To Ghazal Lovers

By TT Correspondent, "All-time hit ghazals in English avatar" - The Telegraph - Calcutta, India
Monday, January 19, 2009

Jamshedpur, Jan. 18: Ghazal lovers who do not have good command over Urdu have reasons to cheer.

City-based litterateur Syed Rizwanul Haque has translated 99 all-time hits into English. From Aamir Khusron to Javed Akhtar, every writer finds place in the book.

The book Essence of Ghazal is written, compiled and translated by Syed Rizwanul Haque under the pseudonym of Rizwan Wasti.

The book, along with Sohail Ki Kirnein, an Urdu anthology, was released today by national award winning filmmaker Biyot Projna Tripathy at Karim City College.

“The book has been translated with the motive to reach out to ghazal lovers who do not know Urdu. There are some people who would love to read ghazals but their lack of understanding of Urdu comes in the way. Now the ghazals will reach find a wider audience,” said Wasti.

The author, who has a number of work in Urdu and Hindi to his credit, this is the first time he has translated the masterpieces in English.

The Essence of Ghazal also has a background of the genre. Elements like Sufism and mysticism have also been discussed in the book.

“For beginners, I have discussed the background of ghazals, the chronology and how it has evolved down the years. You can find ghazals by Aamir Khusron, who was the pioneer in the field about 700 years ago,” said Wasti.

“As for the anthology Sohail Ki Kirnein, it has been my dream because a noted litterateur of the city could not publish his works during his lifetime. Therefore, it was my duty to get it compiled and published,” said the writer.

Picture: Syed Rizwanul Haque with filmmaker Biyot Projna Tripathy at the book release function. Photo by Srinivas.