caste system, inequalities...
2023-09-2709 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast S3 E8 - Jan Nisar AkhtarSend us a textJan Nisar Akhtar (1914 – 1976), father of poet Javed Akhtar, was a part of the Progressive Writers Movement and a famous lyricist for several Bollywood movies. He was the son of poet Muztar Khairabadi and great-grandson of freedom fighter Fazle-Haq Khairabadi. From his early days, he was sympathetic to progressive thinking. Although he wrote both ghazals and poems, we find the soul of his poetry in his ghazals. His poetry collection Khaake Dil (Ashes of the Heart) got him the Sahitya Akademi Award. Prime Minister Nehru asked him to collect the Hindustani poetry of...
2023-09-1909 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Poetry: Season 3 Episode 7 --Jigar MoradabadiSend us a textJigar Moradabadi (1890-1960) was born in Benaras. Because he lost his father at an early age, he struggled to get a start in life and gain proficiency in Urdu and Persian. Due to his friendship with Asghar Gondvi, he settled in Gonda, a town near Lucknow. Jigar kept alive the classical, rhythmic traditional style of ghazal writing, and his name often occurs near the top of twentieth-century Urdu poets. His ghazals have a rare psychological touch and a sweeping lyrical flow. While making a socio-political point, he handles the metaphor masterly so as...
2023-09-1316 min
The Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast S3 Episode 6-Majaz LakhnaviSend us a textAsrarul Haq Majaz (1911-1955) of Lucknow lived a relatively short life of 44 years, but within this short time, he made a significant impact with his alluring poems and captivating ghazals. Although he was not an excellent academic student, he influenced many people during his stay at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He wrote his best work while at Aligarh. He composed the Tarana, anthem for AMU that is passionately sung today. His first poetry collection Aahang was heralded by Sajad Zahir, as the opening of a new rosebud in the garden of progressives. His...
2023-08-3008 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast--S3 E5 Sahir LudhianviSend us a textAmong the modern progressives and those who were also associated with the film industry, Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980) occupies a very special place. It has to do with his celebrity status as much as his romantic poetry that appealed to a new generation of young people in post-independent India. Sahir was also a powerful voice against social injustice, exploitation, denial of women’s rights, and income inequalities. His collection of poetry Talkhiyaan was published in 1944, and several of the compositions in that volume were used in Hindi films. He also published a longer poem ca...
2023-08-1610 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast-S3 E4 Hasrat MohaniSend us a textHasrat Mohani (1875-1951) revived the Urdu ghazal after the onslaught of the Nayi Shaa’yari (New Poetry). He infused it with socio-political zeal while retaining its lyricism and charm. He learned from past masters like Mir and Ghalib about how feminine beauty is captured in verse. There is a visible influence of Mus-hafi, but his more important contribution lies in the fact that he domesticated beauty – he talked about meetings under the shadow of stars, coming up to the upper level of the house looking for the lover when the floor is emitting fire...
2023-08-0311 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast: Episode 3 Josh MalihabadiSend us a textIn this episode, I present the ghazal poetry of Josh Malihabadi. He got his education at St. Peter’s College in Agra and a brief stint at Tagore’s University at Shanti Niketan. He founded the progressive magazine Kaleemin Delhi, and after the independence, he was appointed editor of Aajkal, a government of India literary publication, where he worked for eight years. His decision to migrate to Pakistan in 1956 shocked many people, including Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who pleaded with him not to leave India. He visited India in 1...
2023-07-2407 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast Episode 2: FaizSend us a textFaiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) is a milestone in the ghazal tradition as the climax of liberal Urdu poetry. He was a significant departure from Iqbal and the elasticity of the ghazal structure that allowed a new creative poetic transformation. His verse's captivating musicality is unsurpassed in contemporary Urdu poetry. Faiz’s poetry, soaked in the kernel of tagazzul, the lyrical love sensibility of the ghazal, played the most significant role in enriching the Urdu ghazal’s poetic tradition. His love poetry reads as revolutionary poetry, and conversely, revolutionary poetry reads as love poetry. They...
2023-07-1219 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast Episode 1: FiraqSend us a textThe Urdu Ghazal Podcast presents the ghazal poetry of a leading poet in each episode. In this first episode, we present the magnificent poetry of Firaq Gorakhpuri who brought the taste of Sanskrit and Hindi poetic rasa into his compositions. He not only excelled in ghazal, but the rubai collections authored by him are also memorable for the exposition of feminine beauty in all its forms-- a young girl, a married woman, and an iconic universal mother. Relax and enjoy listening to this presentation.
