Firaq Gorakhpuri (1896-1982) was one of the most eminent Urdu poets of the twentieth century. A poet of love and beauty, and a lyricist par excellence, he has left his imprint on the three important genres of Urdu poetry, ghazal, nazm and rubai. Firaq was a prolific writer who produced a rich crop of poetry, comprising more than 40,000 couplets. This book contains a comprehensive sampling of his representative poetry, along with its English translation and transliteration in Romanised script. In all, the book contains 60 ghazals, 7 nazms, 23 rubais, and a sprinkling of couplets and qitas. The poems have been carefully selected, keeping in view the quality of their content and style, and their easy accessibility to the average reader. To reflect the spirit and style of the original, the author has attempted rhymed verse in his translations which are couched in simple, lucid and rhythmical language. Each poem is first given in Urdu calligraphics. This is followed on the opposite page by its English translation, which, in turn, is succeeded by the Romanised version.
The anthology contains a detailed "Introduction" discussing the salient features of the poet's art and thought. The second chapter, "The Bright and Dark of My Life," gives English translations of the poet's autobiographical note in Urdu. The book also enumerates the important events in the poet's life, his publications, and gives a resumé of some critical comments on his poetry, making it a valuable addition to the wealth of translated Indian literature.
K. C. Kanda has had long experience as a teacher of English in Punjab and Delhi Universities. Не holds a first class first M.A. in Urdu and a Doctorate in English from Delhi University, Master's degrees in English from Punjab and Nottingham Universities. While English poetry has been his forte professionally, Urdu poetry has been his love since his school days. He has produced seven anthologies of selected Urdu poetry rendered into versified English: Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal; Masterpieces of Urdu Rubaiyat; Urdu Ghazals an Anthology; Masterpieces of Urdu Nazm; Mir Taqi Mir Selected Poetry; Masterpieces of Modern Urdu Poetry, and this, his latest; Firaq Gorakhpuri-Selected Poetry. All these books have been published by Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
In addition, Dr Kanda is the author of several books in the sphere of English poetry: An Anthology of English Poetry; The Two Worlds of Tennyson; Tennyson's in Memorium, and Robert Browning's Selected Dramatic Monologues.
Dr Kanda was given the Delhi Urdu Akademi Special Award in 1997 for "excellence in translation.", and he is currently working on Master-Couplets of Urdu Poetry (arranged subject-wise).
The suggestion to write this book came initially from Professor Gopi Chand Narang who wanted me to prepare a selection of Firaq's poetry with its English translation as a token celebration of the poet's birth centenary. But because of my preoccupation with my previous book, Masterpieces of Modern Urdu Poetry, then in its final stage of publication, the project got considerably delayed, so much so that a reviewer in the course of his write-up on Firaq in The Hindustan Times (Nov. 12, 1997) had to remind me of the unfinished task: "Sahitya Akademi reportedly commissioned an English translation of a selection of Firaq's poetry by Prof. K.C. Kanda who has five similar books to his credit. Thirteen days after fifty years of Indian independence, Firaq's centenary year ended. Where is the book?" This book may thus be regarded my belated tribute to the genius of Firaq, who has enriched every branch of Urdu poetry with his authentic and insightful creations, and whose poetry has been described as "the voice of the century," the twentieth century, over which he had shone as a bright star of the literary firmament.
The book contains a comprehensive sampling of Firaq's repre- sentative poetry in the three genres of ghazal, nazm, and rubai. In all, it contains 60 ghazals, 7 nazms, 23 rubais, and a few selected couplets and qitas. The poems have been carefully selected keeping in view their aesthetic quality, and their value as representative specimens of the poet's art and mind. While translating these poems my attempt has been to preserve the sense and spirit of the original, though it may involve an occasional departure from the literal accuracy of the text. As an important source of the pleasure of Urdu poetry lies in the music of its rhymes, I have attempted rhymed verse in my translations, though I do not hesitate to use assonance in place of rhyme when a suitable rhymed word eludes my grasp.
The book opens with an Introduction which underscores the distinctive features of Firaq's poetry, and discusses, with suitable illustrations, his characteristic manner and favourite themes. The second chapter of the book is an English translation of Firaq's autobiographical note: Meri Zindagi ki Dhoop Chhaaon. Besides this, the book includes a list of important events in the life of Firaq, and a facsimile of the poet's hand-written page. It also contains a brief collection of the critical comments made on his poetry by some of his famous contemporaries.
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