Modern Poetry

Cities have always been a very relevant point of inspiration for various art forms. From Dilli-6 to Midnight In Paris, Cities have filled the cinema with their beauty. When it comes to poetry, be it Edgar Allan Poe or Meer Taqi Meer, we have witnessed some amazing works inspired by the auras of some wonderful cities.   In this episode, we talk about how this beauty has been maintained and what we as viewers and readers can relate so much to. 

Friends Of The Session:  

Wamiq Zia - Theatre Practiotioner, Writer, and Poet 

Sayed Tazeem - Founder, Modern Poetry

Rahul Paswan - Theatre Practitioner

Akshay S. Poddar - Filmmaker & Screenwriter and Founder, DilliFilmClub 

1990s was an amazing decade for Hindi music. It made us travel into the land of love and set us on the voyage of discovering it through the sargam of 'Bas ek sanam chahiye' to giving us travel goals with the song 'Chhaiyya Chhaiyya' .  

In this episode of Chai, Sutta & Shayari, we discuss the beautiful time of 1990s Bollywood, when Pehla Nasha was the song you would sing to your crush in your heart.   

Friends Of The Session:  

Wamiq Zia - Theatre Practiotioner, Writer, and Poet 

Sayed Tazeem - Founder, Modern Poetry 

Manvi Singh - Writer

Akshay S. Poddar - Filmmaker & Screenwriter and Founder, DilliFilmClub 

Sahir Ludhianvi was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote in the Hindi and Urdu languages. His work influenced Indian cinema, in particular Bollywood film.  Amrita Pritam, on the contrary, was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. She is considered the first prominent female Punjabi poet, novelist, essayist and the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, who is equally loved on both sides of the India–Pakistan border.  Their love created a beautiful story which is still remembered through their readers and their poetry. 

Sahir's Poetry Read By: Wamiq Zia 

Amrita's Poetry Read By: Shivanjali Mehta  

We would like to thanks people who joined this session:  

Wamiq Zia - Theatre Practiotioner, Writer, and Poet

Sayed Tazeem - Founder, Modern Poetry 

Sumit Bhardawaj -  Actor

Akshay S. Poddar - Filmmaker & Screenwriter and Founder, DilliFilmClub 

Chai, Sutta & Shayari  Enjoy the second episode 

Every Saturday, 6 PM 

In this you will see a lot of friends, talking about poetry and just some random stuff revolving around it.  

Our second episode is about "Urdu & Hindi Poems For Plays/Films"  

We would like to thanks people who joined this session:  

Faiz-ur-Rehman - Writer  

Sharique Aziz -  Actor & Writer 

Wamiq Zia - Theatre Practiotioner, Writer, and Poet 

Anas Faizi - Poet  

Aasim Badr - Poet & Research Scholar 

Introducing our new series,  

Chai, Sutta & Shayari

Every Saturday, 6 PM  

In this you will see a lot of friends, talking about poetry and just some random stuff revolving around it.  

Our first episode is about "Poetry in Contemporary Bollywood"  

We would like to thanks people who joined this session:  

Akshay S. Poddar - Filmmaker & Screenwriter and Founder, DilliFilmClub 

Sumit Bhardawaj -  Actor 

Sayed Tazeem - Founder, Modern Poetry 

Wamiq Zia - Theatre Practiotioner, Writer, and Poet 

Sharique Aziz - Actor & Writer 

Usama Zakir is one of the best young minds in Modern India. His criticism of injustice is truly appreciable and this is exactly what he has portrayed in the poem which we have brought to you today, on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.   With the ongoing crisis amidst Israel-Palestine, Usama Zakir's poem embraces the pain of the people suffering in that war ground. In the voice of Sharique Aziz.

Akhlaq Mohammad Khan, better known by his takhallus Shahryar, was an Indian academician, and a doyen of Urdu poetry in India. As a Hindi film lyricist, he is best known for his lyrics in Gaman and Umrao Jaan directed by Muzaffar Ali.   We have brought to you one of his poem, Zawaal Ki Had, in the voice of Sayed Tazeem.  We hope you like it !

"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish."  Michhele Obama  Shah Rukh Khan, also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality. Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 80 Hindi films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards.    Here, we present to you a remarkable poem penned by Mr. Shahrukh Khan, in the voice of Wamiq Zia, dedicated to all the women in the world.

Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar was a 12th-century Punjabi Muslim preacher and mystic. who went on to become "one of the most revered and distinguished ... Muslim mystics" of the medieval period.He is known reverentially as Bābā Farīd or Shaikh Farīd by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus of the Punjab Region, or simply as Farīduddīn Ganjshakar.

We have brought to you one of his poem in the beautiful voice of Preeti Jas.

Sher Muhammad Khan, better known by his pen name Ibn-e-Insha, was a Pakistani Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and newspaper columnist. Along with his poetry, he was regarded as one of the best humorists of Urdu. 

Here, we have brought to you one of his most romantic poem, Ek Baar Kaho Tum Meri Ho, in the voice of Sayed Tazeem.  

We hope you all like it !

