Urdu Ghazals: An Anthology, from 16th to 20th Century

This book contains 129 ghazals, representing 20 outstanding urdu poets: Mohd. Quli Qutab Shah, Siraj, Sauda, Zafar, Insha, Astish, Zauq, Ameer Meenai, Dagh, Hali, Akbar, Shad Azimabadi, Fani, Chakbast, Asghar, Jigar, Josh, Sahir Ludhianvi, Nasir Kaazmi, and Bani. Thus this anthology, taken together with The Masterpices, may rightly claim to be a fully representative collection of Urdu ghazals in English translation.

The Ghazals included in this volume are carefully selected, keeping in view their intrinsic, artistic quality, the universality of their contents, and their accessibility for the average. Each ghazal is first presented in Urdu calligraphics; this is followed, on the opposite page by its English translation which, in turn, is followed by the Romanized version of the Urdu text. Further, the selection of each poet is preceded by a brief biographical-cum-critical note, and an authentic portrait of the poet. Another important feature of the book is the introductory essay on Urdu ghazal, which discusses in detail the origin, development, and peculiar characterictics of this art form.