While Rekha’s Umrao Jaan reclaims the spotlight, here are some timeless Urdu novels that deserve their own cinematic close-up ...

While Urdu poetry might be commonly associated with Islamic culture, this chapter, among others, shows us just how wrong that assumption is. "I found myself on a self-­appointed crusade to ...

Rakhshanda Jalil's latest book explores Urdu poetry's role in promoting love and unity in a changing India.

Of prose poetry in Urdu By Syed Afsar Sajid Books: ‘Kahani ek shaher ki’ by Dr. Jawaz Jafri ‘Samaey ka dhara’ & ‘Dar-e-imkaN pay dastak’ by Yusuf Khalid Prose poetry is a literary form ...

The Missing Prayer is a tell-tale rhythmic recital of the losses, the voids, the gaps and the simplest of the tiny things ...

That 300,000 people celebrated Urdu verse during a three-day festival was testament to the peculiar reality of the language in India.

Discovering open mic poetry About fifteen years ago, I read a short poem in public at an event hosted by Mahendra Kutare, ...

Delhi-based poet-singer Minu Bakshi's Urdu verses vet Gen Z emotions In her new book, Barish-e-Rahmat, poet-singer Minu Bakshi stirs emotions of love and longing. She tells HTCity how Urdu poetry ...

This book is Jalil’s labour of love. It is a khazana, a treasury, of Urdu shayari that provides succour in our dark time. Over the course of 80 short essays, drawing on her deep love and ...

Urdu poetry, fuelled by love and longing, fired up by politics, amplified by Instagram and reimagined by indie bands, is finding new fans ...

Bazm-e-Urdu Qatar (BUQ), established in 1959 to promote Urdu language and literature, hosted the launch of the poetry collection Arzoo ka dia by Doha-based poet Samreen Nadeem Samar. This is her ...

Mine was a labour of love — that eventually took the form of fortnightly columns for an online portal — to present the range of concerns contained within Urdu literature.