Hazaar Rang Shaairi

The nazm, with its highly intricate varieties, voices, variations, and vicissitudes, is a profound poetic form with a fascinating history. Compiled comprehensively for the first time, this collection presents the best of Urdu nazms from the sixteenth century to present times. Selected, edited, and translated by Anisur Rahman, the one hundred and forty nazms in the book trace the evolution of the form right from its roots in the Deccan to various geographies across South Asia where it flourished and acquired its plurality. The dazzling English translations published along with their transliterated originals make for a pleasurable and illuminating reading. Hazaar Rang Shaairi: The Wonderful World of the Urdu Nazm is a book for everyone who is curious about how poetry colours our lives.

'Anisur Rahman brings us, literally and metaphorically to Hazaar Rang Shaairi which is by all means the first comprehensive selection of Urdu poetry in English translation...This book does not merely contain translations of poems but to apply Croce's view, these translations, in and of themselves, are original, valuable works of art.'-Carlo Coppola, Professor Emeritus of Urdu-Hindi, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Oakland University, USA

'This fascinating anthology spans over five centuries of Urdu poetry. It focusses on Urdu nazm which represents our age better than the ghazal. It also bears out Rahman's keen insight into the nature of Urdu nazm and his critical understanding of its different forms. This wide-ranging work would bring to its readers a fair understanding of Urdu's richness and the trends of its poetry through ages. I must say that this volume would prove a milestone in the history of Urdu poetry.'-Shamin Hanfi, Professor Emeritus of Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

'This is a wonderful anthology of Urdu poetry -- useful both for students and teachers of Urdu, as well as for those unfamiliar with the riches of Urdu verse. The poems are translated with skill and sensitivity into a concise, often terse, English that strives to echo the movements and sometimes abrupt cadences of the original. This collection will certainly enhance the readership of Urdu letters and will make available to a broad audience a truly various and vast range of voices in this unique tradition.'-M.A.R. Habib, Professor of English, Rutgers University, USA

'We live and die by our poets. In putting together this phenomenal collection, Anisur Rahman has touched an emotional chord that defines a living tradition connecting multilingual cultures. This book traverses centuries of Urdu writers travelling across many regions. The spirited translations will engage and guide you through Urdu's borderless world. It is a delightful collection and taster for everyone, from a lay reader to a specialist to someone who has never read Urdu before.'-Amina Yaqin, Chair of the Decolonizing Working Group