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Commonly regarded as the sweetest language around the globe, Urdu is one of the most loved languages among people of all the groups. The ghazals, nazm or the couplets that we hear the musicians and poets using in their speeches and shows is highly enchanting. All the ghazals and couplets find their connection to Urdu Literature.
Urdu literature has evolved slowly but steadily. With the evolution of writing style in Urdu, it has become the favorite language around the globe for writing poetry and ghazals. The songs we hear have a deep impact on Urdu Literature.
History of Urdu Language and Literature in Urdu
History of Urdu Language
The Urdu Language flourished in the Delhi Sultanate. The origin of the Urdu Language can be traced back to the 14th century. In the 14th century, due to the ruling of the Mughal rulers, especially rulers of Turkish or Afghan descent, the continuation of the Islamic practices and the influence of the diverse cultures led to the flourishing of the Urdu Language.
The Rulers in the Mughal era had a special liking towards the Sufi and Persian music and poetry culture.Persian and Sufi literature has a strong background in the Urdu language.
With the introduction of the Urdu Language in the 14th century, it was a perfect bridging link between Sanskrit and Persian vocabulary. It was thought to be a beautiful mix of all these languages.
It was also believed that the Khari Boli that gave a platform to the origin of the Hindi Language also was the driving force behind Urdu Literature.
‘Camp’ is the meaning of the word ‘Urdu.’
Sauraseni Apabhramsa is considered the direct source of the grammar of Urdu Literature. Still, the vocabulary, idioms, phrases, and usage of words has a stronghold of Turkish and Persian language.
The most famous and influential person known for developing, familiarising, and spreading Urdu Literature is Amir Khusro.Amir Khusro is also known for popularising Hindustani Music and Indian Classical music.
Amir Khusro’s writing was often in the Persian and Hindi Languages.He had such a vast impression on the people that after he died, Quli Qutub Shah liked his language so much that he named it ‘Urdu.’
In the Deccan, especially in the Bahmani, Golconda and Bijapur Courts, Urdu Literature gained its literary status.
In the northern parts of the country, the Urdu language flourished because of the political decadence that was found in the 18th century
Literature In Urdu
The genres of Urdu Literature are:
- The Masnavi Genre known as a long narrative poem of Urdu Language
- The Qasida, also known as an ode in the Urdu Language
- The Ghazal is composed of many couplets of the poets or self-written by people having literary command
- The Rekhta
- The Nazms
Dastaan
Urdu Literature has always been associated with the idea of writing stories in the form of prose.
Dastaan is a genre of Urdu Literature that has been associated with writing stories. The stories are highly fascinating and have a charm of their own. Several stories have a magical background and interesting twists that make the writing style unique.
Dastaan is a very famous genre of Urdu Literature. It has been used along with other genres like Persian Masnawi, Punjabi Qissa and many other genres of various other languages.
Some of the famous works of Dastaan Genres are:
- Bagh o Bahar
- Mazhab e Ishq
- Gulzar I Chin
Tazkiras
Tazkiras are known as memoirs that are written in the Urdu Language.
These are like literary memoirs. Tazkiras have the verses by the great and famous poets of Urdu Literature and have comments regarding their writing style or the type of life they had. Usually, they just have the collection of names of the poets and a brief introduction about the poets with a detailed analysis of their particular type of composition. People can get a lot of personal information regarding a particular poet or poetess. The Tazkiras help to study an author or poet’s literary work.
Urdu Literature Books
Urdu Literature is highly diverse and driven. There are various books written in the Urdu language to understand the history of the Urdu language and literature in Urdu.
Some famous books of Urdu Literature are:
- Peer E Kamil
- Urdu Poetry by Ahmed Faraz
- Kuliyat I Iqbal
Conclusion
The Urdu language is a popular language. With the trend of couplets and ghazals gaining popularity nowadays, it is being studied not just by Muslim scholars but by people all around the globe. Urdu finds its place in many beautiful poetries and couplets of romantic, classical and dark genres.