2023-07-0525 min
Radio Azim Premji UniversityYun Hota Toh Kya Hota The World Of Ghalib With Amit Basole - Ghalib's Legacy (EP6) 04th May 2023Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And it’s no surprise that Ghalib is one of the most adored, emulated (and imitated) Urdu poets. More than a hundred and fifty years after he passed into the ages, Ghalib’s legacy lives on and has acquired new vigour in contemporary music, literature, cinema and pop culture. Perhaps the most enduring of his legacies is the ghazal, a poetic form that is often misconstrued to be a form of song. Ghalib’s ghazals have been rendered and interpreted by voices ranging from Suraiya and Iqbal Bano to Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and Ja...
2023-05-0423 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 28: Embers by Intizar HusainSend us a textIn this Season finale, I present a short story by Intizar Husain, the eminent short story writer, and novelist of the Indian subcontinent. He was born in a small town in the district of Bulandshahr, UP, and his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947. But it seems that he left his heart behind because not only pre-partition India but the dominant themes in the Indian culture, including folk tales and ancient epics, stayed in his consciousness. He repeatedly used these themes in his stories and novels. His 1979 novel Basti, translated into English by Francis...
2023-01-0545 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastEpisode 28: Embers by Intizar HusainSend us a textIntizar Husain was born in a small town in the district of Bulandshahr, UP, and his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947. But it seems that he left his heart behind because not only pre-partition India but the dominant themes in the Indian culture, including folk tales and ancient epics, stayed in his consciousness. He repeatedly used these themes in his stories and novels. His 1979 novel Basti, translated into English by Francis Pritchett, was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize. In addition, he received several other honors and awards, including Premchand Fellowship by...
2023-01-0545 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 27: 'The Woman and the Leopard' by Fahmida RiazSend us a textThis is a short story by Fahmida Riaz, a poet, distinguished author, and tireless fighter for women’s rights. She was born in Meerut in 1946, and after the partition, her family settled in Hyderabad, Sindh. During the dictatorial regime of Zia Ul Haq, she was charged with several crimes, and she sought refuge in India and spent seven years in exile. On Women’s Rights, she once said, and I quote, “Feminism has so many interpretations. What it means for me is simply that women, like men, are complete human beings with limitless possib...
2022-12-2920 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 26: Open! by Saa'dat Hasan MantoSend us a textSaadat Hasan Manto’s name should be familiar to listeners of this Podcast because his short story Toba Tek Singh was the first story to be featured in this Podcast. Manto gained great fame as a playwright and a short story writer in pre-partition India, but his greatest achievement was how he captured the brutality unleashed by India’s partition and how women suffered the most in this carnage. Khol Do or Open! is truly a very short story consisting of 3 ½ print pages but it encapsulates more than anything written about the animality and br...
2022-12-2211 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 25: Duusri Naak by YashpalSend us a textIn this episode, I present a short story written by Yashpal, an eminent Hindi writer whose work has been compared with that of Munshi Prem Chand. Yashpal was born in Kangra Hills in 1903. He was an early follower of Gandhi Ji's non-violent approach, but after meeting Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev at the National College in Lahore, he became a full-fledged revolutionary, turning himself to be a fugitive in 1929 when he tried to blow up a train carrying Viceroy Lord Irwin. On release from prison, he dedicated himself to writing fiction and propagating the...
2022-12-1521 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 24: Diya Jale Saari Raat by Khwaja Ahmad AbbasSend us a textIt is a romantic story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, who is remembered as a novelist, story writer, film director, and distinguished journalist. Although I did not fully subscribe to the communist worldview, when I picked up a copy of BLITZ weekly magazine as a student, I immediately jumped to what was called the Last Page. This place was reserved for a column by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. He was born in Panipat, a town in Haryana that we often associate with Maulana Hali. Abbas’s grandfather Khwaja Ghulam Abbas was, in fact, a ch...
2022-12-0825 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 23: Chief Ki Daa'vat by Bhisham SaniSend us a textBhisham Sahni, the younger brother of famous Bollywood actor Balraj Sahni, was born in Rawalpindi in 1915. Throughout his life, Bhisham Sahni’s name was associated with progressive causes and movements. He is most remembered for his epic novel Tamas in which he soulfully narrated the 1947 riots he witnessed in the city of his birth. Sahni also wrote plays, and two of his creations, Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein and Madhvi, earned critical acclaim. About his literary contributions, Kamleshwar wrote: “Bhisham Sahni’s name is etched into the 20th century of Hindi literature that it cannot...
