Sitemap

 Something Other: its not for you

Gulzar

• Sampooran Singh Kalra, known popularly by his pen name Gulzar, is an Indian poet, lyricist and film director. Born in Jhelum District in British India, his family moved to India after partition. He started his career as a lyricist in the 1963 film Bandini and worked with many music directors including R. D. Burman, Salil Choudhury, Vishal Bhardwaj and A. R. Rahman. He directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam and TV series during the 1970s and 1980s. Gulzar also wrote poetry, dialogues and scripts. He was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award — the highest award in Indian cinema. 

Salil Chowdhury

Salil Chowdhury was an Indian music composer, who mainly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He was also a poet and a playwright. He is affectionately called Salilda by his admirers. His musical ability was widely recognised and acknowledged in the Indian film industry. He was an accomplished composer and arranger who was proficient in several musical instruments, including flute, the piano, and the esraj. 

Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Akhtar is a mainstream writer and some of his most successful work was carried out with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed between 1971 to 1982.

Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo, born Aurobindo Ghose, was an Indian nationalist, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for independence from British rule, for a while became one of its influential leaders and then became a spiritual reformer, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution. Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King's College, Cambridge, England. After returning to India he took up various civil service works under the maharaja of the princely state of Baroda and began to involve himself in politics. He was imprisoned by the British for writing articles against British rule in India.

Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu, also known by the sobriquet as The Nightingale of India, was an Indian independence activist and poet. Naidu served as the first governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1947 to 1949; the first woman to become the governor of an Indian state.

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, also written Rabīndranātha Thākura, sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; however, his "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside Bengal.

Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal, widely known as Allama Iqbal, was an academic, poet, barrister, philosopher, scholar mystic and politician in British India, who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is considered as one of the most important figures in South Asian literature, with literary work in both the Urdu and Persian languages. His grandparents were Kashmiri Pandits, the Brahmins of the Sapru clan from Kashmir who converted to Islam. Iqbal often mentioned and commemorated about his Kashmiri Pandit Brahmin lineage in his writings

1. Ambarish Srivastava

He is indian architect and poet.

Awards:-

Indira gandhi priyadarshini award

Abhiyantran-Shree

Saraswati-Ratn

2. Ashok Chakradhar

He is a Hindi poet, writer and a media personality.

Awards:-

Padma Shri

3. Geet Chaturvedi

He is a hindi poet, short story author and novelist.

4. Gulzar

Sampooran Singh Kalra known popularly by his pen name Gulzar, is an Indian poet, lyricist and film director.

Awards:-

Padma Bhushan

Sahitya akademi award

Flmfare awards

5. Hemanth shesh

He is a celebrated Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant.

Awards:-

K. K. Birla foundation’s Bihari puruskar

Image source : GOOGLE

Peace!!!

I personally believe that Hindi Poets of Modern Era were basically mirrors of Indian Society. They depicted through creations, the scenarios of society. Be it Human Love, Patriotism, Nature, Religion and life in general. They nailed it all. Here are some of my personal favourites :

1. Mahadevi Verma for all the awareness regarding women empowerment despite facing all the troubles herself.
2. Harivansh Rai Bachchan for all the mature poetry and describing life in a beautiful manner.
3. Ramdhari Dinkar for portraying a different way to look at Mahabharata through poetry.
4. Jaishankar Prasad because he nailed it all from human love to patriotism in his poems.
5. Sumitranandan Pant for describing the flora and fauna in a beautiful manner.

6 Modern And Contemporary Hindi Poets To Read And Follow 

Contemporary Hindi poetry has been through evolution and contains various genres. Like every other literary form, modern as well as post-modern Hindi poetry world is full of gems. Here's a list of some renowned and brilliant contemporary Hindi poets whose poems bring in new-age spirit and enrich the sphere.

Kunwar Narayan

In the realm of Hindi poetry, Kunwar Narayan marks his presence as one of the leading Hindi poets of the 21st century. With a career spanning more than 60 years, he's essentially associated with the 'new poetry movement' in Hindi. Narayan was born in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh in 1927 and his literary influence has a wide spectrum, from mythology, great epics or Upanishads to Amir Khusro, Ghalib, Marxism, and Gandhi. Narayan was a resident of Lucknow and his house was a center of the literary meet as well as classical performances till his death in 2017. Apart from poems, his literary genius flourished through essays, short stories, translation works, literary criticism etc. During his early life, he translated poems of French symbolist poets, such as Valery, Mallarmé along with Cavafy and Borges. Amongst his poems, most famous ones are, 'Chakravyuh'(1956), 'Parivesh: Hum-Tum', 'Atmajayee' (short epic based poetry), 'Apne Sapne', 'Koi Dusra Nahi'(1993), 'In Dino'(2008). 'Atmajayee' is a epic poetry on Upanishad-character Nachiketa and is one of the classics of Hindi poetry expressing metaphysical concerns. 'Apne Sapne' has a content of political and social ironies. Narayan was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1995 for 'Koi Dusra Nehin' and overall contribution to Hindi literature. He was always conferred with the highest literature award of India, Jnanpith in 2005 as well as Italy's Premio Feronia award for being an esteemed global author (first Indian author to get that award). 

Ashok Vajpayi

A former civil servant and the Secretary Chairman of Lalit Kala Academy (2008-11), Ashok Vajpayi is one of modern Hindi poets and critics with 15 Hindi poetry books as well as numerous critical essays in both Hindi and English. His works have been translated into English, French and Polish languages apart from Indian languages. His famous book of poems, 'Kahin Nahin Wahin' won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award in 1994. Vajpayi received many accolades such as Dayavati Kabir Shekhar Samman(1994), Kabir Samman (2006) as well as 'The Officer's Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland' in 2005, 'Officier De L'ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres' by the French Government in 2004. His famous books of poems are, 'Kahin Nahin Wahin', 'Shaher Ab Bhi Sambhabhavana Hain', 'Tatpurush', 'Ummed Ka Dusra Nam' etc.

