Zabandan

Zabandan is a database of classical Urdu poetry that I have translated to English. My goal is to capture cultural and poetic nuance often lost in translation, conveying the true beauty and depth of Urdu literature to non-native readers and fostering an appreciation among Western audiences.

I periodically add poems (mostly ghazals and nazms) that I translate in my free time to the database, and on occasion will also offer interpretations of the work. Each entry has a Romanized transliteration and a literal and poetic English meaning, as well as contextually appropriate definitions of words. If you'd like to suggest a work to translate, notice an error, or have a suggestion, please reach out to me at shay [at] shaykas [dot] com.