Mehr Afshan Farooqi

COLUMN: THE POETRY OF LOVE

COLUMN: THE POETRY OF LOVE

This past year I designed an undergraduate course that I called ‘The Poetry of Love’. One of the challenges of the course was how Published 28 Jan, 2024 09:15am
COLUMN: FLOWERS IN A MIRROR

COLUMN: FLOWERS IN A MIRROR

The great 19th century Urdu and Farsi poet Ghalib was a master in creating neologisms. He excelled in pushing language to its... Published 26 Nov, 2023 08:26am
COLUMN: A MUSHAIRA IN VIRGINIA

COLUMN: A MUSHAIRA IN VIRGINIA

The mushaira at Richmond, Virginia, in late August this year reminded me of gatherings from my childhood, when poets... Published 24 Sep, 2023 05:25am
COLUMN: THE MIGRANT POET

COLUMN: THE MIGRANT POET

Kunwar Muhammad Jamilur Rahman Khan Jamil was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. He served as Joint Secretary Halqa-i-Takhleeq Published 23 Jul, 2023 05:25am
COLUMN: MY HEART AND GHALIB - III

COLUMN: MY HEART AND GHALIB - III

The hospital twinkles with lights, like a beacon dispelling the darkness of the winter morning. The lobby sparkles. A steady... Published 21 May, 2023 07:58am
COLUMN: MY HEART AND GHALIB – II

COLUMN: MY HEART AND GHALIB – II

‘Constriction’ is a multivalent word. It holds in its depths a slew of emotions. It is like a tight knot of feelings inside your Published 19 Mar, 2023 08:02am
COLUMN: MY HEART AND GHALIB - I

COLUMN: MY HEART AND GHALIB - I

Prelude: I have been trying to write my lived experience of a heart attack for over a month now. But words didn’t flow. Published 15 Jan, 2023 06:59am
COLUMN: BEDIL AND GHALIB

COLUMN: BEDIL AND GHALIB

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib began and concluded his first collection of Urdu poetry — his Divan published in 1816 — with a Published 13 Nov, 2022 08:08am
COLUMN: TRAVELS IN TURKEY — II

COLUMN: TRAVELS IN TURKEY — II

We warmed up quickly to the charming brother. He mentioned the sama [meditation ceremony] of the whirling dervishes that happened Published 11 Sep, 2022 05:54am
COLUMN: TRAVELS IN TURKEY — I

COLUMN: TRAVELS IN TURKEY — I

I keep thinking of the youth with the two little rabbits, sitting by the side of the frenzied path on the boardwalk. The two... Published 31 Jul, 2022 11:52am
COLUMN: POETICS AND POLITICS

COLUMN: POETICS AND POLITICS

The Progressive-Marxist Writers’ Movement in Urdu of the 1930s had created space for ‘revolutionary poetry’.... Updated 29 May, 2022 10:20am
COLUMN: THE BIRDS OF URDU POETRY

COLUMN: THE BIRDS OF URDU POETRY

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

COLUMN: THE LAUNCH OF SHABKHOON

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
COLUMN: ON RETURNING HOME

COLUMN: ON RETURNING HOME

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
COLUMN: DOMAINS OF TRANSLATION

COLUMN: DOMAINS OF TRANSLATION

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
COLUMN: A GHAZAL AND ITS PARTS II

COLUMN: A GHAZAL AND ITS PARTS II

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
COLUMN: A GHAZAL AND ITS PARTS — I

COLUMN: A GHAZAL AND ITS PARTS — I

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
COLUMN: THE YOUNG GHALIB

COLUMN: THE YOUNG GHALIB

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

COLUMN: MEMORIES OF MY FATHER

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
COLUMN: METRES OF MIR AND GHALIB

COLUMN: METRES OF MIR AND GHALIB

‘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