Firaq Gorakhpuri - A Tribute

                  Shri Raghupati Sahai aka Firaq Gorakhpuri 

                       (28 August 1896 - 03 March 1982)

                                         Ek muddat say teri yaad bhi aayi na hamen 
                                     Aur ham bhool gaye hon tujhay aesa bhi nahin    

Today (3rd March) is the death anniversary of renowned and highly respected Urdu poet Shri Raghupati Sahai - alias Firaq Gorakhpuri.

Firaq Gorakhpuri was Yug-Nirmaata poet and critic. He is considered one of the greatest and most prominent Urdu poets of the century who paved the way for a new modern Urdu Ghazal.
He offered a new perspective and direction to Urdu poetry - the spirit of the new age, worldliness, and culture - and paved the way for a healthy ideological aspect of poetry. He showed Urdu Ghazal new horizons of thought and word - meaning and expression.
The Government of India honored him with the highest literary award - the Bharatiya Gyanpeeth Award.
He was born on 28th August 1896 in Gorakhpur.

Raghupati Sahay - aka Firaq Gorakhpuri, was a great poet and scholar - who was loved, respected, and highly honored during his lifetime - but unfortunately, his personal life was sad- tragic, and miserable.

At the age of 18- he was married to Kishori Devi, who proved to be an abscess - a thorn in Firaq's life.

When he was 20 years old, his father died. 

It was a great tragedy for Firaq. The responsibility of bringing up and educating younger siblings fell on Firaq. 

The burden of domestic responsibilities after his father's death - doubled with an unmatched marriage broke Firaq - and he had to leave his studies. 

In the same era, he got involved in the independence movement - was arrested in 1920 for political activities and spent 18 months in jail.

In 1930, he did his MA in English Literature from Agra University. Passed the examination with distinction and was appointed lecturer at Allahabad University without any application or interview. But Firaq worked there on his own terms. He was a man of his own will. Didn't go to class for months. And whenever he went to class, he would start chatting about Hindi and Urdu poetry or any other subject apart from the syllabus. He loved Wordsworth's work and could talk about it for hours.
Some of his lifestyles were not seen well in society, but neither did he hide them, nor was he ashamed. His close relatives deserted him, especially the younger brother Yadupati Sahai, whom he loved dearly and brought up like a son – much to Firaq's grief.

Outside the house, Firaq was very respectable - highly respected, and honored - but inside the house, he was very helpless and powerless. No one in his house appreciated or listened to him - or found him worthy of anything.

He was like a walking statue of sorrow and helplessness covered with the veil of delight and happiness.
His only son committed suicide at the age of seventeen-eighteen. 

His wife, Kishori Devi, also left him. 

In times of loneliness, wine, and poetry were his only companions and pain relievers.
Apart from his poetry, the outside world saw only his wittiness, humor-sarcasm, knowledge, discretion, and understanding.  

Firaq took his inner man with him when he left the world.

In the Urdu poetry world - Firaq was a unique voice of the 20th century.
Apart from touching the heart, his poems also compel one to think - and this feature makes him different and superior to other poets.
The credit goes to Firaq for making physical relationships a part of the Ghazal by making sexuality part of feeling, understanding - contemplation, and philosophy. 

How the body becomes the universe, how love turns into immortal love - and how it paves the way for life and the relationship with the universe. All these were part of Firaq's thoughts and poetry. His concept of the union is not the union of two bodies but of two minds and souls. 

He used to say that Urdu literature has not yet given birth to the imagination of a woman. 

The Arab characters (such as  Laila-Majnu) are always there in Urdu literature and poetry - but Shakuntala, Savitri, Ansuyaa, and Sita are nowhere to be found. 

Devis - the female gods are an integral and indispensable part of Indian culture and psyche.

Unless Urdu literature adopts Deviyat - female godliness, it will not become an element of India - and the Urdu language will not be able to translate Hindustan culturally. 

Firaq understood the greatness and importance of cultural values and gave them poetic form. 

He gave a new direction to Urdu. Mostly, his words are of everyday speech - soft and sweet. 

Josh Malihabadi (a well-known & respected poet) said about Firaq -
I have known Firaq for ages and admire his Akhlaq (intellect). When his tongue opens on the problems of Ilm-o-Adab (Literature), millions of pearls of words roll with such opulence that spell-bounds the listeners.
If anyone does not admit that he is the Tikka - a mark of reverence on the forehead of the audiences, the pride of the Urdu language, and Maathay ka Sindoor - the vermilion of poetry's forehead - then I swear to God - he is a .........

On March 3, 1982, Firaq died of heart failure and was cremated with state honors.

He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961.
In 1968, he was given the Soviet Land Nehru Award.
The Government of India honored him with the title of Padma Bhushan.
In 1970, he was made a Fellow of the Sahitya Akademi and for "Gul-e-Nagma" he was awarded the Gyan Peeth Award, which is considered the Nobel Prize of Adab (Literature) in India. He was also given the Ghalib Award in 1981.

Note - Most of the above information is taken with thanks from Rekhta's website