Eloquent Parrots

Abstract

The language of rekhtī is colloquial Urdu emerging as a literary rival and complement both to Persian and Persianized Urdu. At this time, “Hindi” (the language of “Hind” as opposed to the language of Persia) was generally used to refer to the language we now call “Urdu.” Insha recounts how he once asked a poet called Maulvi Haidar Ali, who wrote in Persian, Arabic, and Hindi, to recite something. Saying that one’s command of one’s native language is always better than of foreign languages, therefore, he was most satisfied with his Hindi poetry, the Maulvi recited a religious ode (which we would term Urdu).¹

Muṅh lagāte hī khulā qufl dar basta dil

Thi zubān teň bhī kuchh zor hunar kī kunjī

At the mouth’s touch, the lock fastening the heart opened

Your tongue was a forceful key to accomplishment

—Inshā KtI (397: 381)