Naqaab, meaning a veil or parda, has often been the source of poets' anxieties and ecstasies, both. Why? Because behind that veil is their lover who is so beautiful that the idea of witnessing the beauty is overwhelming and that is what makes them write about the mystery that hides behind the naqaab.

In this episode, Fabeha Syed reads some of the ashaar by poets like Chakbast Brij Narayan, Shakeel Badayuni, and Jalil Manikpuri, among others. Tune in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As understood by this famous quote by Lord Byron, "wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, and daughters sometimes run off with the butler", any form of disloyalty, or bewafai comes from absence. Urdu poet Ahmad Faraz also once wrote that because the separation was intense, the poet had to resort to doing the act of disloyalty, probably for the first time.

Is qadar musalsal thin shiddatein judai ki

Aaj pehli baar us se maine bewafai ki

But the question is, why do people cheat? The answer is simple – because they have to.

Tune in as Fabeha Syed dissects the idea of bewafai and reads some of the ashaar written by poets like Mirza Ghalib, Kaifi Azmi, Bashir Badr, among others, on the theme of infidelity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Baarish' is a Persian word that means rain, downpour, or something that is in abundance. It symbolises many different things, depending on the context. It could be a union, longing, suffering, or just life in general. It is in the way that 'barsaat' affects us that we decide what it means to us. Poets also have their own interpretations of 'baarish'. In other words, rain fuels an artist's creativity.

Music, perhaps, is a great example of such creativity. Whether it's pining for one's lost love or an ecstatic moment with a lover, we can find a treasure trove of songs that always make it to our rainy day playlists. For starters, Sahir Ludhianvi's song 'Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi Woh Barsaat ki Raat,' from 1960 Bollywood film 'Barsaat Ki Raat,' is a song that captures the essence and the emotions that rain kindles.

Tune in as Fabeha Syed reads some more nazms on 'baarish'.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

“The only good human being is a dead one."

"Man serves the interests of no creature except himself."

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

These are some of the lines of British essayist, journalist, and novelist George Orwell's famous satirical novella Animal Farm.

The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who dream about equality and a world where they live free of the tyranny of their human farmer. But in the end they end up living under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

The message is simple and clear – power corrupts all.

In this episode of Urdunama, we have tried to do something different. Instead of talking about Urdu words, host Fabeha Syed reads excerpts of Animal Farm, in Urdu, from a translation from English by London-based translator Nasir Hussain Jafari.

Tune in!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night begins with Duke Orsino saying, "If music be the food of love, play on."

It's perhaps a famous reminder of how important music is in our lives – be it to express love, to deal with a painful heartbreak, living in a moment of euphoria, or even protesting against oppression – music helps in communicating every emotion in any language.

On this World Music Day, we listen to songs and read Urdu poetry on mauseeqi, meaning music.

From Dilawar Figar's nazm Mauseeqi se ilaaj where the poet is prescribing a dose of music to cure all the ills to Javed Akhtar's ghazal – we look at poets and artists who have resorted to mauseeqi' in their lives to soothe themselves.

Tune in with your host Fabeha Syed!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Masoomiyat' means innocence, and the word has often been associated with something pure and free of blemishes.

Sometimes, poets have described their lovers as 'masoom' to praise the beauty of their childlike innocence, while at other times, the word has been used to refer to a lost childhood.

On the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour, we chose the theme of innocence to remind ourselves that it's only by safeguarding innocence that we can dream of building a better tomorrow.

Tune in as host Fabeha Syed reads Saadat Hasan Manto's short story 'Qaasim' and other nazms in Urdu literature that dwells on the theme of 'masoomiyat.'

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indian playback singer Krishnakumar Kunnath's passing has left his fans across the globe with a deep sense of loss. The musician, whose soundtracks encapsulate the very essence of our college lives, died of a heart attack hours after he delivered his final performance in Kolkata.

KK, who started his career as a sales executive, has over 3,000 jingles to his credit. The first taste of success for him, however, came with the album 'Pal', which was released in 1999. The singer had never looked back after that.

In this special episode of Urdunama, we give a musical tribute to the man who gave us the music of simplicity. Tune in!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taj Mahal, a symbol of love, is recognised worldwide and is marvelled at for its architectural genius. This 17th-century heritage building reminds us of a love that prompted a Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to build a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who had died in childbirth.

This architectural expression of love, Taj Mahal, has also been the subject of a perennial debate that it was built on the site of a Hindu temple, 'Tejo Mahalaya,' and that it represents Islamic aggression on a Hindu land.

So, the question is, does the Taj Mahal represent religion? The answer is a resounding 'no'; it represents love.

To understand the history of Taj Mahal and the persistent controversy around it, watch one of our videos from the archives, where we spoke to historian Pushpesh Pant.

And to understand in what ways the Taj Mahal inspired poets, tune in to this episode of Urdunama where Fabeha Syed reads poets like Kaifi Azmi and Sahir Ludhianvi, who think that the structure is in fact a 'mockery of love.'

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices