An exiled emperor’s epitaph in this language laments that “for his burial / Not even two yards of land were to be had his beloved land.” An English adaptation of a poem in this language concludes by demanding “Heart, / bolt forever your sleepless doors … No one, now no one will ever return.” After censorship of the author of “Solitude,” a defiant performance of his poem “We Will See” in this language at Alhamra Arts Council made it a protest anthem. Ali Sethi (“SAY-tee”) is a modern singer in a semi-classical genre that adapts poems from this language like Ahmed Faraz’s “If it is grief, so be it,” whose past singers include Jagjit Singh and Begum Akhtar. It’s not Persian, but Iqbal Bano was another singer of ghazals in this language, including those by Muhammad Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib. For 10 points, Faiz Ahmad Faiz wrote in what national language of Pakistan? ■END■
ANSWER: Urdu [prompt on Hindustani or Hindi–Urdu; reject “Hindi”] (The first line refers to the epitaph of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, who wrote that poem and many others.)
<World Literature>
= Average correct buzz position