Bait Bazi is a verbal game and a genre of Urdu poetry played by composing verses of Urdu poems. The game is common among Urdu speakers in Pakistan and India. Like other languages, the history of Urdu poetry does not have a firm starting point and shares origins and influences with other linguistic traditions within the Urdu-Hindi-Hindustani mix. ... The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, and Arabic influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ...

Rules

The game starts with the first person reciting a stanza of a poem. For example:

ab key baras phir wo aiay ga

ab key baras phir milain giay ham

The next player has to reply with another verse starting with the last alphabet of the verse used by the previous player. In this case it was m.

Meri shaeri sey shaaed kuch tum bhi seekh jaao

ye mohabbatoN ke qissey heiN jaa'ezey wafaa key

Now, the next player has to reply with a verse starting with y.

yea waqat key tamashay bee hain ajab tamashay

jo kal tak apnay thay aaj wo paraiay hian

The next player has to reply with a verse starting with n, and so on.

A verse that has already been used in a game may not be repeated. The rules used by experienced players can be more stringent, such as allowing the use of only one poet's verses or of one theme.

History

The Urdu language has a very rich poetic tradition, and the game is very popular among women and poetry enthusiasts particularly in Pakistan. Schools and colleges regularly organize Bait Bazi competitions. Bait Bazi competitions are also held using radio, televison and now the Internet.

External link

• A game of Bait Bazi on an internet forum