  

Gopaldas Neeraj

"Aye bhai zara dekh ke chalo, 

Age hi nahi, piche bhi, 

Daye hi nahi, baye bhi,

Upar hi nahi, niche bhi…"

An immortal song from Raj Kapoor's evergreen classic 'Mera Naam Joker' is the reflection of human life. Who wrote this song? Or who was the lyricist of the epic song 'Rangeela re'? It was Gopaldas Saxena Neeraj whose pen name was Niraj or Neeraj. Being a people's poet, Neeraj is immensely popular for his Hindi poems and songs that express human emotions in simple yet unique words. Neeraj's "Karvaan Gujar Gaya" attracted Dev Anand, the actor so much that he invited the poet to Mumbai in the early 60s. After that poet worked with eminent music director, S.D. Barman and later with Shankar-Jaikishan. The lucid language of his poems and songs appealed to the masses as well as the intellectuals. He received the award of Filmfare for best lyricist and Neeraj believed that his songs lived due to the poetry in each of them.

Mohan Rana  

Mohan Rana can be regarded as one of the leading Hindi authors of this time whose poems stand alone amongst the new-age poetry. Born in 1964 in Delhi, Rana's literary brilliance isn't restricted to a single category. But this refusal to get into a specific ideology doesn't mean his poems shy away from thinking. According to critic and reviewer, it unfurls the difference between the thinking in verse and thinking about poetry. Rana's bilingual Chapbook collection, including 15 poems, has been translated by Lucy Rosenstein and B. O'Donoghue and it has been termed under the World Literature Tour Recommendations by the Guardian. Rana's poetic imagery reciprocates simple and daily metaphors like birds, rains, shirts, stars and because of its vivid and accessible deep philosophy, it touches heart easily. As per the reviewers and translators, Mohan Rana offers an intricate bridge between the cultures. Some of his poem collections are, 'Jagah', 'Jaise Janam Koi Darwaja', 'Shesh Anek', 'Ret Ka Pul' etc. 

Kumar Vishwas

"Koi deewana kehta hai,

Koi pagal samajhta hai

Magar dharti ki bechaini ki

Bas badal samajhta hai…"

If we want to mention poets of this decade, Kumar Vishwas's name is a must-to-have as a popular celebrity poet whose political identity hasn't reduced his audience's enjoyment. His most popular couplet 'Koi Deewana Kehta Hai..' brought him the limelight and he became the heartthrob of the young generation in one night. Vishwas's romanticism along with wit and perseverance makes him a shining star in the world of current Hindi poets. He is basically a performance poet whose poetry flows like a river and touches the hearts of the audience effortlessly. 

Geet Chaturvedi

Chaturvedi is considered as an avant-garde and postmodern Hindi author who has been included in the list of Indian Express's ‘Ten Best Writers' of India. Born in Mumbai in 1977, he is one of the popular and widely read contemporary Hindi poets whose poems have been translated into 17 languages across the world. The translation of his novella 'Simsim', by Anita Gopalan, has won PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, 2006.

Chaturvedi's multi-layered narratives are expressed in his poems as well as in fictions who started as a courageous realistic political poet but later turned into a more meta-realist poetics after integration with philosophy, myth as well as political sensibility. He authored six books among which, 'Alaap mein girah', a collection of poems (2010), ‘Nyoonatam main' (2017) received positive reviews. Chaturvedi received the Bharat Bhushan Agarwal Award for his poem Mother India in 2007.  

Besides, Gulzar's Hindi shayaris are worth reading, so does the creation of Piyush Mishra, who is a critically acclaimed actor and theatre personality.

 I am mentioning top 15 poets of urdu of Recent time.

FAIZ AHMAD FAIZ

• 1911-1984
• Lahore

One of the most celebrated and popular poets. Faced political repression for his revolutionary views.He was felicitated with a large number of scholarly awards, particularly the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962.

ALI SARDAR JAFRI

• 1913-2000
• Mumbai

One of the most celebrated progressive poets, literary critic, public intellectual and editor.Contemporary of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Recipient of Gyanpeeth Award. Produced documentaries on Urdu poetry.

KAIFI AZMI

• 1918-2002
• Mumbai

One of prominent progressive poets with popular appeal. Also film lyricist famous for his lyrics in films like Heer Ranjha, Kaghaz ke Phool etc.He was the recipient of Padma Shri, one of the Indian Government's highest civilian awards. Besides he was awarded the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy Award, Maharashtra Urdu Academy Award, Delhi Urdu Academy Award. He has also been honoured with a doctorate from Vishva Bharati University.

BASHIR BADR

• 1925
• Bhopal

Popular poet and recipient of Sahitya Academy Award and Padamshree.

MOHAMMAD ALVI

• 1927
• Ahmadabad

One of the most prominent modern poets. Known for his style of layered simplicity. Recipient of Sahitya Academy award.

JAUN ELIYA

• 1931-2002
• Karachi

One of the most prominent modern Pakistani poets, popular for his unconventional ways.Jaun Eliya's father Shafiq Hasan Eliya was deeply involved in art and literature. This literary environment modeled him along the same lines and he wrote his first Urdu couplet when he was just 8.

AHMAD FARAZ

• 1931-2008
• Islamabad

Pakistani poet, only second to Faiz Ahmad Faiz in popularity. Rose to iconic stature powered by his seductively romantic and anti-establishment poetry.

ZUBAIR RIZVI

• 1935-2016
• Delhi

One of the most prominent modern poets. Well-known broadcaster associated with All India Radio. Famous for his literary magazine Zahn-e-Jadeed.

GULZAR

• 1936
• Mumbai

Film-maker, lyricist and fiction writer. Famous for his tele-serial on Mirza Ghalib. Recipient of Sahitya Academy and Dada Saheb Phalke award.

