Wali Mohammed Wali

Wali Mohammed Wali (also known as Wali Deccani) was born in 1667 in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. He loved travelling, which he regarded as a means of education. His visit to Delhi in 1700 is considered to be of great significance for Urdu Gazals. His simple, sensuous and melodious poems in Urdu, awakened the Persian loving poets of Delhi to the beauty and capability of "Rekhta" (the old name for Urdu) as a medium of poetic expression. His visit thus stimulated the growth and development of Urdu Gazal in Delhi.

However, Wali was not immune or ignorant of the vigour and verve of Persian diction and imagery, and combined both into the body of his verse. He thus became the architect of the modern poetic language, which is a skilful blend of Persian and Urdu vocabulary.

Though Wali wrote in different types of verse forms - masnavi, qasida, etc., he specialized in ghazals. He wrote a total of 473 Gazals, comprising of 3225 couplets (ashaar). He was also the first poet to start expressing love from a man's point of view as against the prevailing convention of impersonating as a woman.

Wali died in Ahmedabad in 1707, and is buried there.

Parveen Shakir

Parveen Shakir was born on 24th November, 1952 in Karachi, Pakistan. She was highly educated with two masters degrees, one in English literature and one in linguistics. She also held a Ph.D and another masters degree in Bank Administration.

She was a teacher for nine years before she joined the Civil Service and worked in the Customs department. In 1986 she was appointed the second secretary, CBR in Islamabad.

A number of books of her poetry have been published. In chronological order, they are Khushboo (1976), Sad-barg (1980), Khud-kalaami (1990), Inkaar (1990) and Maah-e-Tamaam (1994). Her first book, Khushboo, won the Adamjee award. Later she was awarded the Pride of Performance award, which is the highest award given by the Pakistan government.

On 26th December, 1994, on her way to work, her car collided with a truck and the world of modern Urdu poetry lost one of its brightest stars.

Parveen Shakir initially wrote under the pen-name of 'Beena'. She considered Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi her 'ustad' and used to called him 'Ammujaan'. She was married to Dr. Nasir Ahmed but got divorced from him sometime before her untimely demise in 1994. They had one son - Murad Ali.

mushkil hai ab shahar me.n nikale ko_ii ghar se

mushkil hai ab shahar me.n nikale ko_ii ghar se

mushkil hai ab shahar me.n nikale ko_ii ghar se
dastaar pe baat aa ga_ii hai hotii hu_ii sar se

barasaa bhii to kis dasht ke be-faiz badan par
ik umr mere khet the jis abr ko tarase

is baar jo indhan ke liye kaT ke giraa hai
chi.Diyo.n ko ba.Daa pyaar thaa us buu.Dhe shajar se

mehanat merii aa.Ndhii se to manasuub nahii.n thii
rahanaa thaa ko_ii rabt shajar kaa bhii samar se

Khud apane se milane kaa to yaaraa na thaa mujh me.n
mai.n bhii.D me.n gum ho ga_ii tanhaa_ii ke Dar se

benaam musaafat hii muqaddar hai to kyaa Gam
manzil kaa ta'yyun kabhii hotaa hai safar se

pattharaayaa hai dil yuu.N ki ko_ii ism pa.Dhaa jaaye
ye shahar nikalataa nahii.n jaaduu ke asar se

nikale hai.n to raste me.n kahii.n shaam bhii hogii
suuraj bhii magar aayegaa is raah-guzar se