Ramshackle buildings in the narrow lanes of the downtowns, moth-eaten inestimable books, treasured yet tattered manuscripts stacked in rickety almirahs, withering sales of books, publishing journals and books faltering on academic rigour count and relying on rhetorical flourish encapsulate the plight of ever-dwindling Urdu promotion organization and publishing houses across India. The case of organizations and academies set up by the central and state governments with considerable fund allocation is equally pathetic and disgusting as favouritism, nepotism, and political intervention mar their functioning. These bodies, often headed by political appointees with dubious academic credentials or bland writing skills, publish inconsequential books and trash journals, organize seminars on quotidian topics discussed by diminutive scholars, and frequently bestow awards on weeny authors.
Barring the unrivalled popularity of Rekhta, Urdu’s shrinking space and the listless contemporary literary scenario betraying the closure of widely admired literary periodicals and ever-diminishing sales of books in Urdu scripts leave Urdu lovers exasperated. Strict adherence to an arbitrary code of ethics that proscribes books or omits certain portions of writings, even by eminent authors, preponderates Urdu publishing. It shuts out even those whose creative dexterity shaped Urdu literature.
Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810), known as the God of Poetry, is no exception. The full text of his widely admired a.
