The Urdu GhazalPub Date : 2020-02-27DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0007
G. C. Narang
{"title":"The Progressives","authors":"G. C. Narang","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0007","url":null,"abstract":"Several Urdu poets drew their inspiration from revolutions in Russia and China and advocated similar transformation in India. The Progressive Writers’ Movement, established by Mulk Raj Anand and Sajjad Zaheer, held its first conference in 1936. The ghazal had been marginalized for quite some time due to a misconception by some progressives that the ghazal was anti-progressive. Thankfully, poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz kept writing ghazals using love and Sufi phraseology with new revolutionary import. Faiz reframed concepts of love and beauty to be in tune with the needs of changing times. This chapter makes the point that literature and fine arts are social acts, and if creativity is impeded and freedom of the mind is compromised, poetry will lack freshness and spontaneity. Thus, in spite of the harsh criticism of some mistaken people, the ghazal reappeared in a decade or two and thrived together with the wave of rising social consciousness and revolutionary zeal.","PeriodicalId":161614,"journal":{"name":"The Urdu Ghazal","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123879943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Urdu GhazalPub Date : 2020-02-27DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0006
G. C. Narang
{"title":"The Neoclassicists","authors":"G. C. Narang","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0006","url":null,"abstract":"By the early twentieth century, Urdu literature had grown in variety and richness—it consisted of not only divans of ghazals but novels, dramas, historical accounts, biographies, and even books on medicine and astronomy. However, the ghazal as a genre had suffered a reversal, first by a movement by some British educationists aimed at promoting poems, and then by the loss of master poets like Dagh, Hali, and Shibli, without any replacement by the poets of the same caliber. Under such circumstances, it was left to poets like Hasrat Mohani, Akbar Allahabadi, Allama Iqbal, Chakbast, and Yagana to take up the ghazal’s banner. All of them helped in its vigorous restoration and revival with a captivating lyrical touch.","PeriodicalId":161614,"journal":{"name":"The Urdu Ghazal","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127002852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Urdu GhazalPub Date : 2020-02-27DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0004
G. C. Narang
{"title":"The Concept of Self","authors":"G. C. Narang","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190120795.003.0004","url":null,"abstract":"One significant aspect of the Urdu ghazal is that it is not simply a lyrical accretion of feelings and emotions—it contains ideas, thoughts, and philosophical viewpoints. This chapter examines the Urdu ghazal in light of various streams of thought about human nature, about personal identity (self), and about human beings’ relationship with God. Besides being a source of enjoyment, the Urdu ghazal also served as a cohesive force for promoting pluralistic culture of India, while at the same time further bonding its intrinsic ethnic multiplicity.","PeriodicalId":161614,"journal":{"name":"The Urdu Ghazal","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122421709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}