Raghupati Sahay Firaq Gorakhpuri, born on August 28, 1896 to Munshi Gorakh Prashad, a lawyer and a fairly well-known poet with alias Ibrat Gorakhpuri.
The Kayasth family originally belonged to Baans Gaon Tehsil, it is said more than four hundred years ago, Sher Shah Suri had bestowed the family five villages because of which the family came to be known as Panch-Gaon-Kayasth (Kayasth of the five villages) later shifted to the district headquarter Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh
Firaq was tutored Urdu and Persian, in accordance with the tradition of those days,he passed his matriculation in 1913.Government Jubilee college, Gorakhpur, did his graduation from Allahabad university. Compatriot to Harivansh Rai Bacchhan and legendary A N Jha as his mentor, he was married to Kishori Devi on June 29, 1914.
After graduation, Firaq joined the National Struggle in 1917, on the suggestion of Jawaharlal Nehru, and consequently was imprisoned for a year. *(In view of the jail sentence there was no possibility of him being selected for the I.C.S. in the following year.) His father died on June 18, 1918; now he was forced to take up a job. Thus, he was appointed as Deputy Collector in 1919. Firaq did his Masters in English, while still in service, from Agra University in 1930 and made up his mind to join the teaching profession. He was appointed as Lecturer in English in the Department of English, Allahabad University, from where he retired as Professor on December 31, 1968.
Poetry was was in his DNA father Ibrat Gorakhpuri himself was a celebrated poet of his times. His masnavi, Husn-e-Fitrat and another poem,Nashva-o-Numaaye Hind are famous even today. He started composing ghazals and nazms at the age of 15. his first tutor was Ameer Minai, a prominent poet of the time and later on became the pupil of Waseem Khairabadi.
Firaq’s significance as a ghazal poet is because of his fresh thematic contributions to the long-established format of the genre. Firaq was well versed in Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit and his knowledge of Hindu mythology was also exceptional. Furthermore, he was also a teacher of English literature. All these credentials helped him enrich the conventional form of ghazal. Firaq’s ghazal is deeply rooted in the sensuousness that is derived from the admiration of female form and appreciation of all the gorgeous things in life. His aesthetic expression and usage of the Brij dialect bestow a unique indianness to his ghazal. Firaq has been the blender of ghazal traditionally entrenched in Persian culture, with that of Indian culture.
The Kayasth family originally belonged to Baans Gaon Tehsil, it is said more than four hundred years ago, Sher Shah Suri had bestowed the family five villages because of which the family came to be known as Panch-Gaon-Kayasth (Kayasth of the five villages) later shifted to the district headquarter Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh
Firaq was tutored Urdu and Persian, in accordance with the tradition of those days,he passed his matriculation in 1913.Government Jubilee college, Gorakhpur, did his graduation from Allahabad university. Compatriot to Harivansh Rai Bacchhan and legendary A N Jha as his mentor, he was married to Kishori Devi on June 29, 1914.
After graduation, Firaq joined the National Struggle in 1917, on the suggestion of Jawaharlal Nehru, and consequently was imprisoned for a year. *(In view of the jail sentence there was no possibility of him being selected for the I.C.S. in the following year.) His father died on June 18, 1918; now he was forced to take up a job. Thus, he was appointed as Deputy Collector in 1919. Firaq did his Masters in English, while still in service, from Agra University in 1930 and made up his mind to join the teaching profession. He was appointed as Lecturer in English in the Department of English, Allahabad University, from where he retired as Professor on December 31, 1968.
Poetry was was in his DNA father Ibrat Gorakhpuri himself was a celebrated poet of his times. His masnavi, Husn-e-Fitrat and another poem,Nashva-o-Numaaye Hind are famous even today. He started composing ghazals and nazms at the age of 15. his first tutor was Ameer Minai, a prominent poet of the time and later on became the pupil of Waseem Khairabadi.
Firaq’s significance as a ghazal poet is because of his fresh thematic contributions to the long-established format of the genre. Firaq was well versed in Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit and his knowledge of Hindu mythology was also exceptional. Furthermore, he was also a teacher of English literature. All these credentials helped him enrich the conventional form of ghazal. Firaq’s ghazal is deeply rooted in the sensuousness that is derived from the admiration of female form and appreciation of all the gorgeous things in life. His aesthetic expression and usage of the Brij dialect bestow a unique indianness to his ghazal. Firaq has been the blender of ghazal traditionally entrenched in Persian culture, with that of Indian culture.
* Some accounts mention him asmember of ICS
* Youtube rendetion by Jagjit Singh
