Mehr Afshan Farooqi

A long time ago — perhaps in the 1970s — I observed my father, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, leafing through... Updated 17 Apr, 2022 04:00pm

The first issue of Shabkhoon, dated June 1966, was launched in April. My mother’s moral and financial support had... Updated 21 Feb, 2022 08:49am

I’ve been cleaning out closets; dusting bookshelves packed with love. Every book in this big room, every artefact, photograph... Published 02 Jan, 2022 09:22am

What is the Urdu for ‘fiddle dee dee’, or the English for ‘Sarra rara rara’? Are those words really English... Updated 15 Nov, 2021 11:13am

Naqsh Faryaadi is the first ghazal in the 1816 manuscript of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s Divan. In the 1821 manuscript, it has Published 26 Sep, 2021 11:40am

Ghazals are poems made up of two-line verses (bayt). Broadly speaking, they are poems about love — physical or... Published 08 Aug, 2021 06:53am

Was Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s young poetic voice different from his mature one? Ghalib himself gave credence ... Published 20 Jun, 2021 06:06am

He lived on tea and bread for a while. His shoes were worn out. He wore flip-flops. But stories of his brilliance circulated on... Published 02 May, 2021 06:59am

‘Composing a good sher [verse] in the short metre merits a certificate of perfection (kamaal ki daleel) in the... Published 14 Mar, 2021 06:57am

I was maybe nine when introduced to Ghalib. Father presented me some verses that I noted in my squiggly handwriting.... Published 24 Jan, 2021 06:44am

I’ve been working on Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib for nearly a decade. My original idea was to work on the ghazals... Published 18 Oct, 2020 07:14am

Most of us know that a lughat is an Urdu/Arabic/Persian equivalent of a dictionary, but many might not know what a... Published 30 Aug, 2020 08:35am

But, for the unquiet heart and brain, A use in measured language lies; The sad mechanic exercise, Like dull... Updated 12 Jul, 2020 07:28pm

In this grim atmosphere of a worldwide pandemic and the numbing effect of lockdowns, reading Mirza Asadullah Khan... Updated 19 May, 2020 03:13pm

Alam’s canvas is both vast and complex. What distinguishes his storytelling is the simultaneity of conscious and... Published 22 Mar, 2020 06:49am

Words are the medium of expression for humans ... but words also put limitations, boundaries. God is free from... Published 08 Dec, 2019 08:46am

In the course of my journey with Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s Divans, I noticed how he carefully chose verses ... Published 06 Oct, 2019 07:04am

Hujum-i-fikr se dil misl-i-mauj larze hai Keh shishah nazuk-o-sehba-i-abginah gudaz [The heart pulses with a storm Published 04 Aug, 2019 07:08am

Have you ever looked at your bookshelf and noticed how many titles by women have made it there? Not many, I would... Published 02 Jun, 2019 07:16am

“Hoon garmi-i-nishat-i-tasavvur se naghma sanj/ Main andalib-i-gulshan-i-na afridah hoon” [I sing from the... Published 24 Mar, 2019 07:11am