Guidelines for writing a ghazal/shayari

[Tausif shaikh]

Dear SDC Members & Guests,

These are the basic guidelines for writing a ghazal/shayri. Hope this helps people, who are interested in writing a ghazal/shayari!(this information provided is from my collection )

I'm writing this article for people who has always wondered about how a Ghazal is written.
Who are keen to know the technical side of Ghazal writing

Note that i'm only trying to pass this information to you based on what i had been taught and learned uptill now

What is a Ghazal...?
A Ghazal is a combitaion of :-

1.Beher (Meter)
2.Radeef
3.Kafiya
4.Matla
5.Maktaa

1. What is Beher (Meter) ...?

Beher is the length of a sheyr,rhythm of a sheyr which compliments the connecting misra's (lines) of a ghazal...all the misra's in a sher and all the sheyrs in a ghazal has to follow the same beher. There are 36 beher's and it demands serious studies to be understood.Apart from those 36 beher's a shayar can also creat his own beher as long as the sheyr is easy to recite and can be pronounced in rhythm n match the "wazan" of the ghazal..shayar's like Mirza assaduallah beg khan(Ghalib) who hasn't written anything except ghazals has made the mistakes of falling out of beher's..those ghazals may have been "technically incorrect" BUT can NOT be branded as poor shayri..!!

2.What is Radeef...?

Radeef is the word(s) which ends the first two misra's and the second misra of every sheyr in a Ghazal.it is not necessary to use radeef in all the Ghazals...such Ghazals are called "gair-muraddaf" ghazals...but this is not what tradition allows...!!

i'm going to use some of my shayaristo explain the difference...

Teri aankhon ke ishaaron ki bahot yaad aayi
aaj patjharr mein bahaaron ki bahot yaad aayi

nikal ke maikade se jab bhi ladkhadaaya hun..?
teri baahon ke sahaaron ki bahot yaad aayi

jab bhi poonche hain aansu maine haathon se
tere daaman ke kinaaron ki bahot yaad aayi

here.."bahot yaad aayi" is the radeef of this Ghazal...!!

khaayal aate rahe dil mein tumhaare
jaagte rahe mere saath ye sitaare

here....radeef is missing...as last words of the sheyr are not same so its a "gair-muraddaf" ghazal...so radeef is that exact word or words that ends the first two lines and every second line of a ghazal...!!

3. What is Kafiya...?

Kafiya is that common sounding word that's used before "radeef"...for example in first ghazal mentioned above "ishaaron".."bahaaron"...."sahaaron" is the kafiya or should is say "ron" is the kafiya because "ron" is the sound that gives "wazan" to the radeef of the ghazal.

4.What is Matla...?

The very first sheyr or the first two misra's of a ghazal where radeef is used in both misra's is the "Matla" of a ghazal...!!

for example...

dil ya dil ki duaa ki baat karte ho
ghar ya ghar ki fizaa ki baat karte ho

Matla is very necessary for the weight of a ghazal because the whole ghazal depends on kafiya and radeef used in the Matla.

5.What is Maktaa

Maktaa is the last sheyr of a ghazal where shayar use his "takhhallus" to leave his signature on his composition...A poet rather not have a maktaa rather than having a meaningless maktaa...its one of those finer points of shayri where shayar can express himself or his feelings or talk about anything using the rhythm of the ghazal...!!

example...

dil ko dard haathon ko kalam de gaye hain
kaise kaise tohfe mere sanam de gaye hain

sunne waale rote hain sunaane waale rote hain
"tausif" ki ghazlon ko itna gam de gaye hain

so here's the essence of this article..the "matlaa" above written in "medium beher"...using "am" as kafiya...."de gaye hain" as "radeef" and last misra as "maktaa"


Dear friends...this article is far from complete as far as depth and rules of ghazal writing are concerned ..each topic especially "beher" needs to be studied thoroughly if someone wants to understand this fine art of shayri.

These are just the basic points that someone needs to look at before writing or understanding a ghazal......i have an advice for shayar's who has just begun to write and are serious about learning shayri....you NEED to find an ustad who can guide you ...find someone whom you can show your compositons...who can explain each term step by step and seek an advice..coz there's a lot more...A LOT MORE..in shayri than you can imagine...!!

I'll try to post more articles like this ..its an attempt to bring all shayari lovers more closer to the real picture of shayari .

[zainy]

Note that i'm only trying to pass this information to you based on what i had been taught and learned uptill now

MR Tausif...Well!!..Copy paste karne me koi burai nahi hai, per karne se pehle zara ek baar dhyan se padh lijiye ke isme kuch aysa tou nahi jo aapke liye problem ban jaaye......

