book review of famous books in urdu

Today's Paper | June 05, 2024

Literary notes: the 100 best urdu books.

Based on literary, cultural, and historical importance, this list tries to present some of the most remarkable works in Urdu. It is not limited to literature and includes books on history, culture, philosophy and religion. Readers may, of course, disagree and make their own lists. The list is not in order of preference.

1. Kulliyat-i-Sauda: collected works of Mirza Rafi Sauda, one of the classical Urdu poets.

2. Kulliyat-i-Meer: collected works of Mir Taqi Mir, one of the greatest of Urdu poets.

3. Bagh-o-bahar: a dastan, written by Mir Amman, is an example of simple yet idiomatic classical prose.

4. Fasana-i-ajaib: a dastan, penned by Rajab Ali Baig Suroor, is among the samples of the most ornate classical Urdu prose.

5. Gulzar-i-Naseem: one of the best Urdu masnavis, composed by Daya Shankar Naseem.

6. Kulliyat-i-Insha Allah Khan Insha: collected poetical works of a maestro.

7. Kulliyat-i-Nazeer Akberabadi: collected works of a classical yet modern poet.

8. Divan-i-Ghalib: one of the greatest works in Urdu poetry.

9. Khutoot-i-Ghalib: letters by the great bard.

10. Kulliyat-i-Zauq: collected works of one of the maestros of Urdu poetry and idiomatic expression.

11. Sahr-ul-bayan: one of the best Urdu masnavis, composed by Mir Hasan.

12. Marasi-i-Anees: the elegies composed by one of the greatest poets of the genre.

13. Rubaiyaat-i-Anees: the maestro offers the best quatrains in Urdu.

14. Marasi-i-Dabeer: elegies composed by a great poet rivalled only by Anees.

15. Kulliyat-i-Aatish: collected works of another great poet of the Lucknow school.

16. Mazameen-i-Sir Syed: a selection of essays of one of the pioneers of the genre of essay in Urdu.

17. Bahr-ul-fasahat: a masterpiece on the art of prosody by Najm-ul-Ghani Rampuri.

18. Kulliyat-i-Akber Allahabadi: collected poetical works of a humorist and satirist.

19. Kulliyat-i-Nazm-i-Hali: collected poetical works of one of the pioneers of modern Urdu poetry.

20. Aab-i-hayat: a critical study of Urdu poetry and poets by Muhammad Hussain Azad.

21. Khayalaat-i-Azad: collected satirical essays of Nawab Syed Muhammad Azad.

22. Kala pani: an autobiography by Jafer Thanesari.

23. Seerat-un-Nabi: life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in seven volumes, by Shibli Naumani and Syed Sulaiman Nadvi.

24. Shair-ul-ajam: critical analysis of Persian poetry by Shibli Naumani.

25. Ibn-ul-vaqt: a satirical novel by Nazeer Ahmed Dehlvi.

26. Fasana-i-Azad: a humorous novel-like dastan by Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar.

27. Sanam khana-i-ishq: a collection of ghazals by Ameer Meenai.

28. Gulzar-i-daagh: a collection of ghazals by Daagh Dehlvi.

29. Kulliyat-i-naat: by Mohsin Kakorvi, one of the best naat-writers of Urdu.

30. A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi and English: by John T. Platts.

31. Farhang-i-Asifiya: compiled by Syed Ahmed Dehlvi, it is one of the most authentic of Urdu dictionaries.

32. Umrao jaan ada: a novel by Mirza Hadi Rusva.

33. Muqaddama-i-shair-o-shaeri: a treatise on modern Urdu criticism and poetics by Altaf Hussain Hali.

34. Yadgar-i-Ghalib: a biography of Ghalib by Altaf Hussain Hali.

35. Miftah-ul-qavaid: Urdu grammar in two volumes, by Fateh Muhammad Jalandhari.

36. Qavaid-i-Urdu: Urdu grammar by Moulvi Abdul Haq.

37. Kulliyat-i-Iqbal: collected works of one of the greatest poets of Urdu.

38. Kulliyat-i-Zafar Ali Khan: collected poetical works.

39. Noor-ul-lughaat: compiled by Noor-ul-Hasan Nayyar, a dictionary much underrated despite its merits.

40. Mazameen-i-Farhat: humorous essays by Farhatullah Baig.

41. Prem Chand ke afsaane: a selection of short stories.

42. Ghubaar-i-khatir: a collection of letters by Abul Kalam Azad.

43. Anarkali: drama by Imtiaz Ali Taj.

44. Manto ke afsaane: a selection of short stories.

45. Tlism-i-khayal: a collection of short stories by Krishan Chandr.

46. Mazaameen-i-Rasheed: satirical essays by Rasheed Ahmed Siddiqi.

47. Majmooa Hasan Askari: collected critical works of Muhammad Hasan Askari.

48. Pitras ke mazameen: humorous essays by Pitras Bukhari.

49. Kausar trilogy: a social and cultural history of Indo-Pak subcontinent in three volumes by S.M. Ikram.

50. Bar-i-azeem Pak-o-Hind ki millat-i-Islamia: written by I.H. Qureshi, it is a comprehensive history of Muslims in the subcontinent.

51. Mazaameen-i-Saleem Ahmed: the collected critical works.

52. Khutbaat: this book of Maulana Mowdoodi’s has run into over 100 editions.

53. Urdu encyclopaedia of Islam: Published by Punjab University, Lahore, in 23 volumes.

54. Urdu lughat taareekhi usool par: the most comprehensive, 22-volume Urdu dictionary published by Urdu Dictionary Board, Karachi.

