Farewell Shamsur Rahman Faruqi: The Sun That Set in the Earth Â
Faruqi (1935-2020) was simultaneously a high-quality writer, competent critic, respected poet, high-ranking short-story writer, authentic researcher, and expert of prosody and grammar.
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. Photo: Twitter/@MayaramArvind
Yoon in gharon mein pehle bhi lagti rahi hai aag
(This time around the smoke carries the bloodâs red colour
These homes before too have been burnt by fire)
â Shamsur Rahman Faruqi  Â
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (1935-2020), the famous critic and researcher of Urdu literature, passed away on December 25 at the age of 85 in Allahabad. Not Prayagraj but the historic city made famous by Allahabadi
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (1935-2020): Why this death leaves a permanent patch of darkness in literature
The scholar, poet, novelist and translator, who wrote in Urdu and English, died on December 25, 2020 at the age of 85. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. | Tausiff / CC BY-SA 3.0
This annus horribilis is not over yet, and it has now taken away from us the greatest doyen and scholar of Urdu literature the world knew over the recent decades, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. He died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family and his favourite dogs, having recovered earlier this month from Covid-19.
I had the honour and pleasure to visit him in his study in January this year, which isn’t anything less than a library. It is hard to imagine all those books siting there without their avid reader. Ghalib’s often quoted verse “aisā kahan se laun ki tujh saa kahen jise” – “where do I find another who may be like you?” – doesn’t seem to hold truer than in this momen