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chamanistaan

flower garden, lush garden, verdant meadow

'aurat

wife

taaGuut

the devil, satan

man-bhaavan

grateful or agreeable to the mind or soul, pleasing, amusing, diverting, acceptable, agreeable

daadraa

a staccato musical mode with quick tempo, kind of song to a quick air

mazduur

a hired labourer, worker

KHair-andesh

thinking well, well wisher

duudh-shariik bahan

foster sister

risaa.ii

related to grief and death, elegiac

zarf

vessel, vase, receptacle

tihaa.ii

one third, one-third part

laa'nat

curse, anathema, imprecation, reproach, reproof, rebuke

qahr Dhaanaa

to be wrathful, to rage

chale na jaa.e aa.ngan Te.Dhaa

a bad workman blames his tools

aage naath na piichhe pagaa

heirless, lone, lone wolf

saahir

magician, sorcerer, wizard, conjuror

ku.Dmaa.ii

the celebration of of an engagement, betrothal, engagement

nazar-bhar dekhnaa

to look carefully

KHvaaja-e-taash

slaves of the same master in relation to one another, slave colleagues

maiyaa

kindness, mercy

Home / Blog / Words at the hems of history

Words at the hems of history

by Azra Naqvi 19 September 2024 3 min Read

Words at the hems of history

An example of how words evolve over time is your familiar attire, 'Pishvaaz,'  پشواز which is now making waves in the world of fashion. If we trace the history of this word, we get a glimpse of the changing forms of language and culture. Pishvaaz is a flared, long garment commonly worn in Kathak dance and, by women during the Mughal era. These days, fashion designers are creating new outfits based on this very style. Over time, 'Pishvaaz' also came to be called 'Peshwas,' and nowadays, this type of outfit is also referred to as 'Anarkali.

The first recorded reference to this garment can be found in  آئینِ اکبری the Aain-e-Akbari, a noted record of the life and reign of Emperor Akbar
The word 'Pishvaaz' is an altered form of the Persian word 'Pesh Baaz.' 'Pesh' means ahead or in front, and 'Baaz' means open. The 'Qabaa-e-Pesh Baaz'  قبائے  پیش باز was a loose garment reaching down to the ankles, open at the front, commonly worn by dervishes, a dervishes are part of the Sufi ( Muslim mystic ) fraternity who renounces the material world  and depends on alms for sustenance  a member.

 In miniature paintings from the Mughal era, women are often depicted wearing the Pishvaaz. And how could it not find mention in Urdu poetry?

tirii baadle kii ye o.Dhnii are barq kau.nde nazar me.n tab
kare ye ghaTaa jo muqaabla kisii peshvaaz ke gher se

Insha Allah Khan Insha 

That veil of your badla—oh, like a flash of lightning in sight,
Let this dark cloud compete with the flare of a Pishvaaz
Badla is a type of embroidery where small flowers are made on fabric using shiny metal threads. It is also known as Kamdaani

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