Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Faiz Ahmed Faiz: The Dawn of Freedom Posted by Rachael on Nov 11, 2017
This week, I’ll discuss another major writer in the Hindi-Urdu literary world: Faiz Ahmed Faiz (फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़). Faiz (1911-1984) was an intellectual who is known mostly for his poetry, which is often revolutionary in tenor. Today, he is considered one of the finest writers in the Hindi-Urdu literary sphere. He wrote mainly in Urdu…
Sahir Ludhianvi: A Poet of the Silver Screen (Part 3) Posted by Rachael on Oct 15, 2017
If you haven’t yet read parts 1 and 2 of this series on the renowned poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, check them out now! In this next poem I’ll share with you, Ludhianvi once again manages to upend a traditional concept and transform it into an entirely different meditation on justice, the rights of the…
Sahir Ludhianvi: A Poet of the Silver Screen (Part 2) Posted by Rachael on Oct 14, 2017
If you haven’t already, check out my part 1 of this series on the talented poet and lyricist, Sahir Ludhianvi, and enjoy this part 2 on his work and literary style! Although Ludhianvi is perhaps best known for his role as a film lyricist, his poetry beyond that certainly commends itself. He made his debut…
Sahir Ludhianvi: A Poet of the Silver Screen (Part 1) Posted by Rachael on Oct 9, 2017
In the world of Hindi-Urdu literature and popular film, Sahir Ludhianvi’s (साहिर लुधियानवी) name stands out as one of the most gifted and insightful poets of the 20th century. Born Abdul Hayee (अब्दुल हयी) in 1921 in Karimpura/करीमपुरा, Ludhiana (लुधियाना, a district in the state of Punjab), Punjab/पंजाब (in what was then British India), Sahir…
Counting the Days of the Lunar Cycle Posted by Nitya on Sep 25, 2017
Last week, we reviewed counting and cardinal numbers in Hindi . Let’s extend this to counting the days of the lunar cycle, and an introduction to ordinal numbers. The names for the days of the waxing/waning moon phase are “ordinal” in nature and are referred to by words that indicate their “position” or “order” in…
Upendranath Ashk: Rebel, Misfit, Iconoclast (Part 2) Posted by Rachael on Aug 28, 2017
Welcome back to my blog series on the infamous, acerbic satirist Upendranath Ashk! In this part 2 of the blog series (you can read part 1 here), we will delve into a bit more of Ashk’s background before continuing where we left off with his short story, “Daaliye/दालिये” (“The Daal Eaters”). For those who were…
Upendranath Ashk: Rebel, Misfit, Iconoclast (Part 1) Posted by Rachael on Aug 28, 2017
Speaking of egotistical and notoriously temperamental writers (ahem…Sahir Ludhianvi), perhaps no name is as infamous as that of Upendranath Ashk (उपेन्द्रनाथ अश्क)…that is, for those who know his name at all. The reason he is little known perhaps has a great deal to do with the fact that he is almost never assigned in Hindi…