To read Shayari is to appreciate beauty. To write it is to create it. While the art form may seem daunting, reserved for masters, its core principles can be learned by anyone with a passion for words and a desire to express the heart’s language.
The Core Idea: Finding Your ‘Khayal’ (Thought/Idea)
Every great couplet (sher) is born from a single, powerful core idea or feeling. This is the khayal. Before a single word is written, the poet must know what they want to say. For a beginner, the best place to start is with a simple, universal human emotion. Love. Heartbreak. Hope. A moment of quiet observation. The goal is not to be overly philosophical at first, but to capture one, honest feeling with clarity. It helps to think of it as a single, powerful image or a question. What does it feel like to wait for someone? What does the city look like at dawn? By focusing on a single, clear khayal, the couplet will have a strong emotional center. This idea becomes the sun around which all the other elements-the rhyme, the rhythm, the metaphors-will orbit.
The Rhyming Soul: Understanding ‘Kafiya’ and ‘Radif’
The defining musicality of a traditional ghazal comes from its intricate rhyming structure. This structure, which might seem complex, is built on two simple parts within each couplet. This rhyming pattern is the fundamental rule of the form. Understanding the underlying mechanics of any system is the first step to mastering it. Whether one is learning the rules of poetry or the features of a new online platform, a clear guide is essential. To see how another type of platform is structured for its users, one can read more about its options. For the aspiring poet, mastering these two elements is key:
- Kafiya: This is the rhyming word or syllable that comes just before the final repeating phrase.
- Radif: This is the identical word or phrase that ends both lines of the first couplet, and the second line of every subsequent couplet.
For example, in a simple couplet, if the end of the lines are “haal bura hai” and “khayal bura hai,” the Kafiya would be the rhyming pair of “haal” and “khayal,” and the Radif would be the repeating phrase “bura hai.”
The Rhythmic Heartbeat: A Simple Guide to ‘Beher’ (Meter)
There is a rhythmic heart beat in Shayari beyond rhyme. This is its meter, or beher. Classical poetry has numerous complicated and strictly delineated meters which depend on patterns of long and short syllables. This may be the most intimidating bit to a newbie. It does not matter so much to start with the technicalities. The surest method of getting a feel for beher, though, is to read the masters aloud. Read Ghalib, Mir or Faiz. Mark the cadence, the flow of the lines, their natural rhythm. A person will begin to intuitively sense the music. The first step that a new writer should take is quite simple: just count the syllables in the lines of the couplet. Although not the ideal alternative to formal meter, it is an important step in the construction of a balanced and rhythmic sher to make sure that both lines are of like length.
The Power of Imagery: Crafting Your Metaphors
Shayari does not simply describe a feeling, it depicts an emotion with strong and moving imagery. It is a symbolistic and metaphoric language. One can start by getting acquainted with the lush palette of traditional symbols that form the common vocabulary of the art form-the moon (chand), the candle and the moth (shama aur parwana), the wine and the cup (sharaab aur jaam). These are symbols which resonate deeply culturally. The next thing is to invent personal, new imagery. The most effective exercise in this respect is to have an abstract emotion and endeavour to relate it to a concrete, sense picture. What does loneliness appear to be? It may be one, unlit candle in a big room. How does it sound to hope? It may be the creaking of a train some distance away. Translating abstract emotions into tangible visuals, a writer can come up with a piece of poetry that is not only comprehended, but really felt.
Putting It All Together: A Workshop for Your First ‘Sher’
Let’s build a couplet. The process is often easier if one works backward from the rhyme.
- Start with the Second Line: Establish your Kafiya and Radif in the second line of the couplet. This sets the target for the first line.
- Brainstorm Rhymes: Make a list of words that can serve as the Kafiya for the first line.
- Craft the First Line: Write the first line, ensuring it matches the meter (or at least the syllable count) of the second and ends with your chosen rhyming word.
- Refine and Recite: The first draft is never the final one. Read the couplet aloud. Again and again. Does it flow? Is the rhythm natural? Does the meaning land with emotional impact? Edit the words until the sound and the sense are in perfect harmony. This is the final and most important step in the creative process.
Conclusion: From a Reader to a Poet
Writing Shayari is a process not a product. It is an art and a lifetime to perfect. However, it is not a closed club which only geniuses can enter. One can start on this journey by learning the building blocks-a clear idea, the elegant structure of rhyme, a sense of rhythm, and the power of metaphor. Your initial efforts can be uncomplicated. They can be muggy. But that is of no consequence. It is a reward in itself to attempt to fix a feeling in the well-formed, beautiful form of sher. It is a form of interacting with the art form in a more in-depth manner, of going beyond being a passive reader to an active participant and of finding the poet that resides in each and every one of us.