Kavinaama

Kavinaama - The Poetry and Culture Podcast

Do the names Mirza Ghalib, Shiv Kumar Batalvi, or Mir Taqi Mir stir your soul? Kavinaama is the essential podcast for exploring the deep, rich culture of the Indian subcontinent through its timeless poetry and literature. Every weekly episode, hosts Kshitij and Burair dive into a specific topic, sharing the best classic and contemporary verses, along with the fascinating cultural anecdotes behind them. This is not a lecture—it's a celebration. Subscribe now and join the conversation!

  1. 15 juli

    Mere Humnafas Mere Humnawa — The Ghazal Begum Akhtar Refused to Sing, Until He Died

    मिरे हम-नफ़स मिरे हम-नवा, मुझे दोस्त बन के दग़ा न दे — Shakeel Badayuni's "Mere Humnafas Mere Humnawa" is one of Urdu poetry's quietest, most devastating ghazals. Begum Akhtar refused to sing Shakeel's ghazals for almost 20 years after a falling-out — until his death in 1970, when she broke that silence for this one. No Urdu script required — every sher gets translated and unpacked in English as we go. Kshitij Kawatra and Burair Ashary sit with the ghazal sher by sher — the plea to a "hum-nafas" not to be saved, the fear of a healer's "brief kindness," and the maqta where the poet calls out to himself by name. In this episode: 🎙️ The three singers who've made this ghazal immortal — Begum Akhtar's original, Jagjit Singh's rendition, and Ali Sethi's contemporary cover💔 Whether this is a toxic relationship dressed up in classical Urdu — and who's actually the toxic one: the poet, the beloved, or both📜 The ghazal-vs-nazm question this poem keeps raising — there's a theme running through every sher, which isn't how a ghazal is "supposed" to work Let us know what you think — ghazal or nazm, and who's the toxic one here — over on Instagram [link]. Hosted by Kshitij Kawatra & Burair Ashary. Technical Direction by Antonio Rodriguez. Kavinaama is a Hindi-Urdu-Punjabi poetry podcast — ghazals, nazms, and shayari, translated and unpacked. Follow for new episodes every week.

Trailrar

Om

Do the names Mirza Ghalib, Shiv Kumar Batalvi, or Mir Taqi Mir stir your soul? Kavinaama is the essential podcast for exploring the deep, rich culture of the Indian subcontinent through its timeless poetry and literature. Every weekly episode, hosts Kshitij and Burair dive into a specific topic, sharing the best classic and contemporary verses, along with the fascinating cultural anecdotes behind them. This is not a lecture—it's a celebration. Subscribe now and join the conversation!