ASAD - 57

Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995

Have you ever faced the problem of writing a letter long due to someone back home ? :-) We all do ! Generally we get stuck even before we begin. The letter should have been written a long time back, and an apology will sound too formal. What do you start with? Well, perhaps you can start with the following Sher by Firaq.

ek muddat se teri yaad bhi aai na hame
aur ham bhool gaye ho tujhe, aisa bhi nahiN
- Firaq Gorakhpuri

And hopefully, he/she understands and appreciates !

Raghupati Sahai, the person, is as much famous as Firaq Gorakhpuri, the poet. He was born in 1896 at Gorkhpur in UP. His father, a lawyer, was a poet himself. Firaq, was always known as an intelligent student. After his B.A., he was appointed as Deputy Collector. But his career in Govt. service was short, as he chose to get involved in political and patriotic work. He was imprisoned for one year thereafter. For a long time, when Pt. Nehru was the General Secretary of Indian National Congress, Firaq was Under-Secretary. He then had a long career with Allahabad University as a professor of English.

He married at 18, but unfortunately, it was not a happy marriage and he made no secret of it. His frank, outspoken and short-tempered personality made him a feared, respected and influential 'buzurg'.

He has written a large number of Ghazals, Nazms, Kavita, Rubaai etc. His critiques in prose is also well-known. In view of these services by him, he has been awarded the 2 most prestigious awards - the Sahitya Academy Award (1960) and the Jnanpith Award (1969). He died in 1982.

- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !