The gathering مجلس
محفل سج رہی ہےमहफ़िल सज रही हैTake a seat. The mehfil is gathering.
Ghazals, qawwali and poetry nights, with the artists and traditions behind them. Urdu and Hindi first, English beside.
- 210 evergreen reads
- 8 rooms of the tradition
- 3 scripts on every page
چراغचिराग़Lanterns
Five lanterns, five couplets
Hover, tap or tab to an arch and its lantern lights. Each holds a couplet from the classical masters of Urdu verse, written in Urdu, in Hindi and in an English rendering of our own.
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ہزاروں خواہشیں ایسی کہ ہر خواہش پہ دم نکلےبہت نکلے مرے ارمان لیکن پھر بھی کم نکلے
हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकलेबहुत निकले मिरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले
A thousand longings, each one worth a lifetime;many of mine were granted, and still they were too few.
مرزا غالب मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब Mirza Ghalib, 1797 to 1869
Read: Mirza Ghalib and the Density of the Ghazal -
پتا پتا بوٹا بوٹا حال ہمارا جانے ہےجانے نہ جانے گل ہی نہ جانے باغ تو سارا جانے ہے
पत्ता पत्ता बूटा बूटा हाल हमारा जाने हैजाने न जाने गुल ही न जाने बाग़ तो सारा जाने है
Every leaf and every bud knows the state I am in;the rose alone may not know, but the whole garden does.
میر تقی میر मीर तक़ी मीर Mir Taqi Mir, 1723 to 1810
Read: Mir Taqi Mir and the Ghazal's Tenderness -
تم مرے پاس ہوتے ہو گویاجب کوئی دوسرا نہیں ہوتا
तुम मिरे पास होते हो गोयाजब कोई दूसरा नहीं होता
You are with me, it seems,whenever no one else is there.
مومن خان مومن मोमिन ख़ाँ मोमिन Momin Khan Momin, 1800 to 1852
Read: The Beloved as Person and as Presence -
ستاروں سے آگے جہاں اور بھی ہیںابھی عشق کے امتحاں اور بھی ہیں
सितारों से आगे जहाँ और भी हैंअभी इश्क़ के इम्तिहाँ और भी हैं
Beyond the stars there are other worlds;love has other trials still to come.
علامہ اقبال अल्लामा इक़बाल Allama Iqbal, 1877 to 1938
Read: Iqbal and Philosophy Inside Urdu Verse -
دیکھ تو دل کہ جاں سے اٹھتا ہےیہ دھواں سا کہاں سے اٹھتا ہے
देख तो दिल कि जाँ से उठता हैये धुआँ सा कहाँ से उठता है
Look: does it rise from the heart, or from the soul,this smoke? Where is it rising from?
میر تقی میر मीर तक़ी मीर Mir Taqi Mir, 1723 to 1810
Read: Why Longing Returns Again and Again
غزل کی بناوٹग़ज़ल की बनावटHow a ghazal is built
Take one ghazal apart, gently
Three couplets from Ghalib's ghazal that opens with dil-e-nadan: the opening couplet, one from the middle and the closing couplet. Choose a part of the form and watch it light up in both scripts.
غالب ग़ालिब Mirza Ghalib
دلِ ناداں تجھے ہوا کیا ہے
दिल-ए-नादाँ तुझे हुआ क्या है
آخر اس درد کی دوا کیا ہے
आख़िर इस दर्द की दवा क्या है
Foolish heart, what has happened to you? What, after all, is the cure for this ache?
ہم ہیں مشتاق اور وہ بیزار
हम हैं मुश्ताक़ और वो बेज़ार
یا الٰہی یہ ماجرا کیا ہے
या इलाही ये माजरा क्या है
I am eager, and the beloved is weary of me. Dear God, what is this affair?
میں نے مانا کہ کچھ نہیں غالب
मैं ने माना कि कुछ नहीं 'ग़ालिब'
مفت ہاتھ آئے تو برا کیا ہے
मुफ़्त हाथ आए तो बुरा क्या है
I grant that Ghalib is worth nothing at all. But if he comes for free, where is the harm?
Sher شعر शेर
A couplet: two lines that complete one thought. Every sher in a ghazal can stand on its own, so a single couplet can be quoted, remembered and loved by itself.
Read: The Sher: A Ghazal's Smallest Complete WorldMisra مصرع मिसरा
One line of a sher. Two misras make a couplet. Here the first misra sets up a picture, and the second turns it.
Read: How One Misra Can Hold a Whole WorldMatla مطلع मतला
The opening couplet. Both of its lines end on the rhyme and the refrain, which announces the sound pattern every later couplet must keep.
Read: Matla: The Couplet That Sets the RulesQafia قافیہ क़ाफ़िया
The rhyme that falls just before the refrain. In this ghazal it is the long a sound: hua, dava, majra, bura.
Read: Qafia: The Rhyme Before the RefrainRadif ردیف रदीफ़
The refrain that repeats exactly at the end of both lines of the matla and of every second line after it. Here it is kya hai, what is it.
Read: Radif: The Refrain That Returns Each TimeTakhallus تخلص तख़ल्लुस
The poet's pen name, worked into the verse itself. Here the poet calls himself by his takhallus, Ghalib.
Read: Takhallus: The Poet's Name Inside the VerseMaqta مقطع मक़्ता
The closing couplet, where the poet usually signs the ghazal with the takhallus, often with a turn of wit or humility.
Read: Maqta: Where the Poet Signs the GhazalBahr بحر बहर
The metre. Every line of a ghazal keeps the same rhythmic length and pattern, which is why the lines feel evenly matched when they are recited or sung.
Read: Bahr: The Metre Beneath a Ghazal's Musicآٹھ دروازےआठ दरवाज़ेEight doorways
Eight rooms of the tradition
The library is arranged like a house of gatherings. Step through a doorway to the explainers inside it.
- ग़ज़लGhazal explained27 reads The Sher: A Ghazal's Smallest Complete World
- साज़Instruments26 reads The Harmonium's Arrival in Indian Music
- सुननाListening guides26 reads How to Begin Listening to Ghazal for the First Time
- शायरPoets and forms26 reads The Long Apprenticeship of a Classical Poet
- क़व्वालीQawwali tradition27 reads What Qawwali Is and Where It Is Sung
- रागRagas gently26 reads What a Raga Is, Gently Explained
- सूफ़ीSufi thought26 reads Fana: The Dissolving of the Self
- महफ़िलThe mehfil tradition26 reads What a Mehfil Is and How It Gathers
ایک شامएक शामSessions
One way an evening unfolds
A mehfil has no fixed programme. This is a shape many evenings share, not a schedule. The candle burns down as you read.
- بیٹھکबैठक
Baithak Sitting close
A mehfil is usually held in a room rather than a hall. Guests sit near the musicians, often on the floor, close enough to see a hand move on the harmonium.
- آلاپआलाप
Alap The drone, then the opening
Before any words arrive, a drone settles the room and a slow opening without a fixed rhythm introduces the mood of what follows.
- غزلग़ज़ल
Ghazal Couplet by couplet
A ghazal is heard one sher at a time. Listeners wait for the refrain to come back at the end of each second line, and often say it with the singer.
- دادदाद
Daad Appreciation, spoken aloud
A line that lands well is answered from the room. Spoken appreciation belongs to the evening; it is part of the music, not an interruption of it.
- قوالیक़व्वाली
Qawwali The room rises
When qawwali is sung, a refrain repeats, handclaps join the tabla and the intensity builds until the whole room is carried along with the chorus.
- خاموشیख़ामोशी
Khamoshi The silence after
There is no fixed programme. An evening ends when it ends, and the quiet after the last verse is part of the gathering too.
کتب خانہपुस्तकालयFrom the library
Poetry, read slowly
سنیےसुनिएListen
Listen well, even without the language
Guides for the first ghazal, the first qawwali and the quiet room you listen in.