I was just thinking that even though most of us Guppies are living in Europe or the US and have grown up in non-desi countries..the sheer number of posts in the Poetry forum show that for us poetry is still an important part of our culture…haina?
I mean can you imagine goray of our age group discussing Shakespeare or Milton or Keats etc. on an internet forum for pleasure in this day and age??
And ever tried to discuss poetry with a gora at work/college/uni etc??
So, poetry is definitely an important part of our culture–why? I mean most people in Pakistan/India are illiterate and yet many of them still can recite poems from memory!!
Not only do I find this interesting, I think it's very encouraging.
I have often spoken of the possibility of urdu dying out.....thanks to the GupShup Poetry section, my faith is repeatedly renewed.
One thing that I would like to understand....how many regular participants of the poetry section can actually write in urdu? I mean, many of them have come from the middle east where their exposure to urdu may have been a great deal larger than those that have been bred in North America.....so, what is the relation to region when it comes to fluency in urdu?
Well Alhamdulliah i can write, read and speak urdu very well. Poetry on the other hand is my passion. Asif at some points u r right.. u ask gora about different poets after class…They will look at u like u r insane … lol…and those who do are called “g33k” bechare…
forget shakespeare… we got tons of them in Pakistan Mashallah… Alama Iqbal, Ghalib, and many many many more..