Urdu Service

While we celebrate this happy occasion, let's look at some other aspects of this experience.

Let's talk about love and its myriad faces.

Let us celebrate the fathers and father figures in our lives.

Is it possible for words to truly capture the essence of motherhood?

What are your thoughts?

Let's continue celebrating the unique artistic talents of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and his ability to find humor in drab life situations.

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was an Urdu poet, translator, journalist, prose writer, and lyricist. Film lyrics came easy to him; he could write the songs on demand in as little as ten minutes, which often proved immensely popular. Raja Mehdi Ali khan brought the linguistic finesse of the Urdu ghazal to the mainstream Indian film industry. Madan Mohan-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan's partnership produced some of the most beautiful film songs, many of them ghazals. 

The word rangrez رنگریز means a dyer in the Persian language, one who colors your clothes in any desired color. In Sufi tradition, the rangrez colors your soul and changes your personality for the better. 

Pakeezah: Meena Kumari's swan song, which took fifteen years to complete, was applauded for cinematographic larger-than-life film sets, music, poetry, dance, and costumes. 

This podcast discusses the selected letters of Mirza Ghalib to shed light on his life and trauma of 1857, along with the choicest poetic pieces from Diwan-e-Ghalib sung by stalwarts of the music industry. 

Let's get acquainted with a prominent Urdu poet of our times- Hassan Abbas Raza

Let me take you decades back when  Amanat Lucknavi wrote the first stage drama of Urdu literature in 1853. It had 830 couplets and eight characters that appeared on the stage. Today we call such dramas musicals.

Let’s hear how Jagjit and Chitra became soul mates over the years bonding over music!

Let's continue to the story of Qawaali!

Spring is in the air!

In this episode, I am retelling the story of the historical city of Lahore, from the 11th Century to date.   Known as ''The Diamond of The Punjab" in the olden days, it is now called " The Heart of Pakistan." 

Let's celebrate the friendships in our life!

I am reminiscing about my childhood. The short, gloomy winter days brought out all these emotions in me, and I let them out.  Let's celebrate our fathers and father figures in our life, who contributed to making us who we are today as human beings. 

Not all singers can sing ghazals well.  Let's listen to the immortal ghazals sung by Madam Noor Jahan!

War Songs of Madam Noor Jahan 1965, an important milestone for her singing career, when she did not shy away from offering her services for the army soldiers, with her singing talent, to boost their morale. At the same time, they were fighting in the trenches to guard the borders of their beloved country and listening to her voice on radio sound waves.

A tribute to the legendary singer on her 20th death anniversary. She belongs to all the lovers of music, irrespective of their nationality. 

Today,  I am telling you the story of a world-famous diamond, Koh-e-Noor (the mountain of light). How it changed hands, and how it changed the fates of its owners for good or bad. Let's find out!