saman lateef
Srinagar, 9th January
Renowned Kashmiri poet and Jnanpith laureate Professor Rehman Rahi, 98, died Monday morning at his Vicharnag mansion in Srinagar. Various sections of society, especially those in the literary world, mourned his death.He was buried in his ancestral cemetery in the Vityanag district of Srinagar.
Genampis Laureate
- Professor Rahi was the first Kashmiri writer to win the Junampis Prize for his collection of poetry ‘Siyah Rood Jaeren Manz’.
- He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for “Nauroz-i-Saba” and the Padma Shri in 2000.
Born in Srinagar in 1925, his original name was Abdul Rehman Mir. He was educated at Islamia High School in Srinagar, graduating first in Persian and second in English Literature at Kashmir University. He was appointed as a public university lecturer. A few years later, Rahi enrolled in the Persian Department of Kashmir University. In 1977 he joined the university’s newly established Kashmiri language department, where he taught until his retirement.
In his early poetic works, he appears as an idealist romantic, striving for a perfect world in which all his youthful passions are fulfilled.
His poetry collection Nouroz-i-Saba bears the imprint of a mixture of progressive ideology and romantic aspirations. “This is evident in his poetry from this period, which not only serves to trace Rahi’s evolution as a poet, but also to understand his eternal involvement with the pursuit of art in its purest sense. This fusion of romance and pure artistic passion can be found in many of his poems, including Sheayir (poet), Husn-e lazawal (immortal beauty) and above all Fann baraye fann (art The last one celebrates art as an attitude sufficient to survive in life itself,” said literary critic Dr. Abid Ahmed.
“Seeking his own diction, Rahi radically changed the idiom of Kashmiri poetry, thereby changing traditional perceptions in the Kashmiri cultural fabric,” he says.
In 1961 Professor Rahi won the Sahitya Akademi Prize for his poetry collection Nauroz-i-Saba and Padma Shri in 2000, and became the first Kashmiri writer to receive the Junampis Prize for his poetry collection Siyah Rood Jaeren Manz (black). bottom. Drizzle) 2007 (2004).
From celebrated poets to trend-setting critics and literary theorists, Rahi remains one of the most influential figures in Kashmiri culture and literature.
“His artistic achievements have expanded the imaginative and poetic world of the Kashmiri language in unprecedented ways,” added Ahmed.
Through his creative expression, Rahi has literally created a more adaptive and fresh worldview that is more suited to modern sensibilities and modern realities. The result is a poem that enriches the imagination, expressions and idioms of Kashmir in an unparalleled way.
Former TV commercial Omar Abdullah said Rahi’s death was a huge loss for the Kashmiri language and literature. “He will be remembered for his contributions as a poet and as a critic who enriched Kashmiri language and literature in profound ways,” he added.
