Ghazal explainedWhat Translation Changes in a Ghazal
Translating a ग़ज़ल is notoriously difficult work, since so much of its power rests specifically on qafia and radif, particular sounds that rarely survive fully...
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Ishq-e-Majazi and Ishq-e-Haqiqi Explained Gently
इश्क़ (ishq) is love, but the ग़ज़ल tradition speaks warmly of two distinct kinds....
Matla: The Couplet That Sets the Rules
मतला (matla) is the opening couplet of a ग़ज़ल, and it carries a special responsibility that no...
The Beloved as Person and as Presence
The beloved, often called महबूब (mehboob) in ग़ज़ल verse, rarely appears as a fully drawn...
Maqta: Where the Poet Signs the Ghazal
मक़्ता (maqta) is the final couplet of a ग़ज़ल, and it holds a small signature within its...
The Sher: A Ghazal's Smallest Complete World
शेर (sher) means couplet, and it is the smallest complete unit inside a ग़ज़ल. Two lines,...
Reading a Ghazal Aloud, Reading It Silently
A ग़ज़ल read silently on a page and one recited aloud in a room can feel like two genuinely...
Why Longing Returns Again and Again
विरह (virah), the pain of separation, sits close to the emotional centre of much ग़ज़ल writing...
Radif: The Refrain That Returns Each Time
रदीफ़ (radif) is the word or short phrase that repeats at the end of the second line in every...
Ghazal explained
Ghazal explained
Ghazal explained
Ghazal explained