NIDA FAZLI

• 1938-2016
• Mumbai

One of the most prominent modern poets with wide popular appeal. Well-known film lyricist, prose writer. Famous for his ghazal 'Kabhi kisi ko mukammal Jahan nahin milta…'.

WASEEM BARELVI

• 1940
• Delhi

Renowned Urdu poet having vast mass following. He had also served as Vice Chairman, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, Ministry of Human Resource Development, (Department of Higher Education), Govt. of India. He is known for his exemplary work on Urdu poetry. Several National and International award winner.

JAVED AKHTAR

• 1945
• Mumbai

Film writer, lyricist and poet. Famous for co-writing films like "Sholay" & "Deewar".He was awarded with the Padma Bhushan in 2007 and Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu along with several other awards.

RAHAT INDORI

• 1950
• Indore

Popular poet and film lyricist.He is the recipient of a number of national and international awards for Urdu sher-o-shayari.

MUNAWWAR RANA

• 1952
• Lucknow

Popular poet having dominating presence in mushairas. Recieved Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry book, Shahdaba. This award adds to a long list of honors already bestowed upon him, some of which include the Ameer Khusro Award, Mir Taqi Mir Award, Ghalib Award, Dr. Zakir Hussain Award, and the Saraswati Samaj Award.

PARVEEN SHAKIR

• 1952-1994
• Karachi

One of the most popular woman poets who gave expression to feelings and experiences specific to women. As an award for her talent and achievement, she was honored with "Adamji Award" and felicitated with the title of "Pride of Performance" by the Pakistan government. She died in a road accident at the young age of 42 and the world of modern Urdu poetry lost one of its brightest stars.

This list has only those poets whose poetry I have either read or listen. Believe me this will be very close to accurate because I read and watch lots of shayari and mushaira. If I have missed someone deserving then please accept my apology and let me know.

Here goes the list :

• Bashir Badra
• Rahat Indori
• Nida Fazli
• Waseem Barelvi
• Rajesh Reddy

बशीर बद्र

मुझसे बिछड़ के ख़ुश रहते हो
मेरी तरह तुम भी झूठे हो

इक टहनी पर चाँद टिका था
मैं ये समझा तुम बैठे हो

उजले-उजले फूल खिले थे
बिल्कुल जैसे तुम हँसते हो

मुझ को शाम बता देती है
तुम कैसे कपड़े पहने हो

तुम तन्हा दुनिया से लड़ोगे
बच्चों सी बातें करते हो

---

परखना मत, परखने में कोई अपना नहीं रहता
किसी भी आईने में देर तक चेहरा नहीं रहता

बडे लोगों से मिलने में हमेशा फ़ासला रखना
जहां दरिया समन्दर में मिले, दरिया नहीं रहता

हजारों शेर मेरे सो गये कागज की कब्रों में
अजब मां हूं कोई बच्चा मेरा ज़िन्दा नहीं रहता

तुम्हारा शहर तो बिल्कुल नये अन्दाज वाला है
हमारे शहर में भी अब कोई हमसा नहीं रहता

मोहब्बत एक खुशबू है, हमेशा साथ रहती है
कोई इन्सान तन्हाई में भी कभी तन्हा नहीं रहता

कोई बादल हरे मौसम का फ़िर ऐलान करता है
ख़िज़ा के बाग में जब एक भी पत्ता नहीं रहता

---

---

---

राहत इन्दौरी

दोस्ती जब किसी से की जाये|
दुश्मनों की भी राय ली जाये|

मौत का ज़हर है फ़िज़ाओं में,
अब कहाँ जा के साँस ली जाये|

बस इसी सोच में हूँ डूबा हुआ,
ये नदी कैसे पार की जाये|

मेरे माज़ी के ज़ख़्म भरने लगे,
आज फिर कोई भूल की जाये|

बोतलें खोल के तो पी बरसों,
आज दिल खोल के भी पी जाये|

---

रोज़ तारों को नुमाइश में खलल पड़ता हैं
चाँद पागल हैं अंधेरे में निकल पड़ता हैं

मैं समंदर हूँ कुल्हाड़ी से नहीं कट सकता
कोई फव्वारा नही हूँ जो उबल पड़ता हैं

कल वहाँ चाँद उगा करते थे हर आहट पर
अपने रास्ते में जो वीरान महल पड़ता हैं

ना त-आरूफ़ ना त-अल्लुक हैं मगर दिल अक्सर
नाम सुनता हैं तुम्हारा तो उछल पड़ता हैं

उसकी याद आई हैं साँसों ज़रा धीरे चलो
धड़कनो से भी इबादत में खलल पड़ता हैं

---

---

---

निदा फाजली

बेसन की सोंधी रोटी पर
खट्टी चटनी जैसी माँ

याद आती है चौका-बासन
चिमटा फुकनी जैसी माँ

बाँस की खुर्री खाट के ऊपर
हर आहट पर कान धरे

आधी सोई आधी जागी
थकी दोपहरी जैसी माँ

चिड़ियों के चहकार में गूंजे
राधा-मोहन अली-अली

मुर्ग़े की आवाज़ से खुलती
घर की कुंडी जैसी माँ

बिवी, बेटी, बहन, पड़ोसन
थोड़ी थोड़ी सी सब में

दिन भर इक रस्सी के ऊपर
चलती नटनी जैसी माँ

बाँट के अपना चेहरा, माथा,
आँखें जाने कहाँ गई

फटे पुराने इक अलबम में
चंचल लड़की जैसी माँ 

---

कभी किसी को मुकम्मल जहाँ नहीं मिलता
कहीं ज़मीं तो कहीं आस्माँ नहीं मिलता

बुझा सका ह भला कौन वक़्त के शोले
ये ऐसी आग है जिसमें धुआँ नहीं मिलता

तमाम शहर में ऐसा नहीं ख़ुलूस न हो
जहाँ उमीद हो सकी वहाँ नहीं मिलता

कहाँ चिराग़ जलायें कहाँ गुलाब रखें
छतें तो मिलती हैं लेकिन मकाँ नहीं मिलता

ये क्या अज़ाब है सब अपने आप में गुम हैं
ज़बाँ मिली है मगर हमज़बाँ नहीं मिलता

चिराग़ जलते ही बीनाई बुझने लगती है
खुद अपने घर में ही घर का निशाँ नहीं मिलता

---

गरज बरस प्यासी धरती पर फिर पानी दे मौला
चिड़ियों को दाना, बच्चों को गुड़धानी दे मौला

