Mere Rashk-e Qamar: Envy of the Moon

AI-generated art depicting a lightning strike during a full moon

“Mere Rashk-e Qamar” is an Urdu ghazal that was penned by the Pakistani poet Fana Buland Shehri (?-1986) and performed as a qawwali in the 1980s by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997).

Zihaal-e Miskeen: A Bilingual Masterpiece

A reclining Mughal prince, perhaps Dara Shukoh, observing the women in his garden. 18th century CE.

Attributed to the legendary Ameer Khusrau, “Zi-haal-e Miskeen” is a romantic ghazal that alternates between Farsi (Persian) and Braj Bhasha, a dialect of Hindi. Although its true authorship is unclear due to a lack of historical records, it is one of Khusrau’s most well-known poems, particularly because of its unique bilingual structure.