Crafting literary Urdu
Mirza Hatim's engagement with Vali Dakhani
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3617954 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Purnima Dhavan (0000-0001-9345-667X, University of Washington, corresponding author), Heidi Pauwels (0000-0002-0919-0774, University of Washington) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 711-739 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0026749x22000166 |
| OpenAlex | W4310635319 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 19 |
The emergence in eighteenth-century India of literary compositions that used the elite registers of what was, at the time, called 'Rekhtah', and later defined as Urdu, is poorly understood. Conventionally, after an initial infatuation in Delhi with the works of Vali Dakhani,1 a mid-century break is assumed, exemplified by the revision of Zuhur ud-Din Hatim's Divan as Divanzadah in the 1750s. Scholars have viewed this as a radical intervention in the creation of Urdu, which excised old vernacular models and embraced further Persianization. This article re-examines the evidence, combining methodologies from literary and historical studies. It points to the continuities present in Hatim's revision, including sustained engagement with Vali, even as Hatim attempted to appeal to new audiences, incorporating new trends alongside older literary models. Foregrounding literary networks and arenas of poetic practice shows the limited impact of the proscriptions and literary criticisms voiced by Hatim's critics. In studying the contested space of literary aesthetics and linguistic shifts against self-fashioning within changing networks, this article demonstrates that the relationship between the Persianate and vernacular sphere continued to be generative, rather than oppositional or hierarchical
Aesthetics · Appeal · Arabic · Art · Diglossia · Elite · Foregrounding · Linguistics · Literature · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Urdu · Vernacular · Education and Islamic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology
A Dictionary of Urdu Classical Hindi and English
Iran Facing Others
Masculinity and the Bangash Nawabs of Farrukhabad
The Pursuit of Pleasure
Refashioning Iran
Controversies Surrounding the Reception of Valī “Dakhanī” (1665?–1707?) in Early Tażkirahs of Urdu Poets
Of Parrots and Crows
Heartless Acts
Going Native
Vintages of the Sāqī-nāma
Rethinking the Ottoman Imitation of Persian Poetry
Manliness and Imperial Service in Mughal North India
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |