Insha Allah Khan Insha

سید انشاء اللہ خان انشاؔ

Insha Allah Khan Insha in the original Urdu with a facing English translation. The first two chapters of each work are free with ads; Members and Patrons can read the full work without ads. Works can also be read in Roman Urdu and Hindi script.

Life1752–1817

Insha Allah Khan Insha was born in Murshidabad, son of a court physician, and made his name in Delhi and then at the court of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan in Lucknow, where his wit made him a favourite until he fell from grace.

A virtuoso in every form, he wrote ghazals, satire and playful verse, Darya-e-Latafat, the first grammar of Urdu written in the language itself, and Rani Ketki ki Kahani, a tale composed without a single Arabic or Persian word.

Works by Insha Allah Khan Insha

Dastan · c. 1803

First two chapters free

Rani Ketki ki Kahani (The Story of Rani Ketki)

رانی کیتکی کی کہانی

Insha Allah Khan Insha

Around 1803 the Lucknow wit Insha Allah Khan Insha (1756–1817) set himself a famous challenge: to tell a whole story in the plain speech of Hindustan without one Persian or Arabic word. The result is this short, playful romance, claimed by both Urdu and Hindi literary history and set in classical prose courses on both sides of the border. Prince Ude Bhan falls in love with Princess Ketki in a mango grove; her father refuses the match; a yogi turns the prince and his parents into deer; Ketki puts on the yogi's magic ash, becomes invisible and goes looking for him in the forests; and the god Indra restores them for one of the most extravagant weddings in the language. Complete Urdu text from the Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu edition (Aurangabad, 1933, ed. Maulvi Abdul Haq; editor's matter omitted), with a facing English translation, introduction, note on the text and glossary. Cite as: Insha, Rani Ketki ki Kahani, tr. urduintranslation.com (2026). The first chapter is free to read.

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