55. Urdu thesaurus: compiled by Rafiq Khavaer and published by Muqtadira Qaumi Zaban, Islamabad.

56. Encyclopaedia Pakistanica: the one-volume work by Syed Qasim Mahmood.

57. Ganjeena-i-gauher: a collection of pen-sketches by Shahid Ahmed Dehlvi.

58. Bajang aamad: humorous memoirs by Colonel Muhammad Khan.

59. Urdu ki aakhri kitab: a satirical work by Ibn-i-Insah.

60. Aag ka darya: a novel by Qurrat-ul-Ain Hyder.

61. Khuda ki basti: a novel by Shaukat Siddiqi.

62. Aangan: a novel by Khadija Mastoor.

63. Chiragh tale: essays by one of the most prominent humorists, Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi.

64. Afkaar-i-Pareeshan: peppered with satire, the essays were written by Justice M. R. Kayani.

65. Dunya gol hai: a travelogue with Ibn-i-Insha’s typical humour.

66. Jadeed Urdu shaeri: a two-volume treatise on modern Urdu poetry by Aziz Hamid Madani.

67. Safar dar safar: travel account by Ashfaq Ahmed, in his usual style.

68. Tareekh-i-adab-i-Urdu : the monumental, four-volume history of Urdu literature by Jameel Jalibi.

69. Urdu shaeri ka mizaaj: a critical work by Wazir Agha.

70. Mazameen-i-Siraj-i-Muneer: essays on literature, culture and history.

71. Kulliyat-e-Aziz Hamid Madani: collected poetical works.

72. Basti: a novel by Intizar Hussain.

73. Khama bagosh ke qalam se: satirical literary criticism by Mushfiq Khwaja.

74. Sarguzasht: memoirs by Z.A. Bukhari.

75. Zarguzasht: memoirs by Mushtaq Yousufi.

76. Aam lisaniyaat: a comprehensive work on linguistics by Gian Chand.

77. Ma fiz-zameer: a collection of humorous poetry by Zameer Jaferi.

78. Shaukhi-i-tehreer: a collection of humorous poetry by Syed Muhammad Jaferi.

79. Tareekh-i-falsafa: a one-volume history of philosophy, translated by Moulvi Ehsaan, published by Karachi University.

80. Falsafe ke bunyadi masail: basics of philosophy, by Qazi Qaiser-ul-Islam.

81. Aam fikri mughalte: common theoretical misconceptions, written by Ali Abbas Jalalpuri.

82. Aanandi: short stories by Ghulam Abbas.

83. Maqalat-i-Sherani: research papers on Urdu and Persian languages and literature by Hafiz Mahmood Sherani, in 10 volumes.

84. Mabahis: critical essays by Syed Abdullah.

85. Lisani masael-o-lataaef: collection of interesting articles on Urdu language, by Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee.

86. Kashshaf-e-tanqeedi istelahaat: a dictionary of literary terms by A. Hafeez Siddiqi.

87. Urdu imla: scholarly work on Urdu orthography by Rasheed Hasan Khan.

88. Yadon ki baraat: an autobiography by Josh Maleehabadi.

89. Nuskha haae vafa: poetical works of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

90. Kulliyat-i-Josh Maleehabadi: collected poetical works.

91. Tadveen-i-hadith: a history of Hadith by Manazir Ahsan Geelani.

92. Khushboo: a collection of Parveen Shakir’s poetry.

93. Gulaftab: a collection of modernistic poetry by Zafar Iqbal.

94. Parvaaz: humorous essays by Shafeeq-ur-Rahman.

95. Kulliyat-i-N. M. Rashid: collected poetical works.

96. Kulliyat-i-Majeed Amjad: collected poetical works.

97. Khutbaat-i-Bahwalpur: a collection of essays on Islam by Dr Muhammad Hameedullah.

98. Aavaz-i-dost: cultural and historical essays by Mukhtar Masood.

99. Dar-i-dilkusha: memoirs by Sheikh Manzoor Ilahi.

100. Any novel by Ibn-i-Safi: the great writer of detective fiction.

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Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2015

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Urdu Book Recommendations: A List of Must Read Urdu Books

Posted on April 4, 2020 April 4, 2020

I love the Urdu language and Urdu literature! Nothing like digging into a well-written book to immerse yourself into a different world. I also find the humour and wit of the Urdu language unmatched. Here is a list of Urdu book recommendations from my side along with resources and links on how to find them. I have also added a few books that I still haven’t read myself but are on my list of must read Urdu books.

Every time I visit Pakistan I bring back lots of Urdu books with me since I can not buy these in Canada. When Jaffar was going back to Canada after our Nikah, I was to join him a few months after the immigration paperwork. I could send back stuff with him to fill the two suitcases he was taking back. And guess what I chose? Yes Urdu books! My mother is always a little disappointed in me when I refuse to take another Khaadi bedcover set back with me to Canada from Pakistan and fill my suitcases with books instead.

Urdu Book Recommendations:

1. patras kay mazameen:.

Simple language, witty and hilarious! Patras Kay Mazameen is a series of short articles by Patras Bukhari that I absolutely love! This one definitely makes the list of must read Urdu books because it’s a classic!

2. Himaqatein aur Mazeed Himaqatein by Shafeeq-ur-Rahman:

These two books are also my absolute favourite and always refresh me with their simplicity, hilarious plots and unforgettable characters.