2022-12-0126 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 22: Nazzara Darmiyaan Hai by Qurratulain HyderSend us a textWelcome to IndiStories Episode 22. Qurratulain Hyder, Aini Aapa to her friends, was an outstanding literary personality who wrote both in Urdu and English. Her novel Aag Ka Dariya (the River of Fire), her magnum opus, bears a comparison to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. In this episode, I present her Urdu short story Nazzara Darmiyaan Hai, which is one of the best Urdu short stories ever written. Aini Aapa won several literary awards, including Jnanpith Award in 1989. She passed away in 2007.
2022-11-2441 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 21: Roz by AgyeyaSend us a textWhen we look at the landscape of modern Hindi fiction, there are a few names like Munshi Prem Chand that take the top spot, but there are a few others who made lasting contributions to the art of storytelling. One such name that comes to my mind is Agyeya. He was born in Kasia, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, in 1911 in a Punjabi Brahmin family and he adopted an unusual pen name, Agyeya, meaning the unknowable. Agyeya wrote poetry, published novels and short stories, plays, travelogues, and several works of literary criticism...
2022-11-1731 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 20: FALLS by Geetha Nair GSend us a textIn this episode, I present FALLS, a short story by Geeetha Nair G. It is about a romance that happened many years ago. Still, a chance encounter brought back memories of what looked real at one time, but underneath, it was a show rather than a commitment. We calculate how our future will play out, but the arc of life is unpredictable. All our plans and schemes can unravel as time marches forward. The story is drawn from the Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing by the Woman Writers and is presented here...
2022-11-1014 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 19: A. HameedSend us a textIf you love good Urdu prose, we have a real gift for you. A. Hameed was a Pakistani novelist and story writer who wrote fiction with a poetic flair. Using metaphors, mainly drawn from the beauty of nature, he weaved a net of words that enveloped the reader in its fold. He was born in Amritsar in 1928 and wrote about 200 novels and nearly 100 books for children. He was awarded the Pride of Performance Award by the government in 1997. He passed away in 2011. The story ‘Aur Pull Tuut Gaya’ selected for this Podcast is a ro...
2022-11-0336 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 18: Kashmir Valley's Sofia Bano by Humra QuraishiSend us a textThe story “Kashmir Valley’s Soofiya Bano” was written by Humra Quraishi. Set against the backdrop of the devastating floods in the valley in 2014, we learn from the story about the painful search of a mother for her missing son. The son was arrested and then he fell into the black hole of the security apparatus. The story starts with the description of the flooded Srinagar home of academic Agha Ashraf Ali, father of Agha Shahid Ali, the well-known poet, and his wife from Awadh, with a nostalgic touch. This part is real and not...
2022-10-2713 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 17: Upendranath AshkSend us a textThe story titled "Pinjara" was written by Upendranath Ashk, a famous novelist, story writer, and playwright. He was born in Jalandhar, in 1910. He worked for All India Radio for many years and invented what came to be known as naturalistic Hindi theater. Upenderanath Ashk had complete mastery over Hindi and Urdu and his books were published in both these languages. In 1940 he moved to Allahabad where he spent the rest of his life. He passed away in 1996.
2022-10-2029 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 16: Krishan ChanderSend us a text"Puure Chaand Ki Raat" is a story written by Krishan Chander, the eminent Urdu fiction writer, who weaved poetry into his prose writing. This love story is set in Kashmir and even if you have never visited this place you can smell the purified and fragrant air of the Valley in Krishan Chander’s writing. Love can take many forms, but if you have loved someone deeply your love for that person will never die. Krishan Chander’s description of nature is realistic as well as mysterious. He creates colorful images, one after the...
2022-10-1331 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Season 2 Episode 15 -- Static A.D. by Ameta BalSend us a textWe start the second season with a fascinating story titled "Static A.D." written by Ameta Bal. The story is drawn from the "Anthology of New Writing by Women Writers" produced by the Punch literary magazine and edited by Shireen Quadri. This anthology is a beautiful collection. Get a copy of this book, and you can spend hours reading these fascinating tales. "Static A.D." selected for this program is about what looks like the end of the world, or the world as we know it. There are riots, and people wa...