Habib Jalib was a Pakistani revolutionary poet, left-wing activist and politician who opposed martial law, authoritarianism and state oppression. Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz said that he was the poet of the masses. He opposed military coups and administrators and was duly jailed several times. 

Here we have brought to you one of his famous poems 'Dastoor' in the amazing voice of Rahul Paswan. Rahul is a theatre actor and dancer. We are glad to have him on board.

The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn addressed to God Hanuman. It has been authored by 16th-century poet Tulsidas in the Awadhi language, and is his best known text apart from the Ramcharitmanas.

Tulsidas, also known as Goswami Tulsidas, was a Ramanandi Vaishnava saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama.

Hymn : Hanuman Chalisa

Poet: Tulsidas

Voice: Sayed Tazeem

Nazar Muhammad Rashid, commonly known as Noon Meem Rashid or N.M. Rashid, was an influential Pakistani poet of modern Urdu poetry. N M Rashid was often attacked for his unconventional views and life style. According to Zia Mohyeddin, a friend of Rashid, "In the time when everybody was in quest of learning English, which was a must for getting some decent job, Rashid was busy in making paintings or poetry."  

We have brought to you the first part of his stupendous poem 'Hasan Ku-Zagar'. We will soon be uploading the other parts of the poem as well.  We hope you like it !

Emily Jane Brontë was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. We have brought to you one of her best poem, Love & Friendship, in the voice of Aman.

We apologize viewers for delaying our videos. The wait is over. We are now back with amazing poetries from around the world.   On this day, we wish Wamiq Zia, a very happy birthday. 

Listen to Arshiya Halder's Dead City in Urdu translated and read by extremely talented Wamiq Zia.  

Poem: Murda Sheher (Dead City) Poet: Arshiya Halder Translated By: Wamiq Zia Read By: Wamiq Zia Edited By: Sayed Tazeem

Happy Valentine's Day From Modern Poetry

On this beautiful day, We wanted to present a beautiful poem to you which describes love in its most beautiful form.

Wasi Shah is one of the most prominent poets from Karachi, Pakistan. His poetry describes the most beautiful aspects of life. We are glad to present one of his most wonderful poems to you. (Link In Bio)

We hope you like it.

At some point in our life, we all have related our situations with poetry or songs. But do you know why do we do that? Want to know the science behind it? Listen to Preeti Jas, Psychologist & Corporate Speaker, answering to this question. We are glad to have Preeti as a part of our team.

Sarah HB is an emerging poet from Wilmslow, England. We are very happy to feature one of her poem in her own voice on Modern Poetry. Sarah's poetry has a very different and deep perspective towards the modern-day life.  

We hope you like it !

Welcome to the second episode of Fusionistan. Here we will be combining poetries from different eras and understand the similar ideas those couplets share. We have no language barrier. In our second episode of Fusionistan, we have brought together two poems on heart-break written in different eras of time but carrying the same pain for centuries.

Aarifa Noori, associated with Pierrot's Troupe as an actor these days, is a wonderful poet. She has completed her graduation in Hindi literature from Jamia Millia Islamia. Aarifa loves to write about nature and believes that her expressions are best expressed through her writings.   

We are glad to get this poem from Aarifa in her own beautiful voice.   

We hope you like it !

Arshiya is an economist by training and a poet by calling. An avid reader, she hesitates to call herself a writer as she fervently believes, she will always be a reader first. She writes, sometimes to celebrate nature in all its wild glory and at other times, to witness the gradual loss of the same.  

We have brought to you one of her poem 'Dead City' in her own beautiful voice.  We hope you like it !

Sir Henry Wotton was an English author, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1614 and 1625. He is often quoted as saying, "An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country."   

We have brought to you one of his poem in the voice of Wamiq Zia. Wamiq is a filmmaker, a theatre actor and a wonderful poet himself as well. His amazing study of cinema and literature is truly impressive and we are happy to have him on-board with us on this literary journey.

Jaishankar Prasad (30 January 1889  – 15 November 1937) was a prominent figure in modern Hindi literature as well as Hindi theatre. Prasad was his pen name. Prasad started writing poetry with the pen name of ‘Kaladhar’. The first collection of poem that Jai Shankar Prasad penned, named, Chitradhar, was written in Braj dialect of Hindi but his later works were written in Khadi dialect or Sanskritized Hindi. 

 Here, we are presenting one of his poems in the wonderful voice of Danish Masood.   

We hope you like it !

Linda Tetlimo is a 31 year old writer from Norway. She writes poems, books and has been published in multiple Norwegian local newspapers. She is a bipolar and a schizophrenic , as her texts are often inspired of the dark experiences she has made through her illness. She is also the author of a book in Norwegian named 'The Dragon Inside Me'. We are glad that Linda has made a contribution in Modern Poetry's initiative.  

This poem of Linda has been narrated by Bhoomi Nighat Siraj, who himself is a wonderful poet as well as a part of Modern Poetry's team. We are thankful to Bhoomi as well for her contribution with her beautiful voice.

John Keats was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only four years before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 25.  

We have brought to you one of his poem 'The Human Seasons' in the voice of Sayed Tazeem.  

We hope you like it !