3. Bajang Amad by Col. Mohammad

I listened to the audio book of this one on audible and it’s one of my forever favourites for Urdu book recommendations. Col. Mohammad shares with us a diary of a solder from the Indian subcontinent in the British army fighting World War II. There is a unique combination of humour, history, irony, emotions and feelings in this book, that only a writer of his caliber can deliver. Read my detailed review of the book here .

4. Uljhay Suljhay Anwar by Imrana Anwar:

I wanted to include a recent book in this list and recently enjoyed the book Imrana Anwar wrote about her celebrity husband Anwar Maqsood. The language is simple and I love her honest narrative. Read my detailed review here .

5. Chaltay Ho to Cheen Ko Chaliay by Ibne Insha

How can I list must read Urdu books and not mention Ibne Insha? I love his travel diaries and seeing the world through his perspective.

6. Raja Gidh by Bano Qudsia

This book has multiple layers and needs a deep understanding of human nature and mysticism to understand this gem by Bano Qudsia.

7. Works of Manto

I love Saadat Hasan Manto for his commentary on social issues. While the language is simple, the topics can leave you depressed since Manto shows us the real face of society. I love his sketches of famous personalities of his times and especially “ Mera Sahab ” about Quaid-e-azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

8. Sitamgar Sitamber by Neelum Ahmed Bashir

Neelum Ahmed Bashir is the elder sister of Bushra Ansari and I love her conversational style of writing. In this book she has shared the events of September 11, 2001 and how they effected the residents of New York, the USA and eventually the whole world.

9. Angan by Khatija Mastoor

If you like the slow-paced world of British Raj in the Indian subcontinent and the subtle romance of those days you will enjoy Angan by Khatija Mastoor. This book is not for everyone though and you have to appreciate the slow pace. The novel was also converted into a major drama series by Hum TV staring Sajal Ali and Ahad Raza Mir.

10. Shahabnama by Qudrat ullah Shahab

I haven’t read this one yet but this gem has been on my list for a long time and I’m looking forward to spend the time at home due to COVID-19 to finally read it!

Honourable mentions for Urdu book recommendations:

I would like to mention a few more Urdu books here for you to read: Zargazisht by Mushtaq Ahmed Yousafi, the travel stories by Mustansir Hussain Tarrar, Hind Yatra by Mumtaz Mufti and Zawaiya by Ashwaq Ahmed.

How to find these Urdu books:

All these books are available in book stores in Pakistan. You can also get them delivered anywhere in Pakistan through Liberty Books. Do check your public libraries. Calgary Public Library has a great physical collection of Urdu books.

Rekhta has many books available on their site.

Adeeb-online is a new app with a big collection of Urdu books.

Audible and Patari apps also have many Urdu books narrated beautifully.

YouTube has many videos of Urdu books narrated by amateurs. You can search directly. I can not speak for their quality though since they are mostly done at home.

Hope you enjoyed my Urdu book recommendations. Which ones would you add to the list?

Do read this post about how to start an Urdu book club and enrich your love of the language!

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7 thoughts on “ Urdu Book Recommendations: A List of Must Read Urdu Books ”

I’m reading Zarguzasht right now and literally rolling on the floor laughing, Yusufi sahab’s wit and humour is unparalleled. Isolation is only working for me because I’m reading Urdu and just loving enriching my soul with the language, that also helps us stay connected with home in Canada! Thank you for this wonderful list 🙂

How lovely! Yes, reading is such a joy and a world in its own! Take care and stay in touch!

I really appreciate your effort to provide the list and description of the books . I will add one more book Talash by Mumtaz mufti. Enjoy reading and stay safe.

How lovely! Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

Aangan definitely is one of my favourites. Another awesome read is RAJAH GIDH. It’s worth a read and highly recommended.

Oh yes, it’s on my list here too!

Oh yes it’s on my list! Both awesome books

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10 Famous Urdu Novels for students

Ten Famous Urdu Novels for students

It is of no surprise that when it comes to reading novels, many people opt for international bestsellers that are, of course written in English. Little do many people know that we have some great famous Urdu Novels that are a must-read for everyone. Urdu novels are highly underrated, especially among youngsters.

If you want to read some good Urdu Novels, we have you covered. Here are our top picks for 10 novels that every student must read.

Urdu ki Akhri Kitab

This book is written by Ibn-e-Insha and it is one of the most classic yet entertaining novel. This is humorous to the core and takes a sarcastic jibe at the Pakistani society. A must-read.

Raja Gidh is one of the finest works of Bano Qudsia. Raja Gidh focuses on the negative aspects of human nature and how us humans like to exploit the weak. This book may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it is surely a very interesting Urdu Novel.

Himaqatein aur mazeed himaqatein

This is for all the comedy lovers out there. It is a collection of essays penned by Shafiq-ur-Rehman. These two books contain hilarious plots and unforgettable characters. A good book to refresh your mood.

Pir-e-Kamil

Many of must be familiar with the name of this novel. Pir-e-Kamil is one of the best novels. It is written by Umera Ahmed. It is a story that focuses on two main characters, Saalar Sikander and Imama Hashim. The story revolves around the Qadiani sect and the journey of how Imama turned to a Muslim from being a Qadiani. This novel also has a sequel Ab-e-Hayat. This book is a must read.

This is an award-winning novel by the legendary Urdu writer, Khadija Mastoor. The storyline is about the movement of independence in India and gives the readers a brief overview of the political developments of the 20th century. It is a classic read for every student out there.

