| Rekhta | |
|---|---|
| ریختہ रेख़्ता | |
 The poem ofGhalib, the notable poet of the 'Rekhta' dialect | |
| Region | AroundDelhi |
| Era | 13th-18th centuries[1] |
| Perso-Arabic (Urdu alphabet) Nagari | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | rekh1239 |
Rekhta (Urdu:ریختہ[ˈreːxtaː];Hindi:रेख़्ता[ˈreːxtaː]Rekhtā) was an early form of theHindustani language. This style evolved in both thePerso-Arabic andNagari scripts and is considered an early form ofStandard Urdu andModern Standard Hindi.[2][3] According to the Pakistani linguist and historianTariq Rehman, Rekhta was a highlyPersianised variant of Hindustani, exclusively used by poets. It was not only the vocabulary that was Persianised, but also the poetic metaphors, inspired by Indian landscapes and seasons, were abandoned in favor of the Persian ones i.e.bahār (spring) replacingbarsāt (rainy season).[4]
The 13th centuryIndo-Persian Muslim poetAmir Khusrau used the termHindavi (Persian:ھندوی,lit. 'ofHind orIndia') for the 'Rekhta' dialect (the ancestor of Standard Urdu), the Persianised offshoot of the Apabhramsa vernacularOld Hindi, towards its emergence during the era ofDelhi Sultanate,[5][6][7][8] and gave shape to it in the Muslim literature, thus called "the father ofUrdu literature".[9] Other early Muslim poets, includesBaba Farid, who contributed in the development of the language.[10] Later from the 18th century, the dialect became a literary language and was further developed by the poetsMir andGhalib in the lateMughal period, and the term eventually fell out of use and came to be known asHindustani, by the end of the century.[7][11]
Rekhtā (fromPersian verbریختن[ɾeːxˈtan]) means "scattered" but also "mixed".[12] The name was given to an early form of courtly literature inDelhi, where poems were made by combining Persian and early Hindustani (referred to as Hindavi orDehlavi). Sometimes this was done by writing some lines of the poem in Persian, and others inHindavi. Alternatively, bothPersian andHindavi could feature in a single line.[7]
Rekhta arose in a period marked by extensive cultural interactions due to invasions, trade, and the establishment of Islamic courts in North India. As Persian became the language of administration, literature, and elite society under theDelhi Sultanate (1206–1526), and later theMughal Empire (1526–1857), it began to interact with local vernaculars. The result was a blend that facilitated communication across classes and communities. Rekhta was the literary manifestation of this blend, gaining traction particularly in the courts ofDelhi,Agra, and laterLucknow.[13][14]
The literary form of Rekhta was often composed in Perso-Arabic script (Nastaʿlīq) and occasionally in Devanagari, depending on the poet and regional influence. It was predominantly used inGhazals,Masnavis, andQawwalis, often conveying themes of love, loss, spirituality, and philosophical musings.[15] While spokenHindavi (orHindavi boli) served as theLingua franca of North India, Rekhta emerged as a refined, urbane variant used for high literary expression.[13]
Some scholars see Rekhta as part of a broader Indo-Persian cultural synthesis that defined much of medieval Indian literature. Persian was the prestige language, but Rekhta allowed Indian poets to write in a hybrid that could appeal to both elite and common audiences. This made it a unique cultural bridge across linguistic and religious communities.[16]
AsHindavi began to evolve into a literary language in the 18th century, the new term Rekhta carried over to describe this language. It denoted the Persianised, "high" form ofHindavi used in poetry, as opposed to the speech of the common population. The word was used alongside names like Urdu and Hindi. Its usage in this sense lasted into the 19th century, as evidenced by asher ofMirza Ghalib:[7]
ريختہ کے تُم ہی اُستاد نہیں ہو غالِبؔ
کہتے ہیں اگلے زمانے میں کوئی مِیرؔ بھی تھا
Rēk͟htē kē tum hī ustād nahī̃ hō ġālib,
Kahtē haĩ aglē zamānē mē̃ kōī 'mīr' bhī thā
You are not the sole grandmaster of Rekhta, Ghalib
They say, in the ages past, that there was one (called)Mir
[ɾeːxt̪eːkeːt̪ʊmhiːʊst̪aːdnəɦĩːɦoːɣaːlɪb]
[kɛht̪eːhɛ̃ːəɡleːzəmaneːmẽːkoiːmiːɾbʰiːt̪ʰaː]
By the eighteenth century however, the termRekhta had largely fallen out of use and terms likeHindi, Hindustani andUrdu were favored.[4]
Zehal-e-Miskin is the firstghazal inUrdu literature, written byAmir Khusrau, through combining theOld Hindi languageBraj Bhasha andPersian.[17] This Persianised combination was later known as Rekhta (the ancestor of Hindustani language).[18][19] The poem effectively conveys the agony experienced due to the distance from the beloved. This sentiment is skillfully portrayed through a remarkable fusion of both languages, resulting in a harmonious blend that enhances the overall impact of the poem.[20]
Rekhta is the old name of Urdu. Amir Khusrau, the late 13th Century poet wrote in Rekhta. It changed its name many times and came to be known as Dakkani, Gujari, Hindavi, etc at various points of time. Mir and Ghalib also wrote in Rekhta, which later came to be known as Urdu in the late 19th Century.
Hindustani began to develop during the 13th century AD in and around the Indian cities of Dehli and Meerut in response to the increasing linguistic diversity that resulted from Muslim hegemony.
Apabhramsha seemed to be in a state of transition from Middle Indo-Aryan to the New Indo-Aryan stage. Some elements of Hindustani appear ... the distinct form of the lingua franca Hindustani appears in the writings of Amir Khusro (1253–1325), who called it Hindwi[.]
Attributed to Amir Khusrau, this is the first ever Ghazal written in Rekhta. The first line of which is in Persian whereas the second is in Hindvi. An extremely popular romantic Ghazal, it has long been a stable for a host of Qawwali singers.
Any translation can be endlessly improved upon, but especially of the ghazal "Zihaal- e-Miskeen" by Amir Khusrau. It is composed in two languages, Persian, and Brij Bhasha — also called "Hindavi" and considered to be an archaic form of what later became Urdu.
Zehaal -e Miskeen is a master piece written in both the languages in Persian (bold) and Brij Bhasha (italics). In the first verse, the first line is in Persian, the second in Brij Bhasha, the third in Persian again, and the fourth in Brij Bhasha. In the remaining verses, the first two lines are in Persian, the last two in Brij Bhasha. The poem expresses the agony of separation from the beloved, in both the languages with a superb fusion…which to my understanding signifies how different yet similiar [sic] is the expression of the agony of separation amongst the elite ( representing Persian) and the common man ( through Braj Bhasha).