2022-10-0537 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 14 Munshi PremchandSend us a textThe Chessplayers as a piece of historical fiction is a class by itself. At the surface level, it is the story of two petty Nawabs who were obsessed with the game of chess, but at the deeper level, it is the story of the fall of Oudh, and even the fall of independent India. Once the British took hold of Oudh, very little could come in their way to grasp the remnants of the Mughal Empire in Delhi and the rest of India. For the city of Lucknow itself, it was the best...
2022-07-2151 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 13 Rabindranath TagoreSend us a textGurudev Rabindranath Tagore is a writer who needs no introduction to the listeners. He not only rejuvenated Bengali literature, but there is not an Indian genre or subgenre of fiction, poetry, playwriting, philosophy, art, and education that he did not profoundly influence. He was born in Calcutta in 1861 in a distinguished family at the forefront of the Indian renaissance. While on a trip to England, he showed his translation of Gitanjali to poets William Butler Yeats and Ezra Pound, who helped him get the book published by Asia Society. That is how he...
2022-07-1420 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 12 Pandit Jawaharlal NehruSend us a textIndiStories presents a piece written by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, and the most loved Indian political leader. Because of his education at Harrow School, Trinity College, Cambridge, and the one who was trained in law at the Inner Temple, he acquired deep thinking skills that he used to probe India’s history and culture. Who doesn’t remember his Tryst With Destiny speech that he delivered as the clock struck midnight to usher India into an era of freedom? Nehru called himself an agnostic and a scientific humanist. IndiStories is a p...
2022-07-0724 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 11 Nayantara SahgalSend us a text'The Death of Mahatma Gandhi’ is a story like no other because it is based on the eyewitness account of someone who saw it all. Nayantara Sahgal, the distinguished novelist, is a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Her mother Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister, was the 8th president of the UN General Assembly, besides being a governor and a member of parliament. Nayantara is Pandit Nehru’s niece and Indira Gandhi’s cousin. She has published about a dozen novels besides two memoirs and other books. As an outspoken defender of human rig...
2022-07-0120 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 10 Gopi Chand NarangSend us a textFamous Urdu novelist and short story writer Qurratulain Hyder once described Professor Gopi Chand Narang, who passed away on June 15, 2022, as a "renaissance man" of Urdu. Narang called his life a safr-e i'shq (the journey of love) for Urdu language and literature. The story of Ghazal included in this episode has been excerpted from the book The Urdu Ghazal: A Gift of India’s Composite Culture. We all love ghazals and that is why we read them and listen to them in the immortal voices of singers like Begum Akhtar, Mahdi Hasan, and Ja...
2022-06-2345 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 9 Satyajit RaySend us a textSatyajit Ray was a multidimensional genius who showed his talent in many fields and genres besides films. He was an author, lyricist, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. Ray was born in Calcutta in 1921. He was only three when his father passed away, and he was raised by his mother, Suprabha Ray. He was educated at the Presidency College, Calcutta, and Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. His first job was at a book publishing company where he designed book covers. This work got him interested in films and literature. Ray was greatly influenced by the...
2022-06-1543 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 8 Ismat ChughtaiSend us a textIsmat Chughtai was born in Badaun in 1915 in a large family of six brothers and four sisters. Her elder brother, Mirza Azim Beg Chughtai, a novelist, became her mentor and encouraged her to become a writer. Because she wrote openly about female sexuality, she got into legal trouble with the publication of her s short story Lihaaf, which featured a begum having a lesbian relationship with her maid. She was charged with promoting obscenity, and the case went up to Lahore High Court before she was acquitted. Ismat spent a better part of h...
2022-06-0935 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 7 Amrita PritamSend us a textThis week I present the work of an outstanding Punjabi poet and fiction writer Amrita Pritam. She was born in 1919 in a village in Gujranwala district, now in Pakistan. She moved to Lahore to work for the All-India Radio and married a businessman named Pritam Singh. This is how she acquired her last name. The country’s partition was a traumatic event for millions of people who were uprooted. Amrita Pritam felt the pain of everyone and penned her most famous work, a poem titled ajj aakhaan waris shah nuun. She spent the re...
2022-06-0228 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 6 Qurratulain HyderSend us a textThis week I bring you the work of an outstanding Indian novelist and short story-writer Qurratulain Hyder or simply “Ainee Aapa” to many of her fans. To her literary admirers, she was the Grande Dame of Urdu literature. She was born in Aligarh in 1927 where her parents were established literary figures. Educated in Delhi and Lucknow, she moved to Pakistan in 1947 where she published her Magnum Opus Aag Ka Dariya or The River of Fire. This work is often compared with Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. She soon realiz...
