Akhtaruliman (1915-96) can best be described as the poet of inquiry. His poetry, seemingly simple in its tenor, is deeply evocative and spontaneously effective in its import. The basic paradigm informing most of his poetry is that of philosophical humanism. Akhtaruliman has helped shape the contours of the modern Urdu nazm both in terms of its concerns as well as linguistic idiom. His style is consciously different from the classical semantic constructs of the ghazal form while remaining felicitous. He has been one of the trend-setting Urdu poets of the previous century.
Ghulam Rizvi 'Gardish' (b. 1938) is a Urdu writer and also translates from Urdu into English. He has eight published works to his credit, some of which are Izterab, (1963), Saheb Nazran, (1987). He has received U.P. Urdu Academy Award in 1981, 1983 and 1987.
Ever since I read Boswell, Strachey, Andre Maurois and Hesketh Pearson in 1959 at the age of 20, I have been obsessed with the idea of writing an interesting and informative biography. Being curious enough I went on meeting the eminent litterateurs of my time for the next 20 years but all of them disappointed me and just to wind up each rendezvous I had to remain content with a sketch. It was only during my weekly meetings with Akhtaruliman in November and December, 1979 at Band Stand Building, Bombay that I felt 'like some watcher of the skies when a new planet swims into his ken.' Under the spell of his charismatic personality 'Eureka, Eureka' was the voice of my conscience. I made up my mind to write his biography but never gave expression to my inner most feelings to him. However, strange are the ways of God to men as in 1980 I had to leave Bombay forever and settle down at Mau (U.P.). But the rapport with the poet had been established and the correspondence never stopped.
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