Triveni is a form of Hindi/Urdu poetry initiated by the poet Gulzar

Gulzar (lyricist)

Sampooran Singh Kalra , known popularly by his pen name Gulzar , is an Indian poet, lyricist and director. He primarily writes in Hindi-Urdu and has also written in Punjabi and several dialects of Hindi such as Braj Bhasha, Khariboli, Haryanvi and Marwari.Gulzar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in...

. Unlike sher

Sher

Sher can have a variety of meanings:* Sher , the common word for couplet in Persian and Urdu* Sher , a form of dance in Eastern European folk music, notably Russian and Klezmer music*Sher , Ahmedabad district...

, a triveni consists of three "hemistich

Hemistich

A hemistich is a half-line of verse, followed and preceded by a caesura, that makes up a single overall prosodic or verse unit. In Classical poetry, the hemistich is generally confined to drama. In Greek tragedy, characters exchanging clipped dialogue to suggest rapidity and drama would speak in...

s" (misras). The first two are complete in themselves but the addition of the third misra gives a new dimension.

Roopa - Harper Collins has published his poetry book Triveni. Sony Music has just released an album Koi Baat Chale which has a few of Gulzar's triveni sung by Jagjit Singh.

Example

A beautiful example of Gulzar's Triveni:

ज़ुल्फ़ में यूँ चमक रही है बूँद

जैसे बेरी में तनहा एक जुगनू

क्या बुरा है जो छत टपकती है

Transliteration

Zulf mein yun chamak rahi hai boond,

Jaise beree mein tanhaa ik jugnoo

kyaa buraa hai jo chhat tapaktee hai !!

Translation

The (water) glitters so in (your) hair

As a lone firefly in (a) bush

What's so bad if the roof drips

The addition of the third line implies that the water drop in the hair is due to a dripping roof and since it creates a visage of such beauty, the poet is unperturbed by it.