दो और दो का जोड़ हमेशा चार कहाँ होता है
सोच समझवालों को थोड़ी नादानी दे मौला

फिर रोशन कर ज़हर का प्याला चमका नई सलीबें
झूठों की दुनिया में सच को ताबानी दे मौला

फिर मूरत से बाहर आकर चारों ओर बिखर जा
फिर मंदिर को कोई मीरा दीवानी दे मौला

तेरे होते कोई किसी की जान का दुश्मन क्यों हो
जीने वालों को मरने की आसानी दे मौला

---

अपनी मर्ज़ी से कहाँ अपने सफ़र के हम हैं
रुख़ हवाओं का जिधर का है उधर के हम हैं

पहले हर चीज़ थी अपनी मगर अब लगता है
अपने ही घर में किसी दूसरे घर के हम हैं

वक़्त के साथ है मिट्टी का सफ़र सदियों तक
किसको मालूम कहाँ के हैं किधर के हम हैं

चलते रहते हैं कि चलना है मुसाफ़िर का नसीब
सोचते रहते हैं कि किस राहगुज़र के हम हैं

गिनतियों में ही गिने जाते हैं हर दौर में हम
हर क़लमकार की बेनाम ख़बर के हम हैं

---

मैं रोया परदेस में भीगा माँ का प्यार
दुख ने दुख से बात की बिन चिठ्ठी बिन तार
छोटा करके देखिये जीवन का विस्तार
आँखों भर आकाश है बाहों भर संसार

लेके तन के नाप को घूमे बस्ती गाँव
हर चादर के घेर से बाहर निकले पाँव
सबकी पूजा एक सी अलग-अलग हर रीत
मस्जिद जाये मौलवी कोयल गाये गीत
पूजा घर में मूर्ती मीर के संग श्याम
जिसकी जितनी चाकरी उतने उसके दाम

सातों दिन भगवान के क्या मंगल क्या पीर
जिस दिन सोए देर तक भूखा रहे फ़कीर
अच्छी संगत बैठकर संगी बदले रूप
जैसे मिलकर आम से मीठी हो गई धूप

सपना झरना नींद का जागी आँखें प्यास
पाना खोना खोजना साँसों का इतिहास
चाहे गीता बाचिये या पढ़िये क़ुरान
मेरा तेरा प्यार ही हर पुस्तक का ज्ञान

---

होश वालों को ख़बर क्या बेख़ुदी क्या चीज़ है
इश्क़ कीजे फिर समझिए ज़िन्दगी क्या चीज़ है

उन से नज़रें क्या मिली रोशन फिजाएँ हो गईं
आज जाना प्यार की जादूगरी क्या चीज़ है

ख़ुलती ज़ुल्फ़ों ने सिखाई मौसमों को शायरी
झुकती आँखों ने बताया मयकशी क्या चीज़ है

हम लबों से कह न पाये उन से हाल-ए-दिल कभी
और वो समझे नहीं ये ख़ामोशी क्या चीज़ है

---

---

---

वसीम बरेलवी

आपको देख कर देखता रह गया
क्या कहूँ और कहने को क्या रह गया

आते-आते मेरा नाम-सा रह गया
उस के होंठों पे कुछ काँपता रह गया

वो मेरे सामने ही गया और मैं
रास्ते की तरह देखता रह गया

झूठ वाले कहीं से कहीं बढ़ गये
और मैं था कि सच बोलता रह गया

आँधियों के इरादे तो अच्छे न थे
ये दिया कैसे जलता हुआ रह गया

---

उसूलों पे जहाँ आँच आये टकराना ज़रूरी है
जो ज़िन्दा हों तो फिर ज़िन्दा नज़र आना ज़रूरी है

नई उम्रों की ख़ुदमुख़्तारियों को कौन समझाये
कहाँ से बच के चलना है कहाँ जाना ज़रूरी है

थके हारे परिन्दे जब बसेरे के लिये लौटें
सलीक़ामन्द शाख़ों का लचक जाना ज़रूरी है

बहुत बेबाक आँखों में त'अल्लुक़ टिक नहीं पाता
मुहब्बत में कशिश रखने को शर्माना ज़रूरी है

सलीक़ा ही नहीं शायद उसे महसूस करने का
जो कहता है ख़ुदा है तो नज़र आना ज़रूरी है

मेरे होंठों पे अपनी प्यास रख दो और फिर सोचो
कि इस के बाद भी दुनिया में कुछ पाना ज़रूरी है

---

कौन-सी बात कहाँ, कैसे कही जाती है
ये सलीक़ा हो, तो हर बात सुनी जाती है

जैसा चाहा था तुझे, देख न पाये दुनिया
दिल में बस एक ये हसरत ही रही जाती है

एक बिगड़ी हुई औलाद भला क्या जाने
कैसे माँ-बाप के होंठों से हँसी जाती है

कर्ज़ का बोझ उठाये हुए चलने का अज़ाब
जैसे सर पर कोई दीवार गिरी जाती है

अपनी पहचान मिटा देना हो जैसे सब कुछ
जो नदी है वो समंदर से मिली जाती है

पूछना है तो ग़ज़ल वालों से पूछो जाकर
कैसे हर बात सलीक़े से कही जाती है

---

तुम्हारी राह में मिट्टी के घर नहीं आते
इसीलिए तो तुम्हें हम नज़र नहीं आते

मुहब्बतों के दिनों की यही ख़राबी है
ये रूठ जाएँ तो फिर लौटकर नहीं आते

जिन्हें सलीका है तहज़ीब-ए-ग़म समझने का
उन्हीं के रोने में आँसू नज़र नहीं आते

ख़ुशी की आँख में आँसू की भी जगह रखना
बुरे ज़माने कभी पूछकर नहीं आते

बिसाते-इश्क पे बढ़ना किसे नहीं आता
यह और बात कि बचने के घर नहीं आते

वसीम जहन बनाते हैं तो वही अख़बार
जो लेके एक भी अच्छी ख़बर नहीं आते

---

मिली हवाओं में उड़ने की वो सज़ा यारो
के मैं ज़मीन के रिश्तों से कट गया यारो

वो बेख़याल मुसाफ़िर मैं रास्ता यारो
कहाँ था बस में मेरे उस को रोकना यारो

मेरे क़लम पे ज़माने की गर्द ऐसी थी
के अपने बारे में कुछ भी न लिख सका यारो

तमाम शहर ही जिस की तलाश में गुम था
मैं उस के घर का पता किस से पूछता यारो

---

---

---

राजेश रेड्डी

शाम को जिस वक़्त ख़ाली हाथ घर जाता हूँ मैं
मुस्कुरा देते हैं बच्चे और मर जाता हूँ मैं

जानता हूँ रेत पर वो चिलचिलाती धूप है
जाने किस उम्मीद में फिर भी उधर जाता हूँ मैं

सारी दुनिया से अकेले जूझ लेता हूँ कभी
और कभी अपने ही साये से भी डर जाता हूँ मैं

ज़िन्दगी जब मुझसे मज़बूती की रखती है उमीद
फ़ैसले की उस घड़ी में क्यूँ बिखर जाता हूँ मैं

आपके रस्ते हैं आसाँ आपकी मंजिल क़रीब
ये डगर कुछ और ही है जिस डगर जाता हूँ मैं

---

ज़िन्दगी तूने लहू ले के दिया कुछ भी नहीं|
तेरे दामन में मेरे वास्ते क्या कुछ भी नहीं|

मेरे इन हाथों की चाहो तो तलाशि ले लो,
मेरे हाथों में लकीरों के सिवा कुछ भी नहीं|

हमने देखा है कई ऐसे ख़ुदाओं को यहाँ,
सामने जिन के वो सच मुच का ख़ुदा कुछ भी नहीं|

या ख़ुदा अब के ये किस रंग से आई है बहार,
ज़र्द ही ज़र्द है पेड़ों पे हरा कुछ भी नहीं|

दिल भी इक ज़िद पे अड़ा है किसी बच्चे की तरह,
या तो सब कुछ ही इसे चाहिये या कुछ भी नहीं|

and here is one Ghazal by a less known Shayar -
अब में राशन की कतारों में नज़र आता हूँ
अपने खेतों से बिछड़ने की सज़ा पाता हूँ

इतनी महंगाई है के बाज़ार से कुछ लाता हूँ
अपने बच्चों में उसे बाँट के शरमाता हूँ

अपनी नींदों का लहू पोंछने की कोशिश में
जागते जागते थक जाता हूँ, सो जाता हूँ

कोई चादर समझ के खींच न ले फिर से 'ख़लील'
मैं कफन ओढ़ के फुटपाथ पे सो जाता हूँ

- ख़लील धनतेजवी

In 2011, I made a New Year resolution. I resolved to only read books written by women for the whole year. I managed to read 85 books that year, all written by women. I read fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, poetry. I read across genres, across continents, acting on every good and nasty book recommendation that came my way.

To be clear, I didn’t have a lofty aim or moral end goal in mind when I decided to make this resolution. In fact, my idea was pretty simple. I was just thinking to myself, “As a woman who loves to write, I’d like to read and know more about the work of other women writers.” But, I ended up learning a lot that year, not only about previously unread writers, but about women’s place in India’s literary scene.

I realized that at times the literary world tends to get so heavily dominated by male voices that it is easy to neglect female voices that inhabit it. And while this felt true for the entire world over, the reality cut a little too close for comfort when I thought about female Indian authors.

This neglect still exists today and is worrying, not only because it distorts our sense of India’s critical literary landscape, but also because it deprives us of the rich range of work by women authors that exists out there, impoverishing our literary appetites. It has a real impact on women’s lives too – in the way women’s stories are silenced by a popular culture that prioritizes male narratives. This silencing obviously sends out a message, a message that says women’s stories aren’t as worthwhile. Male stories are the norm. Women’s stories are the other.
This list is an attempt to disrupt this status quo. Here’s an exhaustive list of Indian women writers, in no particular order of preference or genre who have contributed immensely to the country’s literary scene, and who deserve to be recognized for their vision, their fearlessness, their originality, and the barriers they broke in the literary world and beyond.

1. Meena Kandasamy

Ilavenil Meena Kandasamy is a poet, fiction writer, activist and currently one of India’s boldest and most badass young voices. Most of her works are centered on feminism and the Caste Annihilation Movement of the contemporary Indian milieu. She holds a PhD in sociolinguistics and has published two anthology of poems, “Touch” and “Ms Militancy”, and a novel “The Gypsy Goddess”. Her most recent work -“When I Hit You Or A Portrait Of The Writer As A Young Wife” is a dazzling and provocative novel of an abusive marriage.

2. Nayantara Sehgal

Sahgal is the niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, and a noted novelist and political columnist. Her close association with India’s power center reflects in her work, a lot of which deals with India’s elite and how they responded to political changes around them. Sahgal won the Sahitya Akademi award for “Rich Like Us”, set between 1932 to the mid 1970’s, a time of great political unrest in India.

