Rekhti

Rekhti (Urdu: ریختی, Hindi: रेख़ती), is a form of Urdu feminist poetry. A genre developed by male poets, it uses women's voices to talk about themselves. It was formed in 19th-century Lucknow, then part of the State of Awadh (now in Uttar Pradesh, India). The poet Saadat Yaar Khan Rangin is credited with its creation.

Written generally in ghazal form, it uses women's special idioms, mannerism and accents. Their topics include women-women and women-men affairs and also women's sensual desires and sexual urges.

History

Prior to the 17th century, Persian was the main language of literature and poetry in Northern Hindustan, as well as a local language for many. As a gender-neutral language, the romantic and sexual aspects of its poetry were often ambiguous and open to interpretation. In contrast, Hindustani's emerging predecessor Hindavi/Dehlavi/Khariboli, used as a medium of oral communication in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, distinguished between genders. The nascent ghazal style of poetry was a popular mode of composition in this language. However, in the north, ghazals tended to be an expression of love from a male to a female.

The practice of writing poetry in the woman's voice was pioneered in the Deccan, by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, fifth ruler of the Golconda Sultanate. Here, the Khariboli dialect was known as Deccani due to some of its regional quirks. Qutb Shah composed ghazals in Deccani but used its gender-specific nature to write them from the female's perspective, which reversed the roles in the ghazal medium. This role-reversal was popular in the Deccan, employed by poets like Hashmi Bijapuri, Asadullah Wajhi, and Hasan Shauqi. Some examples:

Pīya bāj pyāla pīyā jāé nā;
Pīya bāj ék tīl jīyā jāé nā.

Katé hain pīyā bīn suburī karun;
Kahā jāyé amma kīya jāé nā.

Tis hard to down a cup of wine without the beloved around;
And sans him every moment is painful, and death bound.

‘Forebear’ they say, when I pine for the beloved;
It’s not as easy to practice as it may sound.

—Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah

Sajan āwain tō pardé sé nīkal kar bhār baithungī;
Bahanā kar ké, mōtīan ka pirōti hār baithungī.

When my love arrives I shall emerge, and sit out in the open revealing my face;
Claiming to be busy shall I sit, stringing pearls into a necklace.

—Hashmi Bijapuri

Sīné sun la sīna ghas ghas, lagāté mun sun mun huns huns,
Kadhī dīl nā katā bus bus, raqībān dékh jalté thé.

Snuggling close to your chest with lips blissfully locked together,
The heart never saying enough; rivals envying the sight.

—Qadar Bijapuri

The conquest of the Deccan by Aurangzeb brought the region into the fold of northern literary traditions, which spurred the development of the dialect in Delhi into Rekhta. The process also brought the role-reversal trend to the north, and it was only at this time (early 18th century) that the term Rekhti was coined. Here it was furthered by northern Indian poets.

Famous exponents

1. Saadat Yaar Khan 'Rangeen'
2. Meer Yaar Alii 'Jaan Sahib'
3. Mohsin Khan 'Mohsin'
4. Insha Allah Khan 'Insha'

See also

• Urdu poetry

Further reading

• Ruth Vanita, Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India, 1780–1870, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012