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Monday, March 16, 2026
TopicGhazal

Topic: Ghazal

Munawwar Rana stripped Urdu poetry of elitism, brought it closer to everyday speech

Munawwar Rana often lamented how division had seeped into the most ordinary spaces of life. Courtesy, respect, and shared cultural language mattered deeply to him.

Pakistani singer Zeeshan Ali has more Indian fans. They call him new Ali Sethi

A third-generation migrant from India, Zeeshan Ali’s great-grandfather Balak Singh was a Sikh from Jalandhar in Punjab.

Her lips painted red, ghazal queen Begum Akhtar sang with a ‘pain in her voice’

She turned the break in her voice during high pitched notes into her virtue, for she knew how to mould it.

Remembering Mehdi Hassan—ghazal ‘shahenshah’ who had legion of fans both sides of the border

Mehdi Hassan blurred the lines between folk, classical, and popular music to weave his brand of music. Ab Ke Hum Bichhde, Ranjish Hi Sahi are testimony to it.

Jagjit Singh, the humble prodigy who made ghazals accessible

Jagjit Singh enthralled an entire generation with his moving verses, cutting across continents, religions and generations.

Mir Taqi Mir — a master of Urdu who was in love with Delhi

 The 18th-century Urdu poet penned ghazals that inspired some classic Bollywood hits.

Shabana Azmi remembers dad Kaifi Azmi, who painted raw human emotion to life with his words

Born Athar Husain Rizvi in 1919, Kaifi Azmi wrote his first ghazal when he was 11 years old. He passed away on this day 17 years back.

On Camera

Free gas to waivers, govt-owned gas firms roll out incentives to push households from LPG to PNG

IGL, MGL & other city gas distributors announce benefits to encourage LPG users to shift to piped natural gas as Centre flags concerns over LPG supply in the wake of Iran conflict.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba, the man Iran must keep alive & the secret force ‘tasked with it’—all about NOPO

The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.

Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies

Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.