Contemporary Urdu Poetry

Urdu poetry, indeed, has traversed a long way from the obliquities of Mirza Ghalib, didacticism of Iqbal and the lyrical buoyancy of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Regardless of countless premature obituaries, Urdu poetry thrives after three centuries, not alone in printed pages but in popular memory. The social and literary intercourse in the literary culture of Urdu poetry even today remains based on part-printed, part-oral culture. Casting off all stereotypes and adapting itself to changing times, Urdu poetry has held its unmitigated charm over its lovers and unacknowledged connoisseurs, many of whom often take pleasure in its spell without being well-versed with its finer nuances.

mohabbat koi numayannishan nahin
jis se laash ki shinakht men asani ho
(Afzal Ahmad Sayed)

Tamam qaziya makaan bhar tha
makaan kya tha machaan bhar tha
ye shahr-e-laa-had-o-samt mera
Golob mein ik nishan bhar tha
rivaayaton se koi ta-alluq
jo bach rahaa paandan bhar tha
(Rashid Jamal Farooqi)