Over coat is a short story and not a book, but it gained much popularity. It is written by Ghulam Abbas. The book Over coat highlights an issue that is very much common these days, the plight of a certain class, how some conscious people try to blend in by pretending to be someone they are not. This book has a timeless theme and is quite an interesting read. Highly recommended.

Patras ke Mazameen

Patras ke mazameen is short series of articles written by Patras Bukhari. This is easily one of the most hilarious books that keeps you in splits until the end. Patras ke mazameen makes to the list of must-read Urdu books because it is a classic. Highly recommended.

Raakh is a classic Urdu novel written by renowned novelist, Mustansar Hussain Tararr. Raakh is one of his finest pieces and is widely read. The story of this classic novel is about Pakistan’s separation into East and West Pakistan. It shows the readers about the hidden facts about this tragedy and how it affected future generations. This book will be a great addition to your classic novel collection.

Khuda ki basti (God’s Land)

This book is written by Shaukat Siddiqui. The novel contains an interesting social story about a young, widowed mother of three who is facing hard times, jobless and there is little to no hope for better days. This book has been translated in to 11 major languages including English. The novel’s basic theme is to highlight the struggles of the poor people living in the slums of Lahore and Karachi in the 1950s. A good read.

Dastak Na Dou

The book Dastak na dou is one of the most significant works ever by Altaf Fatima. It was a super hit story that was loved by every reader and this book brought the author to mainstream fame. Read this novel to find more about the storyline.

There are many more Urdu books, and the list might be a bit too long but unfortunately the article on the best Urdu books has come to an end. However, it is extremely important for us to revive the culture of book reading because these authors have written some great masterpieces that we all should add to our book collection.

Which famous urdu novels from this list do you find the most interesting? Which book would you like to read first?

Read more: Famous bookstores of Lahore

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The history of Urdu poetry is decorated with radiant gems like Mirza Ghalib , Mir Taqi Mir , Momin Khan Momin , Sheikh Ibrahim Zauq , Dagh Dehlvi , Insha Allah Khan Insha , Haidar Ali Aatish , Nazeer Akbarabadi and more. These maestros have not only bestowed Urdu poetry the exceptionally crafted sher (couplet), ghazals and nazms; but also paved the way for modern and post-modern poets . But why am I talking about it today?  Today, when the young generation (popularly called Gen Z) is going gaga over short & shallow videos; and has minimum time and willingness to dive into the depth of meaningful poetry; our classical poets become more relevant.

In this blog , I am going to talk about some of the most important classical Urdu poets and decode why their poetry is still relevant. I believe, every Urdu patron should read the works on these classical poets. Below, I am mentioning few books of those classical Urdu poets. Let’s have a look:

• Rekhta Ke Dagh

Dagh Dehlvi is one of the most prominent Urdu poets. He deliberated upon the aesthetic principles of ghazal as a form of intimate poetic conversation. He charged the common speech and combined the poetic manners of the Lucknow and Delhi schools. In its totality, Dagh’s poetry is idiomatic and appealing, laden with emotions and good humor. He did not take the idea of love to philosophical heights but engaged with the experience of love at a human level, bringing it close to eroticism. Cumulatively, he is playful with language, least Persianized in his diction, witty in turns of phrases, urbane in addressing, and full of gaiety and simplicity in his essential approach to his material. The offered book, “ Rekhta Ke Dagh ”, brings you the selected poetry of popular classical poet Dagh Dehlvi in Devanagari script, handpicked by prominent Urdu poet Jb. Farhat Ehsas.

• Rekhta Ke Zauq

Sheikh Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq was a poet with a strong grasp of Urdu language and idiom. He was a master of masters like Mohammad Hassan Azad in prose and Dagh in ghazal. In the reign of King Bahadur Shah Zafar, Zauq, who was awarded the title of Malik al-Shu'ara, was considered to be one of the most important poets of his time. The atmosphere of his poems is scholarly, literary and technically admirable. Soon his fame and popularity spread throughout the city. His countless poems have become proverbs to this day and are on the tongues of the people. He has worked with great dexterity and the metaphorical style fills the effect in his poems. Simple language, correctness of idiom and quickness of closure are the common qualities of Zauq’s ghazals. He uses language that is in line with everyday life and does not confuse the listener. The offered book, “ Rekhta Ke Zauq ”, brings you the selected poetry of popular classical poet Sheikh Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq in Devanagari script, handpicked by prominent Urdu poet Jb. Farhat Ehsas.

• Rekhta Ke Momin

Momin Khan Momin was essentially a poet of the earthly love which he expressed best in the form of ghazal. The lover in his poetry is one of amorous disposition; he represents love along with lust, and lust as a part of life’s romance. As Momin dwelt upon the psychology of the lover, he explored his moods and reflexes, as also his erotic tendencies. In celebrating romantic love in all its manifestations, he drew upon the purity of diction, deeply nuanced phrases, and indirect modes of expression. All these made way, sometimes, for a metaphysical apprehension of the phenomenon of love and the figure of the lover. Momin was an aesthete; he personalized his material which distinguished him from many other poets who objectified them. The offered book, “Rekhta Ke Momin”, brings you the selected poetry of popular classical poet Momin Khan Momin in Devanagari script, handpicked by prominent Urdu poet Jb. Farhat Ehsas .

