It originated from the war camps and was thus known as language of the camps, however, the sweetness, the depth and the elegance of the language makes it the favourite of poets. And the poetry reached far and wide – from the courts of the kings to the diaries of the lovelorn youths. Despite the fact that Urdu literature did not confine itself to connoisseurs, it did maintain its elegance, feels Literature Padmashree, Mujtaba Hussain. He was in the city for the release of the book, Urdu Adab Ke Teen Bhai authored by Rafiq Zafar. The book is a biography of three brothers and Urdu stalwarts — Mehboob Hussain Jigar, Ibrahim Jalees and Padmashree Mujtaba Hussain.

Mujtaba Hussain is the sole survivor of the famed trio and is a household name in the Urdu-loving families all over the world. Beginning his professional journey as a journalist, Hussain worked as one for 35 years. Humour was the favourite subject of the otherwise serious editor and travel made the other favourite. He has devoted much time in studying and writing about renowned names like M F Hussain and Khushwant Singh.

Talking about the popularity, the language has achieved over the period of time, Hussain says, "Urdu has achieved a good popularity. Mir Galib, Akbar, Illahibadi and poets of recent times have used Urdu language that is a mixture of Arabic and Sanskrit."

When asked about his source of inspiration, he says, "I read works of Rashid Ahmed Siddique, Mushtaq Ahmed Yuzuki, Kanhayya Lal Kapur, Krishna Chandra, Ibn Insha and many others. Their writing is very deep and forces you to enjoy and at the same time think."

Commenting about the changes in the language he says, ""Till the mid of 20th century Urdu was the language spoken. With the language getting more and more casual, Urdu is also suffering. Earlier, this language was used mainly in Punjab, Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh but now it is limited to ghazals and poetries in India."