Quiz A collection of interesting questions related to Urdu poetry, prose and literary history. Play Rekhta Quiz and check your knowledge about Urdu!
aaj ik aur baras biit gayā us ke baġhair
jis ke hote hue hote the zamāne mere
Compilation of top 20 hand-picked Urdu shayari on the most sought-after subjects and poets
Rekhta's online crossword puzzle - the world's first Urdu online crossword for free. Developed in collaboration with Amuse Labs, these puzzles are specially designed to improve your knowledge of Urdu language, literature, and culture. Challenge yourself with new crosswords and engage in playful learning.
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ab to insān kī azmat bhī koī chiiz nahīñ
log patthar ko ḳhudā maan liyā karte the
ab to insan ki azmat bhi koi chiz nahin
log patthar ko KHuda man liya karte the
from the Ghazal "na sahi kuchh magar itna to kiya karte the" by Shahzad Ahmad
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Browse Rekhtabooks.comQuiz A collection of interesting questions related to Urdu poetry, prose and literary history. Play Rekhta Quiz and check your knowledge about Urdu!
Curious to know what’s ‘Ham-Zulf’? It’s a word used in blood relations for which the word "SaaRhu" is commonly used. Basically, the respective husbands of two sisters are ‘Ham-Zulf’ of/to one another.
A word on the same lines which is used to address a relative is ‘Khush-Daaman’, that is a mother-in-law, or Saas.
Similarly, for a husband, the word "KHasm" also comes into common parlance which is not considered a particularly polite expression, and is often pronounced as ‘KHasam’, and in Punjabi, ‘khasam’.
Interestingly, in Arabic, ‘KHasm’ means enemy, from which the word ‘KHusuumat’ (enmity) is derived, which is used in Urdu language and poetry as well. For the expression ‘Jaan Kaa Dushman’ (pain in the neck), Mushafi has used ‘KHasm-e-Jaan’ in the following couplet:
Huaa KHasm-e-Jaa.n Mushafi wo tuu teraa
Na insaa.n ko insaan se bair hove
The proverb ‘Haath Kangan ko Aarsi Kya’ is quite common, but do you know what an Aarsi is exactly? Well, it was a ring worn on the thumb by women of earlier times that had jewels surrounding a mirror in its center. Women used to keep a check on their makeup by looking into it. In Urdu poetry, Aarsi is a theme that’s been extensively explored:
Aaiina saamne na sahii aarsi to hai
Tum apne muskuraane kaa andaaz dekhnaa
Going back to the proverb ‘Haath Kangan ko Aarsi Kya’, it literally means that to check the Kangan (bangles) worn on the hand, there is no need to look into the mirror; for they are right in front of the eyes. Figuratively, the proverb is used to point out something so obvious that there is barely a need to put it out explicitly. Further, the proverb has also been extended into the following:
‘Haath Kangan ko Aarsi Kya, PaDhe likhe ko Farsi Kya’
Interestingly, there is also a ritual in marriages called "Arsi Mus’haf" in which the bride and groom are seated face to face with a dupatta is placed on their head and a mirror is placed in the middle. The two look at each other’s face, reciting a Surah of the Qur'an. Mus’haf refers to the Holy Qur'an itself.
Parveen Shakir began writing poetry at the age of 16, and formerly wrote under the pen-name ‘Biinaa’, But has it occurred to you what her nick-name could be? In a letter written to famous critic Nazir Siddiqui, Parveen brought to light:
“My nick-name is both Paaro and Paara. But, don’t consider this Paara (piece) to be a ‘Shah-Paara’, ‘Mah-Paara’, or something of the kind. Instead, the word is used in its scientific meaning, that is mercury! As a child, I was so mischievous that my family members, considering my mercurial nature, started calling me Paara. That mischievousness is now gone, but the nick-name remains. Thus, some call me Paara, and some, Paaro.” After Parveen Shakir’s death, these letters were published in form of a book in 1997, titled “Parveen Shakir Ke Khuutut, Nazir Siddiqui Ke Naam”. Writing the foreword to this book, Nazir Siddiqui stated, “My acquaintance with Parveen started in January 1978 and lasted some one-and-a-half year. During this time, I received about 25-26 letters of hers. As far as our acquaintance went it was good, but its end was acutely abrupt.”
You must have heard the proverb ‘dhobi ka kutta na ghar ka na ghat ka’, and thought, what is the connection between a washerman and a dog? And how did this proverb came into existence?
Well, in the proverb, the word kutta i.e. dog, crept in unnecessarily. The real proverb is ‘dhobi ka katta, na ghar ka na ghat ka’.
Now you must be wondering what a katta is? ‘Katta’ refers to the thick stick used by washermen to beat clothes on the washing stone (ghat) to clean them. It is also called a 'katka.'
For washermen, carrying this weighted stick to and from the washing area was difficult, and leaving it on the washing stone was also not ideal. Therefore, washermen used to hide the stick along the way and retrieve it the next day for use.
Well, we wonder when and how this 'katta' transitioned into 'kutta' and replaced it in the proverb!
The meanings and uses of the word ‘Gharib’ are quite diverse in Urdu. Although the word commonly means poor, it has been versified in the sense of a simpleton by Dagh in this couplet:
Puucho janaab-e-Daagh Kii ham se sharaaraten
Kya sar jhukaa.e baithe hain hazrat Ghariib se
In Arabic, Gharib means something strange or rare (Ajib). Thus, it’s often recited together with the latter as ‘Ajib-o-Gharib’; a phrase we’re all familiar with. Owing to this meaning, a museum came to be known in Urdu as ‘Ajaaib-Ghar’, or a wonder-house.
But in Persian Gharib means stranger or foreigner. The construction ‘Gharib-ul-Watani’, very common in Urdu prose and poetry, means a traveler or homeless fellow. The following couplet by Hafiz Jaunpuri is rightly famous:
baiTh jaataa huu.n jahaa.n chhaa.nv ghanii hotii hai
haa.e kyaa chiiz Gariib-ul-vatanii hotii hai
One of the most prominent post-classical poets famous for his pessimistic view of life.
duniyā merī balā jaane mahñgī hai yā sastī hai
maut mile to muft na luuñ hastī kī kyā hastī hai
duniya meri bala jaane mahngi hai ya sasti hai
maut mile to muft na lun hasti ki kya hasti hai
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