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1 Urdu couplets and shers with coolie

coolie(m): porter

Description of coolie: Coolie is an Urdu term, derived from the Tamil k?li meaning wages, denoting an unskilled manual laborer or porter hired for low pay, often of Indian or Chinese origin in colonial contexts. Unlike slaves, coolies entered contracts, though these were frequently exploitative and akin to indentured servitude. Differs from "Dougla," which describes people of mixed African-Indian descent, as coolie specifies full Asian heritage. In Urdu poetry, it evokes the toiling

1 / 1: coolie

bojh uThana shauq kahaan hai majboori ka sauda hai

rahte rahte station par

log coolie ho jaate hain

bearing burdens is hardly a passion

it is a barter of compulsion

staying at the station

people soon become porters

Munawwar Rana (3)

2014: Sahitya Akademi

shauq (m) (14)

passion, zeal

bojh (m) (2)

burden

majboori (f) (1)

helplessness, compulsion

sauda (m) (2)

business, barter, trade

coolie (m) (1)

porter

Theme: Life, Learning, & Living (127)

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Alfaaz Ki Mehfil is a curated space for timeless poetry celebrating words, emotions, and the enduring beauty of expression. From classic Urdu couplets to modern reflections, it brings together generations of poetic voices that speak of love, longing, hope, and the human soul.

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coolie(m): porter

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