~~
INTRODUCTION
TO THE NEW ONLINE VERSION ~~
We said at the end of Chapter
8 in the original print edition that real ahl-e zabaan
were made and not born. That may have been only partially the case
then, but it's all too true by now. Traditionally-educated ustads
are a dying breed. Classical Urdu poetry, like so much else, belongs
less and less to those who simply inherit it, and more and more to
those who seek it out and adopt it for their own.
The very forces that have
deprived us of traditionally-educated ustads, however, have brought
us the internet. Now Urdu poetry is international, and we can share
with each other across time and space. And of course we still have
Mir and Ghalib, and so much else besides. So dig in, you ahl-e
zabaan of the future, and learn to use the tools. Classical
ghazal poetry is an astonishing delight. The rewards are so rich that
you won't exhaust them in a lifetime.
Fran Pritchett
New York, July 2003
INTRODUCTION
to the original print
edition (South Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 1987)
This handbook is designed to be of use to English-speaking students
of Urdu poetry. Above all it will be helpful to those students for whom
English is a native language. One of the authors is such a student, while
the other has been teaching such students for years. We have written the
kind of book we can best use ourselves, for our own work; other students
and teachers have also found our approach helpful. Our method does not
assume a native speaker's instinct, an intuitive perception, or an "ear"
for poetry. Even a completely tone-deaf and unintuitive student can learn
to scan Urdu poetry with great accuracy. And a student who does have an
"ear" can also learn to hear, recite, and enjoy the oral rhythms of the
poetry as immediately as any native speaker. A determined student can even
compose metrically correct verse himself; a number of Westerners have done
so.
We do, however, assume the student's ability to understand the words
of a poem in their normal prose sense, and to pronounce them carefully
and correctly. This does not mean that only advanced students should study
poetry. On the contrary: we feel strongly that even beginning students
can enjoy poetry, and can profit by exposure to it. But the poetry chosen
for study should be suited to the student's background. The student who
cannot recognize and pronounce most of the words of a poem, and cannot
generally understand their grammar, cannot properly scan that poem. No
method can enable him to do so, and certainly not ours. Such a student
needs a good dictionary, a good teacher, or an easier poem; he must
generally understand the poem's words in order to correctly evaluate its
meter.
Another sort of student who can profitably use our method is the native
speaker of Urdu (or the Hindi-speaker who has learned Urdu script) who
has a serious interest in recitation or composition, but finds traditional
Urdu poetics intimidating. Virtually all existing accounts of Urdu meter
start with the elaborate metrical systems of Arabic and Persian poetic
theory. These systems are complex enough in themselves, and must be further
modified to suit a language for which they were not originally intended.
Our method differs from traditional accounts in being completely descriptive
and practical; it is designed to meet the immediate needs of the student,
rather than to explicate the orthodox system or to develop any other comprehensive
theory. Our method starts with the poetry as actually encountered, and
explains its scansion in what we think is the simplest and most efficient
way. The native speaker who prefers poetry to poetic theory will find our
handbook convenient.
Finally, we hope that our work will be of interest to those fully conversant
with traditional Urdu poetic theory. It may offer a few new perspectives,
and suggest different ways of looking at familiar phenomena.
The first draft of this handbook was compiled during the course of the
Berkeley Urdu Language Program in Pakistan, 1979-1980, and our earliest
debts are to people associated with that program. The Program owes its
long and healthy career to Professor Bruce Pray of the University of California
at Berkeley, who has been a friend and counsellor to us both. Dr. Ruth
Laila Schmidt, Field Director for 1979-1980, arranged for us to have the
time and freedom for this project. One of the Program's teachers, Arif
Vaqar, and one of its participants, Mark S. Pegors, took an especially
strong interest in the project, and their continuing suggestions and criticisms
were most helpful. All those involved in the Program encouraged us, and
gallantly endured the hours of heated discussion which we inflicted upon
them. In particular we thank Altaf Fatima, who has been a very good friend
to us both, for her counsel, encouragement, and many cups of tea.
After the first draft of the book was prepared in Lahore during 1979-1980,
circumstances made it impossible for the authors to work together in completing
it: Frances Pritchett had to return to the United States, while Khaliq
Ahmad Khaliq remained in Lahore. The later drafts, including the final
one, were therefore prepared by F. Pritchett after her return to the United
States. Although Khaliq Sahib has had a chance to see them in a general
way, the final responsibility for the shape of the book, and for any errors
it may contain, must be borne by F. Pritchett. She thanks all her Urdu
students at Columbia University who have made use of the successive drafts
of this book and contributed their suggestions; Randolph Thornton in particular
has taken a serious interest in the project.
Above all, the handbook owes incomparably much to the close scrutiny
given it by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, who is, among many other distinctions,
perhaps the best modern authority on Urdu meter. Faruqi Sahib was kind
enough to prepare extensive notes which became the basis for our discussion
of feet and meters, and to suggest appropriate entries for the Bibliography.
He also gave us the benefit of his advice and criticism throughout. The
chance to draw on his specialized knowledge in this field was invaluable,
and we are most grateful.
We also thank Professor Gopi Chand Narang, of Delhi University; Professor
M. A. R. Barker, of the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis; and Professor
Ralph Russell, formerly of the School or Oriental and African Studies of
the University of London, for their most valuable comments and suggestions.
Professors Muhammad Umar Memon and Narayana Rao of the University of Wisconsin
at Madison have also given encouragement and help to the project. The elegant
and beautiful Urdu script which appears in this volume is generated by
a program called "Khushnavis," designed by Professor Donald Becker of the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. Professor Becker was most generous
with his help in preparing the manuscript and designing its printed format,
and the book owes him the ultimate debt: it could not have existed in its
present form without his work.
Frances W. Pritchett
New York, 1987
Khaliq Ahmad Khaliq
Lahore, 1980
