Literature

(24th October 1901 – 12th June 1997) One of the finest example of Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb of Lucknow in Literature Sar-e Mehshar Yehi Puchunga Khuda Se Pehle, Toone Roka Bhi Tha Bande Ko Khata Se Pehle Forgotten in the recently concluded Lok Sabha electi...

TLO explores the shair-e inquilab, the revolutionary poet 'Josh' from the mango growing town of Malihabad Shabbir Hasan Khan 'Josh Malihabadi' is one of the most prominent poets of the 20th century and a legend amongst those part of the Lucknow School of Poet...

By Saman Habib and Sanjay Muttoo The writing of long, intimate, humorous, poignant personal letters is now part of a vanishing world for many of us. We were exposed to the experience of a shared reading of letters in our families as we grew up and it is the...

Team TLO resurrects the memories of the man who gave India's freedom fighters the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad!' "Hai Mashq-e Sukhan Jaari Chakki Ki Mashaqqat Bhi, Eik Turfa Tamasha Hai Hasrat Ki Tabiyat Bhi" Remember Chupke chupke raat din aasoo bahan...

Leaving their men at home, women from different walks of life met at the Press Club recently, to enjoy shaame afsana, or an evening of tales that revolved around forgetting, forgiving and the depths of a female heart. Five female tale twisters including Mas...

Anekta Mein Jaha’n Ekta Mili Anwar, Hum Us Dayar Ko Hindustan Kehne Lage Anwar Jalalpuri, world famous for his nizamat of mushairas, as master of ceremony at countless poetic soirees is also a renowned Urdu poet. He has done a commendable job of translati...

Rakhshanda Jalil reviews Distant Traveller: New and Selected Fiction, the late author's latest publication Some books cast a long shadow on their author’s oeuvre with the book becoming virtually synonymous with the writer’s name. Take, for instance, Arundhati...

This month Atif Hanif celebrates the memory of Lucknow's 'Shayar-e Azam' Jis Shama Ki Ho Roshni Allah Ko Manzoor, Hota Hai Farogh Uska Zamane Se Kahi Door Mir Babbar Ali Anees popularly known as 'Shayar-e Azam' is the king of marsiya, or elegy in Urd...

Anand looks back on Yashpal's Divya, Hindi's first feminist novel Divya, is a Hindi novel by Yashpal. It is set in 1st century AD when there was a wide mingling of Indian and Hellenic cultures in Northern India. It is about a young woman from an aristocrati...

Meer Taqi Meer (1723-1810) Who was this Meer Taqi Meer about whose ghazal writing Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq, poet laureate of the Mughal Court in the 19th century said that everybody including him has tried to imitate the style of Meer but without success:...