Rahman Rahi

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Rahman Rahi (born 6 March 1925, Srinagar) is a poet, translator and critic. He was awarded the Jnanpith -- India's highest literary award -- for 2004. He is the first Kashmiri writer to get the Jnanpith. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for his poetry collection Nawroz-i-Saba, and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2000.

His works include: Sana-Wani Saaz (poems), Sukhok Soda (poems), Kalam-e-Rahi (poems), Nawroz-i-Saba (poems), Kahwat (literary criticism), Kashir Shara Sombran, Azich Kashir Shayiri, Kashir Naghmati Shayiri, Baba Fareed (translation), Saba Moallaqat, Farmove Zartushtan, Seyah Rudi Jerean Manz (collection of Kashmiri poetry) and Koesher Shyiree Te Waznuk Surati Hal (Kashmiri poetry and its parameters). [1]

He began his career as a clerk in the government and was associated with the Progressive Writers' Association, of which he became the General Secretary. He was later a sub-editor in the Urdu daily Khidmat. He did an MA in Persian (1952) and in English (1962) from Jammu and Kashmir University where he taught Persian.

He has long been an ardent advocate of the Kashmiri language. On getting the Jnanpith, he said, "I see the award as an honour for my poetry, and above all an honour for the language in which it was composed and for the people who use this language." [2]

[edit] External links

Announcements of the Jnanpith award in The Hindu, Indian Express, and Greater Kashmir