Did you know? most Urdu poetry ghazals and poems are not easy to get or even sometimes hard, because of the use of deep-meaning words in poetry.
I know sounds confusing, But believe me, you can understand well all forms of Urdu poetry if you spend some time getting the knowledge of Urdu literature
Hello poetry lovers! In this post, I'm going to share with you some best Urdu poetry books that come with English translation which are best to get or digest complex subjects or words of Urdu language without being a literature expert.
Let's get started:
Top 7 Best Urdu Poetry Books With Translation:
Urdu Poetry is the deepest and most soulful tradition of poetry. Readers love to read poetry and become scatterbrained during the presentation of poetry, because of beautiful and heart-touching words that drive deep touch to the audience. But sometimes high meanings words are not easy to understand. So at this stage, you need their simple translation to digest and understand them properly.
Fortunately, we can understand well hard and deep words with the help of poetry and literature books that have been written by historical and modern poets.
There are many best and well books written in regards to understanding poetry such as Master of couplets of Urdu Poetry, best of Faraz and Faiz, selected Poems, the taste of words, and more.
Today I'm going to discuss with you the top 7 best Urdu Shayari books that are best to understand all types of poetry's words.
1. Shikwa and Jawab-E-Shikwa by Allama Iqbal:
Shikwa and Jawab-E-Shikwa is one of the best Urdu poetry books that is written by well-known poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The central theme of this book is to extol the legacy of Islam.
The word Shikwa is used in the form of a complaint and the Jawab-I-Shikwa is is used to reply to the complaint. Allama Iqbal had written many top-listed books in his entire life, but this book created a unique perception in the readers' minds. Later, the book gain more popularity and became part of his most famous book Kulliat-e-Iqbal.
Kulliat-e-Iqbal is the collection of all ghazals, poems, and nazms of Allama Muhammad Iqbal that have been written in his entire life. If you want to get a soulful touch of poetry and want to enhance your Urdu literature, you should read this book.
2. The Best of Faiz by Faiz Ahmad Faiz:
The book the best of Faiz has been written by the legend Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz. The best of Faiz is the collection of Faiz Ahmad Faiz's best pieces of poems.
The book translations and presentation has done by Shiv K. Kumar. He was an Indian English Language poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a great poet and Edward Said described Faiz Ahmed Faiz as “the greatest of contemporary Urdu poets.”
3. Selected Poems by Gulzar:
The book selected poems are the collections of Gulzar's poems. Gulzar is the Indian poet, finest film-makers, and lyricist. He has always been a poet at heart. Gulzar's poetry is always soulful and heart-touching. He wrote many forms of poetry like sad poetry, romantic, and deep. The poet was born in 1934 at Dina (the city in Pakistan).
This book is best to learn Urdu poetry from scratch even if you have never been familiar with poetry before. The best thing is, book difficulty is not hard like traditional, easy to understand, and comes with English translation.
4. Master couplets of Urdu Poetry:
The book master couplets of Urdu poetry are the works of seventeen major Urdu poets. Mirza Ghalib, Mirza Muhammad Rafi Sauda, and Akbar Allahabadi are some of these poets that are mentioned in this book. This book is probably the first book in Urdu-English translated literature.
Master of Couplets are a great collection of ghazals and poems of legendary poets and this book has been written with the purpose to display all-time masterpiece with the audience of poetry. The book covered the best poems that are chosen on the basis of legendary Urdu poets' artistic and thematic quality. The book is translated into the English language by K.C Kanda. He is a former reader in the English department at Delhi University and he won the award of Urdu Academy for excellence in translation.
5. The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry:
The taste of words is the collection of the most beautiful pieces of Urdu poetry. The book covered the basic things like the key difference between rubaai and qataa, musaddas and marsiya, etc. If you're a beginner in poetry or looking for enhancing your knowledge of this language, this book is the best to start for you.
Many beautiful poems are included in this book that is written by legendary Urdu poets such Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib, and modern poets like Javed Akhtar and Gulzar as well.
The book is edited and translated by Raza Mir. He is the co-author of Anthems of Resistance and is well known for his expertise and proficiency in high-quality translation work.
6. A Treasury of Urdu Poetry
A Treasury of Urdu Poetry is one of the best pieces of Urdu poetry book from the times of the great classic poet Mir Taqi Mir to modern-day poets such as Faiz and Faraz. The book contains the selected ghazal with the name of 34 Urdu Poets. The best thing about this book is, effective care has been taken to select only those pieces which meet the twin tests of excellence and popularity.
If you're an Urdu poetry lover, this book will give you a deep heart -touching, and soulful touch that you have never been felt.
The book was first published on January 1, 2009, and has 320 pages on the hardcover. The book is translated and edited by Kuldip Salil. He is also known for the translation of Diwan-e-Ghalib, Best of Faraz, Firaq Gorakhpuri: The Choicest Ghazals and Rabais, and more best pieces of Urdu poetry.
7. Celebrating The Best Of Urdu Poetry:
The book Celebrating the best of Urdu poetry has been authored by Khushwant Singh and translated by Kamna Prasad. The book represents the best works contribution of legend Urdu poets that have been done in their entire life. The author wrote this book with the intent to present a collection of these poems in one place for Urdu poetry fans and a tribute to the language and a treat for the lovers of Urdu Shayari.
This book was published in 2011 by Penguin India. Khushwant Singh author of this book was an Indian author, journalist, politician, and lawyer as well. He is the author of the most well-known novel named Train to Pakisan (1956). His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write this novel.
Conclusion:
If you're a beginner in Urdu poetry or unable to understand complex words or sher in Shayari, these best books of poetry collections will help you digest them easily. There are many other popular and advanced level books that are best to read to enhance your literature knowledge, but due to lack of time, we're unable to mention them all. If you want to know more about Urdu poetry books, you can check out this article of book reviews.
Now I have a question for you which is your favorite Urdu language poetry book, let me know in the comment section. I would love to hear from you. Thank you for reading this post till the end.