benefactor of Urdu article

This is the benefactor of Urdu article

While sorting through my fifty-year-old papers, such rare gems are coming out that I want to keep them as amulets. There are some names among them who have done a great job for the sake of Urdu language, they are not left but their names have not been erased from my mind yet. These are in front of me. Upandranath Ashk and Ram Lal who breathed the spirit of reality in fiction. All of them were my sympathizers. No letter came out of Jagannath Azad's hand but he was very close to my heart. Similarly, Professor Gopi Chand Narang's friendship was good and good.

I remember the arrival of Kali Das Gupta Raza in London. He was a wonderful man. There will be few such fans of Ghalib. He was a true researcher. He examined each and every poem of Mirza Ghalib and found out which ghazal or poem he wrote when and in which dates. He then published Ghalib's entire work in chronological order, which is an amazing piece of research. The Government of India bestowed great honors on him for his heroic deeds. Institutions associated with the Hindi language used to invite him to come to us and give lectures and explain the word of Ghalib to us. They used to go happily. Very few people will believe that Kali Das Gupta used to be a moneylender. They used to run money on loan. In this business, his generosity was more famous than his. He held the hands of many needy people. I am quoting his letter dated February 2001 here:

Dear Beloved, It has been a long time since I received your letter of thanks. Now that I have some free time, I am writing an answer. Congratulations on your successful trip to the United States. I have many books, more than sixty. I will dedicate some of them (I think) to you soon. What to say if I find someone coming or going, otherwise I will send it by post. The meeting with you did not go well, but it was as good as it got. There was great prosperity in the house of Mr. Javed Sheikh. He and his wife and daughter did not spare any effort in hosting. I am a lowly servant of Urdu language and literature. Urdu people should be happy wherever they are. Everyone, even in my absence, etiquette. On behalf of Sautri and me, greet Begum Abidi. Sincerely, Kali Das Gupta Raza. Background: Poor eyesight and poor eyesight are both barriers, so forgive my writing mistakes.

This humility is no longer found by searching. Many will remember. There were deep rituals with Latif Alzaman Khan, the dominant ruler of Multan, who wanted to go to Bombay to meet him, but could not. Reza used to be a pseudonym and was subordinated to Reza.

The second letter I came across is from Professor Gyan Chand Jain, a great teacher of Urdu language and ancient literature, who wrote to me from Hyderabad Deccan before embarking on his first foreign trip in life. He was a man of pure research and became famous in language and literature. In the heyday of the state of Rampur, he was the one who discovered the stories told by the storytellers in written form and worked well on the traditions of ancient literature. When I came to London, I spent a lot of time with them. They listened to my programs with interest, so they guided me well. Shafiq was such a simple-minded elder that it was difficult to imagine that he would be familiar with the veins of poetry and literature. He had his own views on Urdu and Hindi, which were well debated. Thankfully, time has valued him and his scholarly books are sure to live on. I am quoting his forty-year-old letter here.

Department of Urdu. University of Hyderabad 9 February 83

Dear Taslim, I received two calendars of 83 from you by today's mail. The best printing and writing and above all, every word of the calendar was in your eyes. How can I thank you for remembering me at every opportunity? I sometimes listen to the library program. You broadcast the short speech of my friend Dr. Gopi Chand Narang about the libraries of Asifia Library, Hyderabad and Maha Raja Sahib Mahmoodabad. He is a good critic, but he has nothing to do with ancient books. Regarding the Mahmoodabad library, he twice said that Kalam Haideri had gained access to the library and had published books from there. Kalam Haideri is a progressive who is the editor of Ahang Monthly and Morcha Weekly Gaya (Bihar). Like Narang Sahib, he is not interested in ancient literature. In fact, Dr. Akbar Haideri who reached Mahmoodabad is a Kashmiri. He and only he had access to this library.

Sahitya Akademi is an institution of the Central Government of India. It gives a prize of five thousand rupees every year for the best book published in every language of India (22). Some years no book gets a prize. You will be surprised and happy to know that the Urdu award of 82 has been given to my book 'Zikr wa Fikr'.

YeI have never been out of the country. I will now travel to California in May and June to visit my daughter. I will have a wife with me. I intend to leave here on May 5. Stay in Paris for a day or two and then stay in London for three or four days. I will be at your service at the BBC at this time, provided life is borrowed and faithful by that time. I hope you are well.