# Urdu, Hindi: rachnaa रचना رچنا



## marrish

Could we please have an exchange of views on the verb *rachnaa* रचना رچنا and its transitive form, *rachaanaa*, which is common to Hindi and Urdu? In Urdu, my idea is that it is less used than in Hindi and by and large the number of expressions and idioms wherein this verb is involved possibly exceedes greatly the Urdu usage. Having the present Urdu usage under consideration, the only meaning that comes to mind at this moment, is for composing some text, stringing together. 

I'll be most obliged for any advice on possible Hindi expressions where I could use this verb.

I've come frequently across an expression _rachnaa rachnaa, _where the first word is a feminine noun and the second a verb. 

On this ocassion, let me share with all of you an example of an unforgettable rendition by Mohammad Rafii, the most artistic dance by Hema Malini and what is most important, an astonishing piece of Hindi poetry. I hope anyone who can shall appreciate it. Just type the following on YT: Rafi - Nav Kalpana Nav Roop Se - Mrig Trishna [1975]. 

First verse is: नव कल्पना नव रूप से, रचना रची जब नार की _nav kalpanaa nav ruup se, rachnaa rachii jab naar kii_.


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## Faylasoof

marrish said:


> Could we please have an exchange of views on the verb *rachnaa* रचना رچنا and its transitive form, *rachaanaa*, which is common to Hindi and Urdu? In Urdu, my idea is that it is less used than in Hindi and by and large the number of expressions and idioms wherein this verb is involved possibly exceedes greatly the Urdu usage. Having the present Urdu usage under consideration, the only meaning that comes to mind at this moment, is for composing some text, stringing together.
> 
> I'll be most obliged for any advice on possible Hindi expressions where I could use this verb.
> 
> I've come frequently across an expression _rachnaa rachnaa, _where the first word is a feminine noun and the second a verb.
> 
> On this ocassion, let me share with all of you an example of an unforgettable rendition by Mohammad Rafii, the most artistic dance by Hema Malini and what is most important, an astonishing piece of Hindi poetry. I hope anyone who can shall appreciate it. Just type the following on YT: Rafi - Nav Kalpana Nav Roop Se - Mrig Trishna [1975].
> 
> First verse is: नव कल्पना नव रूप से, रचना रची जब नार की _nav kalpanaa nav ruup se, rachnaa rachii jab naar kii_.


 marrish SaaHb, in our Urdu both *rachnaa* रचना رچنا and  *rachaanaa* are alive and well. We use them all the time! 
Yes, _*rachnaa*_ is also a female proper noun!


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## Qureshpor

One meaning of rachnaa, in Hindi as a feminine noun, is literary "composition", "creation" etc

Urdu/Hindi: rachnaa (verb)

vuh 3itr-daan saa lahjah mire buzurgoN kaa
*rachii-basii* hu'ii Urdu zabaaN kii xush-buu

Bashir Badr

Urdu/Hindi: rachaanaa (verb)

Akbar ne *rachaa'ii *merii be-rang hathelii
Urdu hai meraa naam maiN Khusrau kii pahelii

Iqbal Ash'ar

saarii sakhiyaaN puuchh rahii haiN aaj "hamaarii Raadhaa! se
tere man ke Brinda-ban meN kis ne raas *rachaa'ii* hai

Raj Kumar "Qais"

Urdu/Hindi: rachnaa (Noun)

fann-i-naqd-i-shi3r-o-suxan meN ab unheN istisnaa nahiiN jinheN
nah samajh zabaaN ke loch kii nah Gharaz hai shi3rii *rachaa'o* se

Murtaza Barlaas


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## greatbear

It is not very clear to me, marrish, what exactly is your question; if you could rephrase it in more concrete terms, it will be more helpful. "rachnaa" as noun means composition (particularly, poetry) or creation; as verb, of course, it means to compose, to create. The person doing the creation, the creator, is "rachetaa".


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## marrish

greatbear said:


> It is not very clear to me, marrish, what exactly is your question; if you could rephrase it in more concrete terms, it will be more helpful.


I'm interested to know what are typical applications of the verb, with what kind of nouns; in other words: what can be ''rachaa'', with any examples of its usage, if possible. Platts assigns several different meanings to this verb and I'd like to know which of them are prevalent in the current practice in Hindi. Thank you for ''rachetaa'', it's a new word for me.


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## greatbear

My pleasure!