3. Kamala Das

One of India’s finest confession poets, Kamala Das wrote beautiful prose in Malayalam and English. Her writing reflected her strong feminist ideology, portraying female sensibility with a rare honesty and sensitivity. Her poems, have for long served as an inspiration to women looking to break the shackles of sexual and domestic oppression, and therefore find relevance with women even today.

4. Anita Nair

Anita Nair is a prolific writer in English, who has written everything from crime fiction to short stories, poems, and even children’s stories. She is best known for her novels “The Ladies Coupe” and “The Better Man”. Through works like “Mistress: A Novel”, that highlighted the changing relationship between a woman and her husband, Nair also brought to life the experiences of the everyday Indian woman in fiction.

5. Jhumpa Lahiri

A Pulitzer prize winning novelist, Lahiri is one of the most widely recognized contemporary writers of world literature. An Indian- American by birth, her stories usually discuss sensitive dilemmas faced by Indians, particularly touching upon the diasporic reality of migrant Indians. Sometimes, also hidden in the plot are also stories of women confronting difficult choices in life. Her work in Italian called “In Other Words”, for example, gives a platform to a female voice that has been crushed by the burden of obligations to others.

6. Arundhati Roy

One of India’s most noted authors and human rights activist, Roy was awarded the Man Booker Prize for “The God Of Small Things”, her debut fiction novel. Since she won the Booker, Roy has published a wide range of non-fiction, covering topics from the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to a condemnation of India’s nuclear tests. “The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness” released in June 2017 marked her return to fiction after a 20-year-long hiatus.

7. Kiran Desai

Winner of the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award, Desai’s marries magic realism with socio-political realism beautifully in her work. What makes her work so fascinating is the way she presents the vast canvas of our contemporary society in the broad perspective of globalization, through themes like alienation, cultural clashes, displacement and exile. Her award-winning book “The Inheritance Of Loss” is a testament to this enduring quality of her work.

8. Manju Kapur

A novelist and professor, Kapur’s first novel “Difficult Daughters” won the 1999 Commonwealth Prize for First Novels (Eurasia Section). In 2011, her name was shortlisted for DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, and many television sitcoms have been inspired by her writing. She currently teaches at Delhi University.

9. Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

A blogger and a writer, Madhavan writes under the pseudonym eM on her blog which is called the The Compulsive Confessor. Her first book was a semi-autobiographical piece of work titled “You Are Here”. She is the daughter of N S Madhavan, the famous Malayalam writer. Madhavan is also a regular columnist at Youth Ki Awaaz as Aunty Feminist.

10. Kamla Bhasin

Kamla Bhasin is a well known developmental feminist activist, poet, author and social scientist. Bhasin’s work spans 35 years and focuses on issues like gender, education, human development and the media.She is best known for her work on the NGO Sangat, a South Asian network of feminists, and for her poem Kyunki main ladki hoon, mujhe padhna hai.

11. Anita Desai

Novelist, short-story writer and children’s writer Anita Desai has many awards to her credit including the Padma Bhushan and The Guardian Children’s Fiction prize. Her novels usually revolve around working out the mystery of the inner life of her characters. They use stunning visual imagery to show this inner working, and many have compared her modernist sensibilities to writers like T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf.

12. Sunetra Gupta

Sunetra Gupta is not only an acclaimed novelist, but also a scientist and professor at the University of Oxford where she teaches Theoretical Epidemiology. In October 2012 her fifth novel, “So Good In Black”, was longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. “The Glassblower’s Breath”, where she takes the takes the reader on a journey of the emotional, intellectual and sexual experiences of a woman, is perhaps her most defining work. The story of a single day in the life of a woman mixed with fantasies, memories, dreams and ambition of a woman who married a rich man encapsulating her struggle to conform to society’s standards.

13. Chitra Banerjee Divakurni

With a fiercely powerful voice and strong female protagonists, Divakurni’s writing seeks at its core to capture the soul of a woman’s being. She has written 15 books so far, all of whom blend prose and poetry, magic and realism beautifully to get at the heart of her character’s stories.

14. Bharati Mukherjee

An Indian-born American writer, Mukherjee beautifully explored the internal cultural clashes of characters most of whom were immigrants through books like the “The Middleman And Other Stories” and “Jasmine”. The stories of self-discovery of her female protagonists always lead to interesting places, and in the existing crisis that ensues, a new self emerges, offering multiple answers to one question: Who am I?

15. Ismat Chughtai

Source Wikimedia Commons

The eminent Indian Urdu author was known as much for her fierce feminist writing as for her indomitable spirit. One of Urdu’s most accomplished fiction writers, Chughtai epitomised the best qualities of the 20th-century women writers of Urdu: enlightened, bold, iconoclastic, progressive and feminist. Her most popular and controversial work “Lihaaf” focussed on the theme of female sexuality, at a time when themes related to sensuality were a rarity in Urdu literature.

16. Mahasweta Devi

One of India’s most prominent writer and social activist, Devi’s writing focussed on telling tales of injustices meted out to marginalized communities in the country in fiction. She was the bold voice behind the sensational short story “Rudali”, that delved into the lives of women belonging to the lower caste in Rajasthan who were hired as professional mourners during the death of upper caste men.

17. Shobha De

Renowned as the Jackie Collins of India, De is best known for her depiction of India’s socialites and sex in her work. She has written more than a dozen novels so far, the most successful them among them being “Spouse – The Truth About Marriage”, that has sold a million copies.

18. Kamala Markandaya

A post-independence female novelist, Markandaya’s work dealt with a whole host of themes related to the rural and urban divide, spiritual quest, modernism, attitude toward feminine superiority and conflict between tradition and modernism. Focussing heavily on the plight of women in rural India, Markandaya’s first published novel, “Nectar In A Sieve”, was a bestseller and cited as an American Library Association Notable Book in 1955.

19. Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu, also known by the sobriquet The Nightingale of India, was a child prodigy, freedom fighter, and poet. The three volumes of her poems, “The Golden Threshold” (1905), “The Bird Of Time” (1912) and “The Broken Wing” (1917), occupy a place of eminence in the history of Indo-Anglian poetry, known for their lyricism, symbolism, imagery and mysticism. Themes related to nature, love, life, death and patriotism are explored widely in Naidu’s poetry.

20. Githa Hariharan

Githa Hariharan’s work belongs to the era of renaissance of Indo-English literature that started with the appearance of Salman Rushdie’s novel “Midnight Children” in the early 80s. Her first novel, “The Thousand Faces Of Night”, that won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 1993, was written by Hariharan while she was on maternity leave. Encapsulating lives of three generation of women, in Chennai, the novel focusses on the how they are torn between tradition and modernity in trying to shape their lives in their own ways, and in turn connects their stories to the ancient myths of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

21. Namita Gokhale

Namita Gokhale has authored 14 books, most of them about women. Her protagonists, like Paro and Priya of “Paro: Dreams Of Passion”, or Grandmother’s Gudiya in “Gods, Graves And Grandmother”, or Shakuntala in the novel “Shakuntala”, all follow the course and concerns of their own life: whether as a child or a woman, either career oriented or as a married woman. Her most recent anthology “Himalaya: Adventures, Meditations” was co-edited with Ruskin Bond.

22. Meena Alexander

Meena Alexander is an acclaimed Indian-born American poet, scholar and writer. The subjects explored in her writing include language, memory, and the significance of place. Her poetry collections include “The Bird’s Bright Ring” (1976), “I Root My Name” (1977), “Without Place” (1978), “Stone Roots” (1980), “House Of A Thousand Doors” (1988), and “The Storm: A Poem In Five Parts” (1989). She also wrote a one-act play, “In The Middle Earth”.

23. Urvashi Butalia

Source: Mukul Dube/Flickr CC

Urvashi Butalia is an Indian feminist, author and historian. She set up India’s first feminist publishing house, called Kali for Women, that now runs as Zubaan Books, an imprint. Butalia has also written her own books, the most notable of which is “The Other Side Of Silence: Voices From The Partition Of India”, that deals with stories of thousands of women and children who were killed during and after during the 1947 India-Pakistan partition.

24. Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt was an Indian poet who wrote in English and French in the mid 1800s. She remains a respected name amongst Indian poets in English, despite passing away early, particularly for themes explored in her poetical collection “A Sheaf Gleaned In French Fields” published 1876.

25. Mridula Koshy

Before turning into a writer, Koshy pursued many things, working as a cashier, a sales clerk, a waitress and an advocate. She is the author of “If It Is Sweet”, a collection of short stories, and a novel titled “Not Only The Things That Have Happened”. The book won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize (2009) and was shortlisted for the Vodafone Crossword Book Prize (2009).

26. Savitribai Phule

Often described as “one of the first-generation modern Indian feminists,” Savitribai Phule was a poet and a social reformer who along with her husband spiritedly fought against the dominant caste system. Phule wrote many poems against discrimination during her time. Two books of her poems published posthumously, Kavya Phule (1934) and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (1982) are a must read for anyone looking to get a sneak peek into the lives of one of India’s first lady teacher.

27. Rashmi Bansal

Also an entrepreneur and youth expert, Bansal is a non-fiction writer whose books usually deal with the theme of entrepreneurship.Two of her most bestselling works – “Stay Hungry Stay Foolish” and “Connect The Dots” – deal with stories of entrepreneurs and have sold 400,000 copies between them.

28. Amrita Pritam

Amrita Pritam was a novelist and, poet who wrote in both Hindi and Punjabi. Considered the first prominent Punjabi women poet, her poem “Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu” is a heart-rending piece detailing the hopelessness, terror and sadness experienced by those who witnessed the 1947 Indo-Pak partition. Her experiences of the partition also inspired her to write “Pinjar” in which she addressed the helplessness faced by the women during the time of the Partition.

29. Suniti Namjoshi

Born in 1941, Namjoshi is one of India’s leading feminist writers and one of the wittiest fabulists of our times. She came into prominence with her book “Feminist Fables” (1981), that retold folktales like The Panchatantra, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and European fairy tales from a distinctly queer perspective. She has written many collections of fables and poetry, novels and children’s books, and many of them have been translated into several languages.

30. Anuja Chauhan

An advertising professional turned writer, Chauhan has been described by many as one of the best writers of Indian commercial fictional genre. Her novels have it all – romance, humor and intelligence told with a friendly candour and witty spin. Her first book “The Zoya Factor”, is about a young girl employed by an ad agency who finds her fate intertwined with that of the Indian cricket team.

31. Sushmita Banerjee

Sushmita Banerjee was a writer and activist from India. She wrote the famous memoir “Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou” (A Kabuliwala’s Bengali Wife) based on her experiences of marrying an Afghan and her time in Afghanistan during Taliban rule. The subject of the 2003 Bollywood film, “Escape From Taliban”, she was murdered by suspected Taliban militants in 2013.

32. Indu Sundaresan

A historical fiction writer, Sundaresan writes fictional books on consorts and princesses of Mughal dynasty. For those fascinated by India’s majestic past, Sundaresan’s books provide a peek into romantic era of the past, mixed with a generous overdose of intrigue and power struggles. Her book “The Twentieth Wife” (2002) is based on the life of Mehrunnisa, Empress Nur Jahan, one of India’s most powerful women.

33. Shashi Deshpande

Deshpande began her career writing short stories writing nine collections, 12 novels and four children’s books. Three of her novels have received awards, including the Sahitya Akademi award for “That Long Silence”, which delves into the suffering faced by a woman of a woman whose controlling husband doesn’t understand why a woman needs her own identity and an equal place at home and in society.