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian statesman who served three terms as the Prime Minister of India. He was a noted poet, writing in Hindi. His published works include Kaidi Kaviraj Ki Kundalian, a collection of poems written when he was imprisoned during the 1975–77 emergency, and Amar aag hai. With regard to his poetry he wrote, "My poetry is a declaration of war, not an exordium to defeat. It is not the defeated soldier's drumbeat of despair, but the fighting warrior's will to win. It is not the despirited voice of dejection but the stirring shout of victory."  

We have brought to you one of this remarkable poem 'Than Gayi' in the voice of Jawaid Hasan. We are very thankful to him for his contribution in our initiative.

Asrar ul Haq Majaz commonly known as Majaz Lakhnawi was an Indian Urdu poet. He was known for his romantic and revolutionary poetry. He composed ghazals and nazms in Urdu. He was the maternal uncle of poet and screenplay writer Javed Akhtar.  

We bring to you one of his poems in the wonderful voice of Sharique Aziz.

Welcome to the first episode of Fusionistan. Here we will be combining poetries from different eras and understand the similar ideas those couplets share. We have no language barrier. In our first episode of Fusionistan, we thought who would it be better than Mirza Ghalib himself to start with.   Hope you enjoy !  

Ghalib, born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, (27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869),was an Indian poet.He used his pen-names of Ghalib and Asad. His honorific was Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula. During his lifetime, the already declining Mughal empire was eclipsed and displaced by the Colonial British Raj and finally deposed following the defeat of the Indian rebellion of 1857, are some of the events that he described through his work.  

Mariyam Tariq, an emerging poet of Modern Poetry in India, is studying in Jamia Milia Islamia. She has also worked as an editor in a school magazine. She has been writing since a while now.  In addition to this, She has been a part of various International English Olympiads, securing a good position in the state as well. She also been a part of various debates, extempore and  declamations at different levels. 

Last but not the least, This version of Dil-e-Nadaan has been composed and sung by Aimadul Islam. Aimad is an excellent singer and guitarist. He is currently pursuing his graduation and with such great talent is exploring the world of music as well. We are so happy to have him collaborate with us on this project.

Dushyant Kumar was an Indian poet of modern Hindi literature. He is famous for writing Hindi Ghazals, and is generally recognised as one of the foremost Hindi poets of the 20th century.  We bring to you one of his poems in the wonderful voice of Mehul Grover.  

Poem: Aaj Veeran Apna Ghar Dekha 

Written By: Dushyant Kumar 

Narrated By: Mehul Grover 

Edited By: Sayed Tazeem

Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī, better known by his pen name Saadi, also known as Saadi of Shiraz, was a major Persian poet and prose writer of the medieval period. He is recognized for the quality of his writings and for the depth of his social and moral thoughts.   
The English interpretation we have brought to you of Bani Aadam, in the voice of Sayed Tazeem, has been done and was presented by Ex-Secretary General (United Nations) Ban Ki-Moon in Tehran, Iran on 30th August 2012.   

We hope you like it !

Raghupati Sahay, better known under his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, was a writer, critic, and, according to one commentator, one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. He established himself among peers including Muhammad Iqbal, Yagana Changezi, Jigar Moradabadi and Josh Malihabadi.  We bring to you one of his poem in the wonderful voice of Sharique Aziz  

Poem: Sitaron Se Ulajhta Ja Raha Hu 

Written By: Firaq Gorakhpuri 

Narrated By: Sharique Aziz  

Music: Walking in the sky (Youtube Audio Library)

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre.  He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and of American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story.  Poe was the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.  

We bring to you one of his poems in the voice of Sayed Tazeem.  

We hope you like it ! 

Poem: A Dream 

Written By: Edgar Allan Poe 

Narrated By: Sayed Tazeem  

Music: Mind Games - Trap/RnB Type Hip Hop Beat (Prod. Riddiman)

Parveen Shakir was a Pakistani poet, teacher and a civil servant of the Government of Pakistan. She is best known for her poems, which brought a distinctive feminine voice to Urdu literature, and for her consistent use of the rare grammatical feminine gender for the word "lover".  

We bring to you one of her most beautiful poems, narrated in the melodious voice of Shaista Danish.

Poem: Aks-e-Khushbu 

Written By: Parveen Shakir 

Narrated By: Shaista Danish 

Edited By: Sayed Tazeem  

Music: "Precious Chronical" (A YouTube Channel)

Bhoomi Nighat Siraj is one of the emerging faces of poetry in India and here we are, bringing one of her poem to all of you in her own voice.   

Bhoomi is currently associated with IMPAR (Indian Muslims for Progress and Reform) as well as also a part of Pierrot's Troupe, an internationally renowned theatre group based in New Delhi, India. She is a very talented person and we are thankful to her for her contribution to our program.   We hope you all like it ! 

 Poem: Mother Ganges 

Narrated By: Bhoomi Nighat Siraj 

Edited By: Sayed Tazeem  

Music : Art Of Silence - By Uniq  "Art of Silence - by Uniq" is under a Creative Commons license (Creative Commons – International Recognition 4.0 – CC BY 4.0)