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'''Rekhti''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|ریختی}}}}), <br />
is a form of [[Urdu]] [[feminist poetry]]. A genre developed by male poets,<ref name="rekhti">[https://rekhta.org/Rekhti Rekhti] Rekhta Foundation, Retrieved 10 May 2016</ref> it uses women's voices to talk about themselves.<ref>[http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue31/dasgupta_review.htm Review of Ruth Vanita's "Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India, 1780–1870"] Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific Issue 31, December 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2016</ref> It was formed in 19th-century [[Lucknow]], then part of the [[Oudh State|State of Awadh]] (now in [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]).<ref name="rekhti"/> The poet [[Saadat Yaar Khan Rangin]] is credited with its creation.<ref>But Muhammad Quli Qutub Shaw (1580 _1611)was also credited with the composition of rekhtis. [https://urduindia.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/sajid-sajni-the-last-poet-of-rekhti/ Sajid Sajni: The last poet of Rekhti] Blog: The World of Urdu Poetry, Literature and News. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2016</ref><br />
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Written generally in [[ghazal]] form, it uses women's special idioms, mannerism and accents.<ref name="rekhti"/> Their topics include women-women and women-men affairs and also women's sensual desires and sexual urges.<ref name="rekhti"/><br />
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== History ==<br />
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 language|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.<br />
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The practice of writing poetry in the woman's voice was pioneered in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], by [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]], fifth ruler of the [[Golconda Sultanate]]. Here, the ''Khariboli'' dialect was known as [[Deccani language|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:<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shaheen|first=Shagufta|title=The Unique Literary Traditions of Dakhnī|last2=Shahid|first2=Sajjad|work=Languages and Literary Cultures in Hyderabad|publisher=Routledge|year=2018|isbn=9781351393997|editor-last=Azam|editor-first=Kousar J|pages=108-111}}</ref><br />
{{Verse translation|Pīya bāj pyāla pīyā jāé nā;<br />
Pīya bāj ék tīl jīyā jāé nā.<br />
<br />
Katé hain pīyā bīn suburī karun;<br />
Kahā jāyé amma kīya jāé nā.|Tis hard to down a cup of wine without the beloved around;<br />
And sans him every moment is painful, and death bound.<br />
<br />
‘Forebear’ they say, when I pine for the beloved;<br />
It’s not as easy to practice as it may sound.|attr1=Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah}}{{Verse translation|Sajan āwain tō pardé sé nīkal kar bhār baithungī;<br />
Bahanā kar ké, mōtīan ka pirōti hār baithungī.|When my love arrives I shall emerge, and sit out in the open revealing my face;<br />
Claiming to be busy shall I sit, stringing pearls into a necklace.|attr1=Hashmi Bijapuri}}{{Verse translation|Sīné sun la sīna ghas ghas, lagāté mun sun mun huns huns,<br />
Kadhī dīl nā katā bus bus, raqībān dékh jalté thé.|Snuggling close to your chest with lips blissfully locked together,<br />
The heart never saying enough; rivals envying the sight.|attr1=Qadar Bijapuri}}<br />
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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 poets.<br />
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==Famous exponents==<br />
# [[Saadat Yaar Khan Rangin|Saadat Yaar Khan 'Rangeen']]<ref name="rekhti"/><br />
# Meer Yaar Alii 'Jaan Sahib'<ref name="rekhti"/><br />
# Mohsin Khan 'Mohsin'<ref name="rekhti"/><br />
# [[Insha Allah Khan 'Insha']]<ref name="rekhti"/><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[Urdu poetry]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Ruth Vanita, ''Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India, 1780–1870,'' London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012<br />
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[[Category:Urdu-language poetry]]<br />
[[Category:LGBT poetry]]<br />
[[Category:Erotic poetry]]<br />
[[Category:Poems about sexuality]]<br />
[[Category:Feminist literature]]</div>->Gowhk8