• Rekhta Ke Nazeer

Syed Wali Mohammad, known as Nazeer Akbarabadi, is the only poet of his kind in Urdu for a variety of reasons. Nazeer opened up entirely new avenues for Urdu poetry as he chose his material from life brilliantly spread all around. There is hardly any aspect of secular life that did not engage his attention. His wrote poems on all religious festivals, communal events, carnivals, sports, hobbies, and scenes and scenarios of common life which none had done before him. He evolved a diction that was entirely new for the kind of poems he wrote. There is a general misconception that Nazeer wrote only on the folk life and its various manifestations but he also wrote highly sophisticated, persianized, and creatively rich ghazals which find him a place among the elitist poets of Urdu. The offered book, “Rekhta Ke Nazeer”, brings you the selected poetry of popular classical poet Nazeer Akbarabadi in Devanagari script, handpicked by prominent Urdu poet Jb. Farhat Ehsas.

• Rekhta Ke Aatish

Khwaja Haidar Ali Aatish was a disciple of Mus’hafi and wrote both in Persian and Urdu. He is, however, remembered for his Urdu poetry as his Persian poetry has remained untraceable. He was extremely resourceful with the Urdu idiom and played upon the softness of its tone. Striking a balance between the odds and the evens in his poetry, he was now spontaneous now remote, now restrained now sentimental, now ratiocinate now mystical.  His sincere sentiments and robust language blended well to create a condition of lasting appeal. Even while he maintained a uniform level of expression, he also turned wordy and flamboyant at times, but remained simple and eminently accessible.  Aatish chose to philosophize on the pleasures of flesh and delve deeper to discover the ecstatic moments of union. The cumulative impact that Aatish creates is that of a poet who has a healthy attitude towards life and art and expresses himself with remarkable vigour and vitality. The offered book, “ Rekhta Ke Aatish ”, brings you the selected poetry of popular classical poet Khwaja Haidar Ali Aatish in Devanagari script, handpicked by prominent Urdu poet Jb. Farhat Ehsas.

• Rekhta Ke Insha

Insha Allah Khan Insha was a remarkable polyglot and had a unique expertise in various languages and dialects like Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Punjabi, Pushto, Marathi, Kashmiri, Poorabi, Rekhti, Marwari, and Hindi. He could also compose verses in them. He is valued as the first author of a complete grammar of Urdu language in Persian called Daryaa-e-Lataafat. He also wrote a fascinating fictional narrative called Raani Ketaki ki Kahaani that did not have a word of Arabic and Persian in it. It also happens to be the earliest work of Urdu prose. Endowed with unique resourcefulness with the written word, he could appropriate a great variety of ideas, events, and anecdotes into his poetry. The offered book, “Rekhta Ke Insha”, brings you the selected poetry of popular classical poet Insha Allah Khan Insha in Devanagari script, handpicked by prominent Urdu poet Jb. Farhat Ehsas.

As, you have read about the specialties of these poets, I am sure you would be excited to read their works in Devanagari script. Rekhta Books, the in-house book publishing venture of Rekhta Foundation, has brought these books in Devanagri, just for the readers like you. These books can be availed from their official website rekhtabooks.com . I hope you’ll read these exceptionally enriched books and let me know your experiences in the comments.

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Shayari bookmarks | Set of 10

Naqsh o nigaar bookmarks - persian design velvet touch premium poetry bookmarks set of 10, geometric design book marks (set of 5), wooden bookmarks with urdu shayari & naqqashi set, wooden bookmarks with urdu shayari & naqqashi.

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Book review: Urdu Literature and Journalism – Critical perspectives

The book holds an ample coverage on Ghalib, Firaq, Faiz, Iqbal, Rabindranath Tagore, Munshi Premchand, Manto and Kalam, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Josh.

By Nayeem Showkat Khan

Going beyond the stereotype of Urdu – inordinately influenced by ‘emotionalism’ and ‘protest journalism’, Shafey Kidwai in his book ‘Urdu Literature and Journalism: Critical perspectives’ has given the language a new life in its old age. Kidwai has creatively nurtured the critical analysis of the top critics in the book and has brought it into a brand new light.

He has discussed the growth of the language, its shift from romanticism to progressive to modern day writing, and then rued over Urdu bearing the brunt of partition.

“Jis ahad-e-Siyasat ne yeh zinda zubaan kuchli Us ahad-e-siyasat ko marhoomon ka gham kyun hai? Ghalib jise kahte hain Urdu ka hi shayar tha Urdu par sitam dhaakar Ghalib par karam kyun hai? ” “Jin shahron mein goonji thi Ghalib ki nava barson Un shahron mein ab Urdu benaam-o-nishaan thehri Azadi-e- kamil ka ailaan hua jis din Matoob zubaan thehri ghaddaar zubaan thehri”

(At death anniversary of Ghalib in Agra, Sahir Ludhianvi: 1969)

First of its kind, Kidwai’s commentary has left no stone unturned to assert how Urdu literature denotes the plurality in interpretations and a long list of writers of the language have a unique ontological orientation.

One full essay is dedicated to Noble laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Kidwai has acknowledged and narrated a detailed summary regarding the influence of Tagore on Urdu writers like Munshi Premchand (The famous ‘Kalam ka Sipahi’) and Josh. Based on some valid accounts by contemporary writers, Kidwai has drawn a crystal clear frame that both Dr Sir Mohammad Iqbal and Tagore influenced each other. In a letter to Abbas Ali Khan Lama Hyderabadi, praising Iqbal’s creative genius, reproduced by Kidwai, Targore wrote: “Being not conversant with the languages in which Iqbal wrote I could not understand the depth of his creativity and I could hardly dare to express my opinion about his poetry. Iqbal’s popularity prompts me to believe that his couplets are jewels that have the effulgence of the eternity of literature.”

