Vali Dakhani and the Early Rekhtah Networks

This book reexamines the emergence of Urdu as a literary and poetic language in the 18th century, at the time called Rekhtah, highlighting its engagement with diverse regional cultures and communities in South Asia.

Sharing Poetry’s Pleasures reframes the history of Urdu within the diverse contexts from which it emerged. It places the earliest Urdu-Rekhtah poets and their craft in the lively social gatherings, bazaars, shrines, and courts of 18th century South Asia.

Through aesthetic analysis and historical contextualization of poems, using primary sources in manuscripts, the authors reveal why everyday vernaculars, multi-lingual puns, alongside the use of courtly Persian and complex metaphors attracted a wide audience for this new literary language.