Shamsur Rahman Faruqi

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (30 September 1935 – 25 December 2020) was an Indian Urdu language poet, author, critic, and theorist. He is known for ushering modernism to Urdu literature. He formulated fresh models of literary appreciation that combined Western principles of literary criticism and subsequently applied them to Urdu literature after adapting them to address literary aesthetics native to Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. Some of his notable works included Sher-e-Shor Angez, Ka’i Chand The Sar-e Asman (2006), The Mirror of Beauty (2013), and The Sun that Rose from the Earth (2014). He was also the editor and publisher of the Urdu literary magazine Shabkhoon.

Faruqi received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor in 2009. He was also a recipient of the Saraswati Samman, an Indian literary award, for his work Sher-e-Shor Angez in 1996, and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986 for Tanqidi Afkar.

Early life and education Faruqi was born on 30 September 1935 in Pratapgarh, in present day Uttar Pradesh and was raised in Azamgarh and Gorakhpur. He studied at Wellesley High School in Azamgarh and graduated from the Government Jubilee High School in Gorakhpur in 1949. He finished his intermediate education in 1951 from Mian Sahib Islamia Inter College, Bakhshipur in Gorakhpur. He was additionally employed by the Indian Postal Service until his retirement as a Postmaster General and a member of the Postal Services Board in 1994. Some of his notable works included Tafheem-e-Ghalib, a commentary on Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib, Sher-e-Shor Angez, a four-volume study of the 18th-century poet Mir Taqi Mir and Kai Chand Thay Sar-e-Asmaan.

Faruqi is noted for ushering in modernism into Urdu literature through his works. Through his works, he wrote about the Indian-Muslim way of life through the 18th and 19th centuries. The book was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.

Dastaangoi In addition to his contributions to Urdu literature, Faruqi is credited with the revival of the Dastangoi, a 16th-century Urdu oral storytelling art form. Starting in 2004, Farooqui and his Dastangoi group performed in India, Pakistan, and the United States.

Translations In 2011, Faruqi translated four urdu-language books from Ibn-e-Safi's Jasoosi Dunya series into English, which were published by Blaft Publications.

Awards He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986 for his book Tanqidi Afkar, which focuses on modern theories of poetry appreciation.

Personal life Faruqi met his future wife, Jamila Hashmi when she was a student in Allahabad pursuing her master's degree in English literature. She later set up and ran two girls' schools focused on the economically marginalized. The couple had two daughters. Jamila died in 2007 of complications from hip replacement surgery. Reflecting on the role played by his wife in advancing his career, Faruqi acknowledged that without her influence he would not have been able to invest his efforts in his magazine and stated that in consequence, "my struggle to become a writer of my kind would never have ended." It was announced that he would be buried in the Ashok Nagar cemetery in Allahabad. Tanqidi Afqar (1982) The Mirror of Beauty (2013) The Sun that Rose from the Earth (2014) Ajab Sehar Bayan Tha (2018) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Hamarey Liye Manto Sahab (2013) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Khurshid ka Saman e Safar (2016) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Tanqidi Mamlat (2018) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Majlis e Afaq main Parwana Saan (Collection of Poetry- 2018) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Sorat o Ma'ani e Sukhan (2010, 2021) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Sahiri Shahi Sahib e Qarani —Dastan Ameer Hamza ka Mutalea - Dastan Dunya -2, Vol. 5 (2020) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi Afsaney ki Nai Himayat Main (2021) Published by M R Publications, New Delhi