❝In my words there is the fragrance of my love so rare, In my poetry there is a river of emotions laid bare. Whoever reads this shall come to understand, In every utterance of the heart a wounded heart has planned.❞
Parveen Shakir was a Pakistani Urdu poet, teacher, and civil servant. She was one of the most celebrated and beloved Urdu poets of the 20th century, known for writing about female emotions, love, and femininity with rare sensitivity and depth.
Ghazal is the most refined and enduring form in Urdu-Hindi poetry — a series of independent couplets bound by rhyme and refrain. This collection of works by Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Mir Taqi Mir, and Bashir Badr suits readers who want to understand the classical tradition, recite verses aloud, or savor a single sher at a time.
❝Whether you come or not, spring has arrived, Flowers have stretched and butterflies have thrived. But again and again my eyes turn toward the lane, From which my beloved used to come in refrain.❞
❝You drift like fragrance everywhere, You touch me but never stay there. I've met you but couldn't hold you near, This is the sorrow that will not clear.❞
❝I loved him like a cherished wish I held inside, He forgot me like a dream that faded with the tide. What can I say about life's old tradition this way — Who was meant for me had himself changed on the day.❞