The Best of Urdu Poetry

I've been reading two books recommended to me by Norman Darlington, whose ghazals appear in The Ghazal Page. I've already mentioned one, The Oxford India Ghalib and will comment on it again soon. The other book is also of interest to poets and to people interested in the ghazal. It is Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry, selected by Khushwant Singh and Kamna Prasad, and translated and introduced by Khushwant Singh. It is a Viking Penguin Book, published in India in 2007. It has a handsomely decorated hard cover. My copy is from the second printing, which is encouraging for the book's potential to attract an audience.

The book has a brief but informative introduction by Khushwant Singh. The poems are arranged chronologically, from Mohammed Rafi Sauda (1706-1781) to Zehra Nigah, a contemporary whose birth-date is not given. Each selection is presented with the original on the left page and the English translation on the right. The original appears in Devanagari script and transliterated into the roman alphabet. A paragraph introduces each poet.

By way of examples, here is a couplet from Ghalib's "Lament of Old Age,"

Where has the headiness of youth's evening drink gone?
It's time to get up and go, gone are the sweet dreams of dawn,

and a quatrain, "Silent Truth," by Hakim Momin Khan Momin,

There are some who remain silent
But are sunk in deep surmise,
Yes, they will speak the truth,
But when the price of truth is on the rise.

Khushwant Singh published an article about the contemporary significance of Urdu and Urdu poetry that you may find interesting in connection with this book.

Comments

[Gino Peregrini]

For those interested, here's a link to columns by Khushwant Singh: http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial-views-on/ViewsColumnsKhushwantSingh/ViewsColumnsKhushwantSingh-LP-Photo-Lid.aspx

[Niranjan Sarkar]

I remember, in my younger days I used to await Khushwant Singh's column ('With Malice towards one and all') in the 'The Hindustan Times' Saturday's editorial. He often quoted shers of various poets, traditional and contemporary and provided the English translation of the same. He is one ardent fan of Urdu poetry.