If you could Platts, I could give my opinion on the prevalent meanings of the verb in Hindi. To answer your other query, one could "rach" [compose] a paNktii (line) to a "kavitaa"/"kaavy" (poem); one could also "rach" some "sundar sangiit" (beautiful music); and one could "rach" [create] a world: whether it be that of figurines or that of real animated beings. The word is rarely used in terms other than praise: for example, one would rather use it when one is saying "unhoN ne bohat sundar sangiit kii rachnaa kii hai" rather than "... kharaab sangiit kii hai"; also the word is used when the thing created or composed has to involve quite a bit of creativity - at least, the user of the word implies so or thinks so, whether that be the truth or not.


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## tonyspeed

and of course, the sirjanhar / sRijanhar also is a rachaanewaalaa, which is a bit more fancy than simply being a banaanewaalaa.


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## greatbear

tonyspeed said:


> and of course, the sirjanhar / sRijanhar also is a rachaanewaalaa, which is a bit more fancy than simply being a banaanewaalaa.



I think you mean _s*a*rjanhaar(aa)_ [more correctly, _srjanhaar(aa)_ - from _srjan_, creation]. But the _sarjanhaar_ would be a _rachnewaalaa_, not a _rachaanewaalaa_. Any _banaanewaalaa_ is a _rachnewaalaa_.


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## panjabigator

And is there also that word रचनावली?


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## tonyspeed

greatbear said:


> I think you mean _s*a*rjanhaar(aa)_ [more correctly, _srjanhaar(aa)_ - from _srjan_, creation]. But the _sarjanhaar_ would be a _rachnewaalaa_, not a _rachaanewaalaa_. Any _banaanewaalaa_ is a _rachnewaalaa_.



No, I mean what I said. सिरजनहार. This is a valid representation of this word. And not MORE correctly, srjanhaar, *sRijanhaar*. If one wants to be more correct, one would write सृजनहार. The correctness of insufficient Roman transliterations cannot be argued as there is no standard.

Platts himself wrote  سرجن सृजन sr̤ijan. Until someone has compiled a dictionary of Hindi word origins. then he probably would not want to argue with that.


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## tonyspeed

greatbear said:


> But the _sarjanhaar_ would be a _rachnewaalaa_, not a _rachaanewaalaa_.



This is an interesting idea. I originally had rachnewaalaa and "corrected" it to what I had not intended. But logically speaking, a creator does not have to
do the making himself does he? If he does the designing and leaves the actual physical work of making to others is he still a rachnevaalaa?


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## greatbear

panjabigator said:


> And is there also that word रचनावली?



Of course; great recall! "valii" is a common suffix in Hindi, denoting a range, an enumeration, a collection of something: "naamaavalii", "shabdaavalii", "rachnaavalii", etc.


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## greatbear

tonyspeed said:


> The correctness of insufficient Roman transliterations cannot be argued as there is no standard.



Completely agree with you on this one. I only made the point because for me, with only the roman transliteration, it was difficult for me to understand for a couple of minutes what word you were talking about, as I do not speak the word as "srijan".



tonyspeed said:


> If he does the designing and leaves the actual physical work of making to others is he still a rachnevaalaa?



Well, then he would be technically a "rachaanevaalaa" or even a "rachvaanevaalaa"! But, overall, since he is still the origin of everything even then, he very much remains the "rachnevaalaa".


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## greatbear

greatbear said:


> Of course; great recall! "valii" is a common suffix in Hindi, denoting a range, an enumeration, a collection of something: "naamaavalii", "shabdaavalii", "rachnaavalii", etc.



And Deepavali! Happy Deepavali to everyone!


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## marrish

Just thought about adding a youtube comment on the song I tried to introduce as an example of literary Hindi in the OP since there's an exchange of words about the merit of providing literary examples of words and usages in this forum taking place at the moment. I tried my best to initiate it for Hindi. Here is the comment:



> This song is in pure Hindi, filled with Sanskrit-based diction. Moh'd Rafi pronounces each word with perfection and true to the spirit of the literary phraseology. Great singers always try to master the nuances of each language in which they are singing. It's always a delight to hear songs, whether in Urdu, Punjabi or Hindi, that enlist such richness of vocabulary. And Hema Malini always﻿ projects sensuality in her art. Wonderful upload. Thanks, Yuan.


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## greatbear

marrish said:


> Just thought about adding a youtube comment on the song I tried to introduce as an example of literary Hindi in the OP since there's an exchange of words about the merit of providing literary examples of words and usages in this forum taking place at the moment.



It seems that you and QP have deliberately hijacked words to suit your purpose. There has been no question about the merit of providing literary examples of words and usages! But there are people here who start a thread merely to expand their already-burgeoning list with more quotations, rather than having any kind of question - that is what is called into question.


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