34. Arshia Sattar

A writer and a translator, Arshia Sattar has a PhD in Classical Indian Literature from the University of Chicago. She has two amazing books to her credit – her beautifully illustrated book “The Ramayana for Children”, and “Uttara: The Book of Answers”, a translation of Valmiki’s the Uttara Kanda, the most problematic part of the Ramayana: when Rama banishes Sita into the forest.

35. Twinkle Khanna

Source: Facebook

Starting out as an actress, Twinkle Khanna moved on to writing and since then has charted a successful career for herself as Mrs Funnybones. Her debut book of the same name sold over one hundred thousand copies making her India’s highest-selling female writer of 2015.

36. Anita Anand

The BBC journalist has made quite a name for herself in the literary circles after the release of “Kohinoor: The Story Of The World’s Most Infamous Diamond” that she wrote with author William Dalrymple. The book traces the untold history of the Kohinoor diamond that goes back centuries.

37. Indira Goswami

Winner of the Sahitya Akademi award as well as the Jnanpith award. She primarily wrote books in the Assamese language, which were translated into English. Through her writing, she tried to unify different Assamese communities and bring about social change. One of her best books “Pages Stained With Blood”, deals with the Sikh pogrom Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

38. Lavanya Sankaran

Lavanya Sankaran’s books deal with simple storylines written in a manner that the reader instantly falls in love with the characters. A case in point being her book “The Hope Factory”, where even though the characters seem like people from one’s everyday life, the storyline is so compelling that it grips the reader instantly.

39. Sudha Murthy

An eminent writer, Murthy writes in Kannada and English, drawing on experiences from her rather eventful life. Told simply, her stories revolve around the everyday and are easy to relate to. For example, her book “How I Taught My Grandmother To Read And Other Stories”, details her childhood experiences of being raised by her grandparents.

40. Deepa Agarwal

Deepa Agarwal is a versatile children’s author, who has also written some books for adults. Her books inform young readers about eminent historical figures and events in an engaging manner. One of her must-read books is “If The Earth Should Move”, a collection of 14 short stories, of which the Cradle Song, won the first prize in The Asian Age short story competition in 1995.

41. Judy Balan

Source: Facebook

Judy Balan, is a comedy writer and author who debuted with the best-selling novel “Two Fates: The Story of My Divorce”, a parody of Chetan Bhagat’s “Two States: The Story of My Marriage”.Undoubtedly one of India’s funniest writers in the country today, Balan started out as a blogger before writing her first book.

42. Krishna Udayshankar

Krishna Udayasankar is a Singapore-based Indian author who writes extensively on the historical fiction genre. She, known for her modern retelling of Mahabharata through the novels “Govinda”, “Kaurava” and “Kurukshetra”. The three books collectively comprise The Aryavarta Chronicles.

43. Meghna Pant

A literary fiction author and journalist, Meghna Pant has written one novel – “One And A Half Wife”, and a collection of short stories called “Happy Birthday”. One of the defining features, especially in her short stories, are the surprise endings the stories have, that leaves the reader hooked till the last word.

44. Sreemoyee Piu Kundu

Kundu has written such books as “Faraway Music” and “You’ve Got The Wrong Girl”. Her writing heavily focuses on exploring women’s sexuality , especially in books like Sita’s Curse, where she explores the sexual exploits of a woman who gives in to her desires.

45. Samhita Arni

Arni started writing and illustrating her first book when she was eight. Her first book “The Mahabharata: A Child’s View” became an instant success and has been translated into various languages since then. Started out in mythology, her books take a direction of their own before ultimately connecting with the real world. One of her best books is “The Missing Queen”, a part political thriller and part reimagining of the Ramayana, that offers a brilliant critique of the political and media landscapes in modern India

46. Madhulika Liddle

Best known for her detective Muzaffar Jang series, Liddle has also written many short stories and humorous articles. “The Englishman’s Cameo”, which is the first in the Muzaffar Jang series, is a must-read for those who love the mystery and history genre.

47. Preeti Shenoy

Consistently ranked amongst the top 5 highest selling Indian authors (according to the AC Nielsen survey), she is the highest selling woman writer in India. She has written eight books including “Life Is What You Make It”, “It Happens For A Reason” and “The Secret Wishlist” and all of them turned out to be huge bestsellers.

48. Nikita Singh

All of 25, Nikita Singh has already written 10 novels. Singh’s books sell, on average, over 20,000 copies making them all bestsellers. She draws a lot of inspiration from art, music, movies and her surroundings, and a lot of what she observes makes way into her books as well.

50. Indira Gandhi

The first female Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi was known for her political ruthlessness and controversial decision during her time at the helm of affairs. Based on interviews and other source material, her book “My Truth” is a rare and vitally important book offering us a peek into the life of Gandhi in her own words.

51. Ira Trivedi

Ira Trivedi is an Indian-born author, columnist, and yoga acharya. Her works include India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st century, “What Would You Do to Save the World?”, “The Great Indian Love Story” and “There’s No Love on Wall Street”. With her first non-fiction book – “India in Love: Marriage And Sexuality In The 21st Century”, Trivedi tries to capture the changes in marriage and sexuality in 21st century India.

52. Samina Ali

Samina Ali is an Indian-American author and activist, known best for her debut award-winning novel “Madras On Rainy Days”. The book that details a young woman’s arranged marriage and political awakening was inspired by Ali’s experiences of growing up in India and the USA. A big thrust behind Ali’s work is her belief that personal narrative can play a big role in helping women achieve individual and political freedoms, and this belief comes across in that she writes.

53. Abha Dawesar

An Indian writer based out of New York city, Dawesar is author of books like “Miniplanner”, “Family Values”, and “Madison Square Park”. She also won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian fiction and the Stonewall Book Award for fiction for “Babyji”, a novel that recounted the coming of age stories as well as sexual adventures and fantasies of a 16-year-old school girl.