Thread by @SATimes_TV

#SAT OTD✨

Richness of cultures, languages & traditions in #SouthAsia also translated into a rich landscape of poetry; giving birth to some of the most renowned & celebrated #poets of the world.

A 🧵

#InternationalPoetryDay

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Names like Iqbal, Ghalib, Krishan Chandar, Rehman Baba, Khushal Khan, Amir Khusro, Amjad Islam Amjad, Jalib, Parveen Shakir, Noon Meem Rashid, Abdul Latif Bhitai, Hali, Abul Kalam Azad, Mir Taqi Mir, Rabindranath Tagore, Bhupi Sherchan, Kamila Bhasin; hail from this region.

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Perhaps the one who sits high on the throne of poetry in the region is no other but the legend #Iqbal.

The subcontinent, Afg, as well as Middle Eastern & Central Asian poetic traditions hold Allama Iqbal in high esteem, while he is the acclaimed national poet of 🇵🇰.

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From the streets of #Delhi arose the eternal voice of #MirzaGhalib. Though born in Agra, Delhi was his first love.

His ghazaliyat not only made it to textbooks but earned him a stature of one of the greatest poets of Urdu language.

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Buried in the same Delhi city is another marvel poet from the times of Delhi Sultanate - Amir Khusro.

Revered largely in the #Sufi circles, he brought a Persian twist to raga & curated a language - Hindvi, that was a combination of #Persian & Bhojpuri.

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Indigenous languages were carried forward with beauty & grace by figures like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Rehman Baba, Rabindranath Tagore & Khushal Khan Khattak.

They took upon themselves to strengthen Sindhi, Pashto & Bengali in timeless poetry; ...

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...so much so that people are drawn to these languages to understand their poetry.

In contemporaries, Sri Lanka's Siri Gunasinghe, India's Kamila Bhasin, Pakistan's Habib Jalib decorated their poetic verses with the fervor of political transformation & revolution.

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Poetry has been the soul of literary & linguistic heritage of South Asia.

These rich traditions connected this region with other regions of the world.

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