But then, for Urdu poet Rashida Baqui a poem is the very distillation of ‘mehsoos’ (feeling). While she hasn’t ever really analysed her verses, she thinks her shayari (poetry) comes from dard (pain) and mayoosi (disappointment). Chatting over filter coffee in a Connaught Place cafe, Ms Baqui admits her poetry has been greatly shaped by the events of her life. Ms Baqui’s father was a journalist and her mother was a poet. “My ammi, Shahida Baqui Nikhat, was among the first women poets to read her poetry in mushairas.”Ms Baqui shares a ghazal with us (reproduced in translation).

Source: Hindustan Times November 24, 2017 04:18 UTC