Shayars & Afsananigaar
A famous Pakistani poet and song writer who wrote in both Urdu and Punjabi. His work often touched upon themes of innocence, nostalgia, dreams, and romance. In 1949 he launched the weekly Seven Colours and in 1960 he would establish the publication institute Al-Misla. He was the author of the famous poem Hamesha Der Kar Deta Hun Mein.
Who is Munir Niazi?
With origins dating back 600 years, this traditional Sufi Islamic poem written by Amir Khusrow about the Sufi Saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar has become widespread across the Indian subcontinent and Iran. Various renditions of the song have been composed and performed by singers including Abida Parveen, the Sabri Brothers, and most famously, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
What is Dama Dam Mast Qalander?
Two poetic devices used in Ghazals. The first are the rhyming words in a ghazal. The second is the repeating words in the second line of each sher.
What is Qaafiya and Radeef?
This broadcaster would be pivotal in promoting the golden age of dramas in the 1960s, and the rise of hockey as a sport in Pakistan. Famous programs aired by this broadcaster include Ashfaq Ahmed's Talqeen Shah and Munni Baji's Bacchhon Ki Duniyan. On the 13th of August, at 11:59PM, Mustafa Ali Hamdani announced the creation of Pakistan from this broadcaster.
What is Radio Pakistan?
Silsile torr gai wo sab jaate jaate
Warna itne to ____ the ke aate jaate
What is Muraasim (مراسم)?
Enjoying a near cult status in both India and Pakistan, he wrote over 13 volumes of poetry and was annointed the Hilal-e-Imtiaz award. He was best known for his ghazals on love and protest, which were popularized by singers like Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan, and Jagjit Singh. In the 1980s he went into a six-year self-imposed exile in Canada and Europe during the era of Zia ul-Haq. One famous misrah from his ghazal reads: "Silsile torr gaya wo sabhi jaate jaate"
Who is Ahmad Faraz?
The crowd would go wild when this famous singer performed Faiz's Hum Dekhenge, which would become an anthem of resistance against Zia Ul Haq's oppresive dictatorship.
Who is Iqbal Bano?
This form of poetry was championed in Urdu in Lucknow by the Urdu poet Mir Babar Ali Anas. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali and his comrades in Karbala.
What is Marsiya?
A hit drama series on PTV from the 70s adapting a collection of love stories written by Asfaq Ahmed
What is the TV drama Aik Muhabbat Sau Afsane?
Hum hain _____ aur woh bezaar, ya Illahi yeh maajra kya hai
What is Mushtaaq (مشتاق) (desirous, longing)?
Dabeer ud Dawla, Muqrib-us-Sultan, and Bulbul-e-Hindustan were all honorifics granted to this poet by the Nizam of Hyderabad. Some of his famous disciples would include Allama Iqbal and Seemab Akbarabadi. He was an old school Delhi poet known for his Urdu ghazals that used simpler Urdu words rather than Persian words. He wrote frequently on romantic and sensous themes. His name is associated with Hijab Beghum.
Who is Dagh Delvi?
She gained fame singing a rendition of Faiz Ahmad Faiz's Bahar Aayi, about the joys of the new season and how it brings back memories. She has sung many ghazals by different poets, and is a relatively younger artist compared to her contemporaries. In the world of drama, she has sung OST's for Hum TV's soap 'Choti Si Ghalat Fehmi' and PTV's 'Moorat'.
Who is Tina Sani?
A dialect orginating in Delhi, literary translated as "scattered, mixed". This dialect had strong associations with raags, shayari and mosiqui. Heavily persianzied and higly adaptable for poetry, this dialect would incorporate elements of Persian grammar.
What is Rekhta?
The oldest newspaper continuing to be published in Pakistan, this paper was first established in Delhi and is now based in Karachi, and additionally printed in Lahore, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Quetta and Multan.This paper has an average daily circulation of 850,000 and a readership of over 8 million across socio-economic classes.
What is the Daily Jang?
Main ne samjha tha keh tu hai tou _______ hai hayat, tera gham hai tou gham-e-deher ka jhagra kya hai.
What is Darakhshan (درخشاں) (light/brightness)?
One of the most important feminist poets of Urdu literature. Her works, mostly consisting of modern and postmodern shayari, often explored womens issues, female sexuality, and other subjects that had been considered taboo for women writers. Under Zia Ul Haq's regime she left Pakistan for India, and would spend seven years there. She passed away in 2018.
Who is Fahmida Riaz?
Penned by Ibn e Insha, this melancholic ghazal is about a man leaving his home town and contemplaining the meaning of life. It would come to be known as a 'cursed' ghazal when Ammanat Ali Khan, and later his son, passed away shortly after singing the nazm.
What is Insha Ji Uttho?
The technical term for a collection of ghazals.
What is a Diwan?
This Urdu periodical was founded by Hameed Nizami in 1940. At the time, it passionately supported the All India Muslim League and the creation of Pakistan. Later, it had a pro-American and anti-communist stance. It has a special position in Pakistan's media, as the guardian of Pakistan's state ideology, with well established center-right and nationalist credentials. A TV channel owned by this newspaper's parent trust also launched in 2007, but closed down in 2018.
What is Nawaiwaqt?
Chalne ka hausla nahi, rukna _____ kar diya, ishq ke iss safar ne tu mujh ko nidhal kar diya
What is Muhaal (مُحال) (difficult/impossible)?
He was a famous poet, columnist and travelogue writer. At various points in his career he would work for Radio Pakistan, the Ministry of Culture and the UN. He wrote an influential ghazal bearing his name that would go on to be classic, ominously becoming known for taking the lives of those who performed it.
Who is Ibn e Insha?
Penned by Saleem Kausar, this ghazal has popular rendtions by both Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan. Though there is no one interpretation, this ghazal touches on the idea of being close to someone, but being known by someone else.
What is Main Khayal Hun Kisi Aur Ka Mujhe Sochta Koi Aur Hai?
Categorized into three lengths: short, medium, and long. All shers in the ghazal must follow this pattern. The technical term for the meter of a ghazal.
What is Beher?
The first Urdu newspaper, published in Calcutta starting in 1822. The founder, Hari Har Dutt, was a Hindu employee of the British East India company, and chose to launch his paper in what was then called Hindustani. The paper consequently suffered an initial setback because there was no readership in Hindustani proper at the time. Two months after its launch, the paper switched over to Persian. The paper would serve as a forerunner to other Urdu newspapers, which would takeoff a decade later with the founding of publications like Delhi Urdu Akhbar.
What is Jam-i-Jahan-Numa?
Madad karni ho us ki, yaar ki dharas bandhana ho, buhat ________ raston mein kisi se milne jana ho, hamesha dair kar deta hoon main
What is Dareena (دیرِینَہ)(old/ancient)?