mars̄iyeh

Mars\u0304iyeh is an Urdu literary genre that means "elegy." It specifically refers to elegies lamenting the suffering and martyrdom of the family and kinsmen of \u1e24usayn, the grandson of Mu\u1e25ammad, at the Battle of Karbal\u0101. These poems were traditionally recited at public gatherings, particularly during the month of Mu\u1e25arram.1

While early mars\u0304iyehs were written in various regions, Lucknow became a significant center for this genre, where they developed into epic poetry under the patronage of the \u0160i\u02bfite elite. The 19th-century masters M\u012br An\u012bs and M\u012brz\u0101 Dab\u012br established the musaddas (a six-line stanza) as the preferred form for mars\u0101yehs. These elegies often featured Arab characters speaking and acting like the elites of Lucknow, adding to their pathos.1