Khair jo aapka na ho uske neeche .."NM"..ya "NOT MINE"... likh diya kareiN...

[Tausif shaikh]

Originally Posted by tausif shaikh

dear sdc members & guests,

these are the basic guidelines for writing a ghazal/shayri. Hope this helps people, who are interested in writing a ghazal/shayari!(this information provided is from my collection )

i'm writing this article for people who has always wondered about how a ghazal is written.
Who are keen to know the technical side of ghazal writing

note that i'm only trying to pass this information to you based on what i had been taught and learned uptill now

what is a ghazal...?
A ghazal is a combitaion of :-

1.beher (meter)
2.radeef
3.kafiya
4.matla
5.maktaa

1. What is beher (meter) ...?

Beher is the length of a sheyr,rhythm of a sheyr which compliments the connecting misra's (lines) of a ghazal...all the misra's in a sher and all the sheyrs in a ghazal has to follow the same beher. There are 36 beher's and it demands serious studies to be understood.apart from those 36 beher's a shayar can also creat his own beher as long as the sheyr is easy to recite and can be pronounced in rhythm n match the "wazan" of the ghazal..shayar's like mirza assaduallah beg khan(ghalib) who hasn't written anything except ghazals has made the mistakes of falling out of beher's..those ghazals may have been "technically incorrect" but can not be branded as poor shayri..!!

2.what is radeef...?

Radeef is the word(s) which ends the first two misra's and the second misra of every sheyr in a ghazal.it is not necessary to use radeef in all the ghazals...such ghazals are called "gair-muraddaf" ghazals...but this is not what tradition allows...!!

I'm going to use some of my shayaristo explain the difference...

Teri aankhon ke ishaaron ki bahot yaad aayi
aaj patjharr mein bahaaron ki bahot yaad aayi

nikal ke maikade se jab bhi ladkhadaaya hun..?
Teri baahon ke sahaaron ki bahot yaad aayi

jab bhi poonche hain aansu maine haathon se
tere daaman ke kinaaron ki bahot yaad aayi

here.."bahot yaad aayi" is the radeef of this ghazal...!!

Khaayal aate rahe dil mein tumhaare
jaagte rahe mere saath ye sitaare

here....radeef is missing...as last words of the sheyr are not same so its a "gair-muraddaf" ghazal...so radeef is that exact word or words that ends the first two lines and every second line of a ghazal...!!

3. What is kafiya...?

Kafiya is that common sounding word that's used before "radeef"...for example in first ghazal mentioned above "ishaaron".."bahaaron"...."sahaaron" is the kafiya or should is say "ron" is the kafiya because "ron" is the sound that gives "wazan" to the radeef of the ghazal.

4.what is matla...?

The very first sheyr or the first two misra's of a ghazal where radeef is used in both misra's is the "matla" of a ghazal...!!

For example...

Dil ya dil ki duaa ki baat karte ho
ghar ya ghar ki fizaa ki baat karte ho

matla is very necessary for the weight of a ghazal because the whole ghazal depends on kafiya and radeef used in the matla.

5.what is maktaa

maktaa is the last sheyr of a ghazal where shayar use his "takhhallus" to leave his signature on his composition...a poet rather not have a maktaa rather than having a meaningless maktaa...its one of those finer points of shayri where shayar can express himself or his feelings or talk about anything using the rhythm of the ghazal...!!

Example...

Dil ko dard haathon ko kalam de gaye hain
kaise kaise tohfe mere sanam de gaye hain

sunne waale rote hain sunaane waale rote hain
"tausif" ki ghazlon ko itna gam de gaye hain

so here's the essence of this article..the "matlaa" above written in "medium beher"...using "am" as kafiya...."de gaye hain" as "radeef" and last misra as "maktaa"


dear friends...this article is far from complete as far as depth and rules of ghazal writing are concerned ..each topic especially "beher" needs to be studied thoroughly if someone wants to understand this fine art of shayri.

These are just the basic points that someone needs to look at before writing or understanding a ghazal......i have an advice for shayar's who has just begun to write and are serious about learning shayri....you need to find an ustad who can guide you ...find someone whom you can show your compositons...who can explain each term step by step and seek an advice..coz there's a lot more...a lot more..in shayri than you can imagine...!!

I'll try to post more articles like this ..its an attempt to bring all shayari lovers more closer to the real picture of shayari .

note mine....! Not mine not mine not mine not mine not mine..........