2022-05-2632 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 5 Krishan ChanderSend us a textThis week I bring you the work of another leading storyteller from the Progressive Writers Movement: Krishan Chander, a familiar name to Urdu and Hindi readers. He was born in 1914 in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, where his father practiced medicine. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the F.C. College in Lahore, a reputable institution of higher learning before the partition. Krishan Chander was a prolific writer – he wrote 50 novels and 34 collections of short stories, and his prose was always lyrical, grabbing the reader’s attention, at a deeper level. Besides being a literar...
2022-05-1935 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 4 Rajinder Singh BediSend us a textRajinder Singh Bedi, a leading short story writer in the Urdu's progressive writers' movement was born in 1915. He started to write at an early age and achieved fame as an author of path-breaking stories like Woolen Coat and Give Me Your Sorrows. After the partition, he spent the rest of his life in the film industry in Mumbai, or Bombay as it was called then. Starting with a low-budget movie called Bari Behan in 1949, Bedi succeeded as a script or a dialogue writer or a director of top-rated movies like Dev Das, Madhumati...
2022-05-1234 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 3Send us a textThis episode brings a story written by Mulk Raj Anand, a path-breaking writer. Born in Punjab in 1905, he broke many barriers, earning a doctorate in philosophy from Cambridge University in 1929. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, which included many bright minds of the 20th century like E.M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes, and Virginia Woolf. He was also a close friend of T.S. Eliot, Bertrand Russell, George Orwell, and Picasso, and a founder member of the Progressive Writers Association. Anand published thirteen novels and nine collections of short stories. He s...
2022-05-0522 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 2 Munshi PremchandSend us a textMunshi Premchand was a trailblazer storyteller who is remembered for his path-breaking contributions to both Urdu and Hindi languages. He was born in 1880 and was named Dhanpat Rai Srivastava. He started his writing career as an Urdu writer but later moved to Hindi at the advice of a friend. He is truly the father of Urdu afsana and Hindi kahani. In his creative journey, we find evidence of progress from a softer to a more mature persona, a sign of how he moved from describing familiar social situations to a penetrating mind that...
2022-04-2830 minThe Urdu Ghazal PodcastIndiStories Episode 1 -- Saadat Hasan MantoSend us a textWelcome to IndiStories, a new Podcast about creative short fiction. My name is Surinder Deol. In this Podcast, I’m going to present the work of highly gifted South Asian fiction writers. In this first episode, I present a classic of Indian literature titled “Toba Tek Singh” written by Saadat Hasan Manto. It is a story about India's partition. It captures the human tragedy involving the exchange of lunatics between India and Pakistan, and its ending shatters our hearts. Saadat Hasan Manto was born in 1912. He was a prolific writer and produc...
2022-04-2221 min
Orient Expressz - az ázsiai kultúrák, népek, országok magazinja a Civilradio.net-enOrient Expressz #112: Miért égettek indiai alkotmányt a szikhek? - Radnóti AliceMiért kötelező a közösségi konyhán ennie egy szikhnek? Milyenek a szent katonák? Miért hívnak minden szikhet Szinghnek? És egyáltalán, kik azok a szikhek és miben mások mint a hinduk?
India vallásainak kapcsán kevesebb szó esik a szikhekről, holott a szikh vallás a hindiuzmus, iszlám és kereszténység után india negyedik legnagyobb vallása. Mai adásunkban a téma legjelesebb hazai szakértője, Radnóti Alice a vendégünk, aki kutatásai mellett öt évig vezette a delhi Magyar Kulturális Központot, és többek közö...
2021-03-121h 00
Chor BazaarChor Bazaar 16 December 2020 Panjabi special Playlist
Wadhaian Mai Tainu by Parminder Sandhu on T-Series (T-Series)
Mere Jee Karde by Amarjyot & Chamkila on Saregama (Saregama)
Hum Parkhum Gabrua by Amarjyot & Chamkila on Saregama (Saregama)
Ajj Bhangra Paoon Noon Jee Karda by Malkit Singh on Oriental Star Agencies Limited, Birmingham (Oriental Star Agencies Limited, Birmingham)
Rangla Punjab by Sukshinder Shinda on Music Waves (Music Waves)
Sare Pind Ch Puare Paye - Live by Jagjit Singh on Saregama (Saregama)
Love You Love You Karde by K. Deep & Jagmohan Kaur on Saregama India Limited (Saregama India Limited)
Teeyan Laghan Giyan by Gurdev Dhillon & Jagmohan Singh on...
2020-12-1600 min