Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Urdu Poet Professor Akhlaq Mohammad Khan Shahryar received 44thJnanpith Award for 2008

The 44th Jnanpith Award for 2008 was presented to renowned Urdu poet Professor Akhlaq Mohammad Khan Shahryar  for his distinguished contribution in enriching Indian literature. He was presented the award by actor Amitabh Bachhan in a glittering ceremony organised by the Bharatiya Jnanpith in New Delhi on 18 September 2011.

Born in 1936, in Anwala district in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, Prof Shahryar received his Ph.D degree in Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University. He taught at the AMU Urdu Department and retired as professor and Head of Department in 1996. He made a memorable contribution to Urdu literature as a teacher, critic and creative writer.
Considered one of the foremost writers of ghazal and nazm , Prof Shahryar has published 10 collections of poems in Urdu. His actual name is Akhlaq Mohammed Khan and 'Shaheryar' is the pen name. His first poetry collection Ism-e-azam was published in 1965. The third collection titled Hijr ke mausam released in 1978 was his most celebrated work. Khwab Ke dar band hain released in 1987 won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for the year.

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.

He received Sahitya Academy Award in 1987 for the collection of poetry Khwab ka Dar Band Hai. He became the fourth Jnanpith winner in Urdu. Firaq Gorakhpuri was the first Jnanpith winner in Urdu. Firaq had won the prestigious award in 1969 for Gul-e-Naghma.

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