People say that poetry was at its peak in the era of Mirza Ghalib, Mir and Allama Iqbal, but today it has disappeared. The poets left and took the art of poetry with them and went to sleep under the dust. Today, no one writes, reads, or listens to poetry.
It is said that poetry cannot be learned and poets are not made but they are born, however, many examples can be given in which people learned poetry as an art and gradually mastered it, which is a different matter. That some got less success in poetry and some got more.
As for the decline in popularity of poetry is concerned, there are countless hobbies that few people like, including animal husbandry, gardening, and stamp collecting, but as long as the hobbyists are alive, they, however, the importance of poetry is much more than these matters because it creates literature which promotes language.
It is true that Urdu has assimilated English words and we have made paint-shirt and coats as our slogans instead of shalwar, and kameez, but living nations have their own distinct identity and identity like the identity of the Pakistani nation. Its national language is Urdu and the role of poetry in its promotion cannot be forgotten.
If the Pakistani nation wants to understand the importance of poetry, then it has to understand Allama Iqbal, who wrote such lively, inspiring and heart-touching poetry to promote the freedom movement, which became the voice of every Muslim’s heart. Every Muslim aspired to become Shaheen of Iqbal and a man of faith and this was the spirit that led to the establishment of Pakistan on 14th August 1947.
Nowadays, on social media, Urdu sentences are randomly written in 2 lines, and it is assumed that it is poetry, and countless people blindly believe it by seeing the name of Allama Iqbal written under this so-called poetry. Start sharing and no one bothers to pay attention to reality.
If you are not a poet, ask someone who is familiar with poetry or a teacher who teaches Urdu, and he will tell you that the two lines you are considering as poetry, are not even worthy of being called prose. Attributing it to Iqbal is tantamount to making a serious mockery of the spirit of Hakim Ummat.
People who are passionate about poetry, read the poems of good poets and try to understand and remember them, they understand the beauty and depth of words, so such people also have the ability to recite good poems.
Poetry in itself is no less than a universe because one who once embraces this passion can never get out of its spell. He or she develops a passion for writing down his or her feelings in the best possible words.
It is necessary to work hard for the daily necessities of life and to work hard for your wife and children, and also give some time to Urdu prose and poetry so that we can recognize ourselves as we move along with the fast pace of the times and don’t shy away from recognition.