As Rabindranath Tagore is worshipped by many as God, the book has highlighted his other side too. Josh Malihabadi in his autobiography ‘Yaadon ki Baraat’ has written about his six months at Santiniketan with Tagore – “He (Tagore) was obsessed with a thing that left me completely annoyed. It was his penchant for publicity. It always filled me with a deep sense of dislike. Whenever a foreigner came for his interview; he would sit at a high-up place after getting himself fully spruced up. Ambergris would light up behind him. Fully surrounded by beautiful girls he would give the interview in such a manner that the interview seeker would get the impression that he was speaking to a divinity.”

Unlike others, Kidwai has praised Jayant Parmar by calling him the first voice of Dalit poetry in Urdu and has provided an ample space to his unique achievements.

Kidwai has placed Ghalib above William Shakespeare in a series of legends. “Dr Abdul Latif’s efforts to compare Ghalib with Shakespeare and some other western poets after critically looking at Ghalib’s English book ‘Ghalib’ were done in order to pin him down,” he notes.

Besides narrating the history of Urdu Journalism, the writer credits Sir Syed Ahmad Khan for being the first Urdu journalist to sow the seeds of Development Journalism. After critically analysing the articles written by Sir Syed in his Aligarh Institute Gazette against the arrogant and self-conceited British officials, for which Syed received warning from the alien government, Kidwai questions branding of Sir Syed as an ally of the British. “Sir Syed’s pen was entirely directed towards alleviating the condition of Indians. How can a person who published spiteful articles against British be described as an apologist for the British rule?” Kidwai laments. With this well researched source of information, the author has turned a new page in the history of Urdu journalism.

The anthology of great thoughts and creative assertions, Shafey Kidwai’s book is a master piece in itself, only one need to keep an English dictionary open in other hand while reading.

(The author is a PhD Student at Aligrah Muslim University, Aligrah)

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The 10 Best Book Reviews of 2020

Adam morgan picks parul sehgal on raven leilani, merve emre on lewis carroll, and more.

The pandemic and the birth of my second daughter prevented me from reading most of the books I wanted to in 2020. But I was able to read vicariously  through book critics, whose writing was a true source of comfort and escape for me this year. I’ve long told my students that criticism is literature—a genre of nonfiction that can and should be as insightful, experimental, and compelling as the art it grapples with—and the following critics have beautifully proven my point. The word “best” is always a misnomer, but these are my personal favorite book reviews of 2020.

Nate Marshall on Barack Obama’s A Promised Land ( Chicago Tribune )

A book review rarely leads to a segment on The 11th Hour with Brian Williams , but that’s what happened to Nate Marshall last month. I love how he combines a traditional review with a personal essay—a hybrid form that has become my favorite subgenre of criticism.

“The presidential memoir so often falls flat because it works against the strengths of the memoir form. Rather than take a slice of one’s life to lay bare and come to a revelation about the self or the world, the presidential memoir seeks to take the sum of a life to defend one’s actions. These sorts of memoirs are an attempt maybe not to rewrite history, but to situate history in the most rosy frame. It is by nature defensive and in this book, we see Obama’s primary defensive tool, his prodigious mind and proclivity toward over-considering every detail.”

Merve Emre on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ( The Point )

I’m a huge fan of writing about books that weren’t just published in the last 10 seconds. And speaking of that hybrid form above, Merve Emre is one of its finest practitioners. This piece made me laugh out loud and changed the way I think about Lewis Carroll.

“I lie awake at night and concentrate on Alice,  on why my children have fixated on this book at this particular moment. Part of it must be that I have told them it ‘takes place’ in Oxford, and now Oxford—or more specifically, the college whose grounds grow into our garden—marks the physical limits of their world. Now that we can no longer move about freely, no longer go to new places to see new things, we are trying to find ways to estrange the places and objects that are already familiar to us.”

Parul Sehgal on Raven Leilani’s Luster ( The New York Times Book Review )

Once again, Sehgal remains the best lede writer in the business. I challenge you to read the opening of any  Sehgal review and stop there.

“You may know of the hemline theory—the idea that skirt lengths fluctuate with the stock market, rising in boom times and growing longer in recessions. Perhaps publishing has a parallel; call it the blurb theory. The more strained our circumstances, the more manic the publicity machine, the more breathless and orotund the advance praise. Blurbers (and critics) speak with a reverent quiver of this moment, anointing every other book its guide, every second writer its essential voice.”

Constance Grady on Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall ( Vox )

Restoring the legacies of ill-forgotten books is one of our duties as critics. Grady’s take on “the least famous sister in a family of celebrated geniuses” makes a good case for Wildfell Hall’ s place alongside Wuthering Heights  and Jane Eyre  in the Romantic canon.

“[T]he heart of this book is a portrait of a woman surviving and flourishing after abuse, and in that, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall feels unnervingly modern. It is fresh, shocking, and wholly new today, 200 years after the birth of its author.”

Ismail Muhammad on Anna Wiener’s Uncanny Valley ( The Atlantic )

Muhammad is a philosophical critic, so it’s always fun to see him tackle a book with big ideas. Here, he makes an enlightened connection between Wiener’s Silicon Valley memoir and Michael Lewis’s 1989 Wall Street exposé, Liar’s Poker.

