Shahryar presented Jnanpith award for 2008
Noted Urdu poet and academic Akhlaq Mohammad Khan Shahryar has been presented the 44th Jnanpith Award for 2008.
The highest literary honour in the country was conferred on the celebrated Urdu poet by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan at a function organised by the Bharatiya Jnanpith in the national capital on Sunday.
“Like Rahi Massom Raza, Shaheryar also believed in breaking the imaginary wall between Hindi and Urdu. He is a real mascot of Hindi-Urdu culture,” Bachchan said while presenting the award.
Accepting the award, Shaheryar said he was feeling great that from now on his name will be taken with eminent writers like Mahasweta Devi and Firak, who also got the Jnanpith award.
“We are fortunate to live in a world where people can imagine other’s pain and sadness, and feel the same emotions. In this way, one person gets entwined in a relationship with the other person, and the manner in which litterateurs reflect this through is known to all,” Shahryar said.
“The purpose of artists is to make the world beautiful and accomplished, and I too belong to this category. I pray that till I am alive I can do this job with integrity and effort,” he added.
Born on June 19, 1936, in the Anwala tehsil of Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh, Shahryar obtained his PhD degree in Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He taught at the Urdu department of AMU and then retired as professor and head of department in 1996 after making a memorable contribution to Urdu literature as a teacher, critic and creative writer, according to the award citation.
Shahryar has also given memorable gift to the film industry in the form of his songs in “Fasle”, “Anjuman”, “Gaman” and “Umrao Jaan”.
His major published works in Urdu, Hindi and English include “Satwan Dar”, “Hijr Ke Mausam”, “Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai”, “Mere Hisse ki Zamin”, “Kahin Kuchh Kam Hai”, “The Gateway to Dreams is Closed” and “Selected Poetry of Shahryar”.
