Prominent Urdu Critic and Eminent Writer Shamsur Rehman Faruqi Passes away
By Dr A. Khan
Chicago, IL
Prominent Urdu critic and eminent writer Shamsur Rehman Faruqi aka “Shams (Sun) of Urdu” passed away on December 25, 2020, in Allahabad, India, due to Covid-19 complications.
Shamsur Rehman Faruqi was born on September 30, 1935 in Azamgarh, UP, British India. He received his Master of Arts (MA, English) degree from Allahabad University. He started his professional career working as a civil servant in the Indian Postal Service (1960-1968), where he later got promoted to Chief Postmaster-General and Member, Postal Services Board, New Delhi (until 1994). In addition to his professional responsibilities, he dedicated his energies for the propagation and promotion of Urdu language, which faced many challenges after the partition of British India in 1947. He served as the Vice-Chairman of the National Council for the Promotion of Urdu, an autonomous body under the Government of India. He was very critical of the politics of language and the role of various quarters in promoting the notion of equating “Hindu” equals “Hindi” equals “Hindustani.”
He is credited for reviving the art of Dastaangoi (oral tradition of storytelling) and applying Western literary criticism principles and formats for evaluating Urdu literature. He founded an influential Urdu journal Shabkhoon devoted to modern literature, culture and politics and served as its editor (1966-2005). He was a prolific writer and authored a plethora of books which includedSher, Ghair Sher, Aur Nasr (1973) English translation published as The Secret Mirror (1981), Ghalib Afsaney Ki Himayat Mein (1989), Sher Shore Angez (in three volumes, 1991-93), Mir Taqi Mir 1722-1810 (collected works with commentary and explanation), Urdu Ka Ibtedai Zamana (2001), Ganj-i-Sokhta (poetry), and Sawar Aur Doosray Afsanay (fiction). He received numerous awards, including the prestigious Saraswati Samman award (1996) from the Birla Foundation for his four-volume selection and interpretation of the lyrical work of Mir Taqi Mir (1722-1810).
In response to a question asked regarding his intellectual growth and influences, he once observed: "You ask a very good question. It set me thinking about my personality development. I came to the conclusion that Faruqi until age 35 was created by many Western poets and novelists and dramatists, particularly Shakespeare and Hardy, and Western theorists of literature, and Ghalib. Faruqi after 35 and until age 40, was created and nurtured by a sustained interlocution with Ghalib, closely followed by Iqbal and Western writers. Faruqi after age 40 was generated almost entirely by Mir, closely followed by Iqbal, the Sabk-e Hindi Farsi poets, many 18th c. Urdu poets, and Ghalib. Now Faruqi is nearly 75 and doesn't want to go anywhere else."
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi lived in Allahabad, the city of his wife Jamila’s legacy. The couple had two daughters, the elder one teaches Urdu and Indian-Muslim culture at the University of Virginia, and the younger one teaches English at Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi.
A detailed description of Shamsur Rehman Faruqi’s work is available at the following Columbia University weblink:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/index.html
Dr Zafar Iqbalfrom Washington adds : An accomplished Urdu poet, critic, and theorist, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi breathed his last at his residence in Allahabad on Friday morning.
An expert in classical prosody and ‘ilm-e bayan (the science of poetic discourse), he has contributed to modern literary discourse rarely seen in contemporary Urdu critics. His most recent books, The Mirror of Beauty (translated into English from the Urdu Kai Chaand The Sar-e-Aasmaan in 2006), and The Sun That Rose From The Earth (Penguin India, 2014), have been highly critically acclaimed.
He started working in the Indian postal service in 1960 until 1994 when he retired as a chief postmaster-general and member of the Postal Services Board, New Delhi. He started and remained editor of the well-recognized literary magazine Shab Khoon for four decades. Besides, to expand and sustain the relevance of Urdu literature, he also helped revive the lost art of oral storytelling — dastan goi.
He was awarded the Saraswati Samman, an Indian literary award, in 1996. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of Padma Shri in 2009.
Some of his books are Sher, Ghair Sher, Aur Nasr, (1973); The Secret Mirror, (in English, 1981); Ghalib Afsaney Ki Himayat Mein, (1989); Sher-e Shor Angez (in 3 volumes, 1991–93); Mir Taqi Mir 1722-1810 (Collected works with commentary and explanation); Urdu Ka Ibtedai Zamana (2001); Ganj-i-Sokhta (poetry); Sawar Aur Doosray Afsanay (2001); Kai Chand Thay Sar-e-Asmaan (2006).
His latest interview was online at Jashn-e-Urdu ke khaas mehmaan Shamsur Rehman Faruqi about 4 months ago. It can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sjktw7Xsk
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