“Like Lewis, Wiener found ‘a way out of unhappiness’ by writing her own gimlet-eyed generational portrait that doubles as a cautionary tale of systemic dysfunction. But if her chronicle acquires anything like the must-read status that Lewis’s antic tale of a Princeton art-history major’s stint at Salomon Brothers did, it will be for a different reason. For all her caustic insight and droll portraiture, Wiener is on an earnest quest likely to resonate with a public that has been sleepwalking through tech’s gradual reshaping of society.”

Hermione Hoby on Mieko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs ( 4 Columns )

Hoby’s thousand-word review is a great example of a critic reading beyond the book to place it in context.

“When Mieko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs  was first published in 2008, the then-governor of Tokyo, the ultraconservative Shintaro Ishihara, deemed the novel ‘unpleasant and intolerable.’ I wonder what he objected to? Perhaps he wasn’t into a scene in which the narrator, a struggling writer called Natsuko, pushes a few fingers into her vagina in a spirit of dejected exploration: ‘I . . . tried being rough and being gentle. Nothing worked.’”

Taylor Moore on C Pam Zhang’s How Much Of These Hills Is Gold ( The A.V. Club )

Describing Zhang’s wildly imaginative debut novel is hard, but Moore manages to convey the book’s shape and texture in less than 800 words, along with some critical analysis.

“Despite some characteristics endemic to Wild West narratives (buzzards circling prey, saloons filled with seedy strangers), the world of How Much Of These Hills Is Gold feels wholly original, and Zhang imbues its wide expanse with magical realism. According to local lore, tigers lurk in the shadows, despite having died out ‘decades ago’ with the buffalo. There also exists a profound sense of loss for an exploited land, ‘stripped of its gold, its rivers, its buffalo, its Indians, its tigers, its jackals, its birds and its green and its living.’”

Grace Ebert on Paul Christman’s Midwest Futures ( Chicago Review of Books )

I love how Ebert brings her lived experience as a Midwesterner into this review of Christman’s essay collection. (Disclosure: I founded the Chicago Review of Books five years ago, but handed over the keys in July 2019.)

“I have a deep and genuine love for Wisconsin, for rural supper clubs that always offer a choice between chicken soup or an iceberg lettuce salad, and for driving back, country roads that seemingly are endless. This love, though, is conflicting. How can I sing along to Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, and Merle Haggard knowing that my current political views are in complete opposition to the lyrics I croon with a twang in my voice?”

Michael Schaub on Bryan Washington’s Memorial ( NPR )

How do you review a book you fall in love with? It’s one of the most challenging assignments a critic can tackle. But Schaub is a pro; he falls in love with a few books every year.

“Washington is an enormously gifted author, and his writing—spare, unadorned, but beautiful—reads like the work of a writer who’s been working for decades, not one who has yet to turn 30. Just like Lot, Memorial  is a quietly stunning book, a masterpiece that asks us to reflect on what we owe to the people who enter our lives.”

Mesha Maren on Fernanda Melchor’s Hurricane Season ( Southern Review of Books )

Maren opens with an irresistible comparison between Melchor’s irreverent novel and medieval surrealist art. (Another Disclosure: I founded the Southern Review of Books in early 2020.)

“Have you ever wondered what internal monologue might accompany the characters in a Hieronymus Bosch painting? What are the couple copulating upside down in the middle of that pond thinking? Or the man with flowers sprouting from his ass? Or the poor fellow being killed by a fire-breathing creature which is itself impaled upon a knife? I would venture to guess that their voices would sound something like the writing of Mexican novelist Fernanda Melchor.”

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She Was More Than the Woman Who Made Julia Child Famous

In “The Editor,” Sara B. Franklin argues that Judith Jones was a “publishing legend,” transcending industry sexism to champion cookbooks — and Anne Frank.

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THE EDITOR: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America, by Sara B. Franklin

People outside the publishing industry often wonder what it is, exactly, that editors do . “Most of them do nothing,” one of the most storied, Robert Gottlieb , told the author Sara B. Franklin. Nothing is as bad as too much, and yet I’ve long thought the profession — not for nothing does it include “book doctors” — should have its own version of the Hippocratic oath.

Judith Jones, the subject of Franklin’s essential if adulatory new biography, “The Editor,” was the rare text surgeon who also had an excellent bedside manner. Jones, who died in 2017 — six years before Gottlieb , who came in over her head to run Knopf — was widely memorialized as a culinary editor, and rightly so. A passionate home cook, she introduced Julia Child to America and published books on a wide range of cuisines by Edna Lewis , Madhur Jaffrey , Claudia Roden and many others. She fended off Big Agriculture with small, local asparagus spears and reawakened a national palate lulled by midcentury convenience foods.

But as “The Editor” makes painfully apparent, Jones’s contribution to the history of regular old literature has often been minimized or outright erased. A certain recessiveness is part of the job, of course, and yet mention of her name can draw blank stares even among the best-connected in “the biz.”

We owe to her nothing less than “The Diary of Anne Frank” reaching these shores and, after she met him in a hallway, almost the entirety of John Updike’s oeuvre. Ditto Anne Tyler’s. Jones was also a gravitational force, for better and worse, in Sylvia Plath’s brilliant and shortened arc . Working with dozens of other authors, helpfully listed in a coda, she burnished and sustained Knopf’s reputation as the most prestigious publishing house in the country while also earning it piles of money.

Franklin, who has a Ph.D. in food studies, met Jones for an oral-history project toward the end of her life, when “she wore her age like a fact,” as she nicely writes. Cooking and confiding, they became friends. At the funeral, a family member pulled her aside and offered turnkey access to two rooms filled with personal papers. It isn’t so often you flip to the acknowledgments page of a biography and read valedictory lines to the subject like “I loved you so much; I love you still.” But perhaps this is in keeping with Jones’s own defiance of patriarchal convention.

