Author – K.C. Kanda

This companion anthology to Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal presents 129 translated ghazals from 20 major poets, offering a rich, accessible, and fully representative journey through the beauty and evolution of Urdu ghazal.

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First Published Date – 01, Jan 1998
Language – English
Pages # – 362
My Rating – 4/5
My Reading List # – 35
Genres – Poetry

Famous quotes from book :

Bazeecha-e-atfaal hai duniya mere aagey,
Hota hai shab-o-roz tamasha mere aagey.

Mat pooch ke kya haal hai mera tere peechey,
Tu dekh ke kya rang tera mere aagey.

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Story Brief (No Spoilers) :

This book is a companion volume to K. C. Kanda’s earlier work, Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal, which featured English translations of 108 ghazals by nine major poets: Wali, Dard, Mir, Ghalib, Momin, Hasrat, Iqbal, Firaq, and Faiz. The present collection expands that legacy with 129 ghazals from 20 distinguished Urdu poets, including Mohd. Quli Qutab Shah, Siraj, Sauda, Zafar, Insha, Aatish, Zauq, Ameer Meenai, Dagh, Hali, Akbar, Shad Azimabadi, Fani, Chakbast, Asghar, Jigar, Josh, Sahir Ludhianvi, Nasir Kazmi, and Bani. Together, these two volumes form a comprehensive and representative treasury of Urdu ghazals in English translation.

Each ghazal has been carefully chosen for its artistic excellence, universal appeal, and readability. The original Urdu appears in elegant calligraphy, followed by an English translation on the facing page and a Romanized version of the text. Every poet’s section is introduced with a brief biographical and critical note, along with an authentic portrait. The book also includes an insightful introductory essay that explores the origins, evolution, and unique qualities of the Urdu ghazal tradition.

My Experience with Book :

Below is powered by solely my experience with book, zero sponsorship, zero bribe, not even a bookmark involved (forget about free copy of book).

The Urdu ghazal, once its complex form is understood, offers rich emotional beauty through themes of love, longing, loss, wine, and desire, producing some of the most passionate and melancholic poetry in any language. However, it struggles to reinvent itself, remaining largely static and limited in social or political relevance despite a few modern attempts. As a result, the genre shows great stylistic variety but repetitive content. The anthology discussed has further issues: while the translations are acceptable, they lack depth, and the exclusion of major poets like Mir, Dard, Ghalib, and Faiz is a serious flaw. The absence of Ghalib is especially disappointing, given his lasting influence and appeal. The lack of an index also makes the book difficult to navigate, though the effort to preserve Urdu poetry is still commendable.

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