Shāʽir aur Barsāt

This Dakhni Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Deccan region of India, especially in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. This variety of Urdu, which developed in the Deccan from the 14th century, is the result of the language contact between Urdu and Dravidian languages spoken in South India. It flourished as a literary vehicle during the 14th and 15th century and, following the conquest of Deccan by Mughals in 1687, it saw a rapid decline that constrained it to the oral form. Nazīr Aḥmad Dahqānī (1908-1949) is one of the most prominent writers in modern Dakhni. Despite being considered the “father” of an entire generation of poets who wrote during the 20th century, his works have been highly neglected by scholars. The translation of the poem titled Shāʽir aur barsāt (“The poet and the rain”) offers a glimpse of Dahqānī’s style and themes.