She was born Judith Fifield Bailey, the younger of two daughters, and raised Christian — we’re not told what denomination — with extended family in a solid but second-tier building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Prone to invalidism, she read a lot. Her father was a lawyer from Vermont, where they spent summers, and her mother a chilly social climber; for college, Judith chose not a Seven Sister but Bennington, where, as a founder said, “a girl could hang upside down in her bloomers if she felt like it.”

Her first big affair was with one of her teachers, the poet Theodore Roethke, who urged his students to “listen, listen, listen.” Later on, as a junior staffer at Doubleday, she would work with him.

With a letter of introduction from the Hungarian-born intellectual Arthur Koestler, young Judith traveled to postwar Paris, where authors were thicker than pigeons on the sidewalk. There she also discovered the market and kitchen, horrifying her mother, who considered such pursuits low-class. Working for a short-lived glossy called Weekend, she fell in love with the editor Richard Evan Jones , a married father of two with whom she’d eventually elope to Vienna and enjoy a long, loving and professionally fruitful union. (I highly recommend their 1982 gluten salute, “The Book of Bread.”)

Afflicted with painful endometriosis, which doctors infuriatingly used to call “the career women’s disease” — Franklin recounts Jones bleeding profusely in her assistant’s cubicle, then going back to her desk — she was unable to conceive children, which she wanted badly. But the couple adopted two of a relative’s teenagers, including them in adventuresome dinners. “That was mean of me,” she admitted, of serving tripe.

Franklin revels in all the food stuff, but does not skimp on general publishing history, like Jones’s apprenticeship to the colorful Blanche Knopf . (We’ll need more time to contextualize recent upheaval at the house.) Plath’s suicide came distressingly soon after Jones, who’d published her “ The Colossus and Other Poems” in the States, had rejected her novel, “The Bell Jar.”

Lionized in recent years, especially after release of the documentary “ Turn Every Page ,” Gottlieb comes off here as dismissive of Jones’s talents. He called her a “lady” with a “rich husband,” suggested her authors didn’t need much input, and was defensive about underpaying her. She was not a “marcher,” as a colleague put it, but firmly feminist in her achievements, and remarkably tenacious in mind and body, surviving a flash flood with dog in arms months after her widowhood.

I don’t mind that “The Editor” is a valentine. But surprisingly, given the richness of the material, I closed it feeling slightly underfed, wanting more butter between the slices of this big life. We learn about Tyler’s development as an author, for example, but there’s nothing about her ’80s blockbuster, “The Accidental Tourist.” Jacqueline Susann would probably dispute that Child’s then-publicist invented the modern book tour. Jones’s failure to see the talent of Alice Munro — twice — is alluded to in the introduction, but never explained.

And the editor herself would probably have excised a few of her biographer’s clichés, the striking of gold and going over the moon and firing on all cylinders. But with the utmost tact, bien sûr .

THE EDITOR : How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America | By Sara B. Franklin | Atria | 336 pp. | $29.99

Alexandra Jacobs is a Times book critic and occasional features writer. She joined The Times in 2010. More about Alexandra Jacobs

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aaj ik aur baras biit gayā us ke baġhair

jis ke hote hue hote the zamāne mere

Allama Iqbal

1877 - 1938 | Lahore , Pakistan

One of the greatest Urdu Poets. National poet of Pakistan who penned 'Saare jahaan se achha hindostaan hamara' and 'Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri'

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E-book 1360

• TOP 20 SHAYARI 21
• Image Shayari 22

E-book of Allama Iqbal

• Books by Allama Iqbal 244
• Books on Allama Iqbal 901
• Compiled by Allama Iqbal 39

Books by Allama Iqbal

Jaaved Naama

Allama Iqbal : Taqreerein, Tahreerein Aur Bayanat

Zaboor-e-Ajam

Kulliyat-e-Iqbal Urdu

Bal-e-Jibril

Kulliyat-e-Iqbal

Kulliyat-e-iqbal Urdu

Faryad-e-Ummat

Soz-e-Iqbal

Ibtadai Kalam-e-Iqbal

Ba Tarteeb-e-Mah-o-Sal

Books on Allama Iqbal

Meezan-e-Iqbal

Usloobiyat-e-Iqbal

Iqbal Banam-e-Shad

Rakht-e-Safar

Shair-e-Mashriq Ka Ghair Madawan Kalam

Iqbal Bahaisiyat-e-Muffakkir-e-Taleem

Khayalat-e-Iqbal

Iqbaliyat,Pakistan

July-September: Shumara Number-003

Iqbal Ke Sheri Maakhaz

Masnvi Roomi Mein

Iqbal-Unnis Sau Pachasi

Unnis Sau Pachasi Mein Allama Par Chapne Wale Mazameen Ka Intikhab

Compiled by Allama Iqbal

Orental College Magazine Jild 20 Adad 2

Shumara Number-002

Iran Ba-Ahd-e-Sasaniyan

Oriental College Magazine Jild 23 No 1

Shumara Number-087

Oriental College Magazine Jild 21 Adad 4

Shumara Number-082

Urdu Course

Orental College Magazine Jild 20 Adad 3

Shumara Number-003

Oriental College Magazine Jild 24 Adad 2

Oriental College Magazine Jild 21 Adad 1

Shumara Number-079

Suragh-e-Zindagi

Oriental College Magazine

Volume-023, Part-001

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