Ahmad Siddiq, better known by his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Majnun Gorakhpuri (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Afsana)

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

Life

Ahmad Siddiq, known as Majnun Gorakhpuri, was born on 10 May 1904 in

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

(then United Provinces). His father was Muhammed Farooq Devana Gorakhpuri who used to teach at Aligarh Muslim University as a professor and also used to write a newspaper column in Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar's newspaper ''Hamdard''. His friend

Firaq Gorakhpuri Raghupati Sahay (28 August 1896 – 3 March 1982), also known by his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, was an Indian writer, critic, and, according to one commentator, one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. He established himself ...

also hailed from Gorakhpur and was now settled in

Allahbad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

. Firaq himself recalls, "Majnun Gorakhpuri came to Allahabad those days and got admitted to a college. He was staying with me and his company dispelled my loneliness a little". He added: "In those days I used to spend a good deal of my time in the company of Majnun Gorakhpuri and

Munshi Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...

. Their company helped to awaken my poetic instincts and kindle my thoughts". Majnun Gorakhpuri then became associated with the

Progressive Writers Movement The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' (( ur, ) or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगति� ...

since its inception. Other notable short story writers like

Ismat Chughtai Ismat Chughtai (21 August 1915 – 24 October 1991) was an Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker. Beginning in the 1930s, she wrote extensively on themes including female sexuality and femininity, middle-class ...

and

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, ur, , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author born in Ludhiana, who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing ma ...

also took inspiration from him. Ismat Chughtai once admitted publicly and acknowledged that she used to practice short story writing by emulating Majnun Gorakhpuri's style, before she actually started her own literary career. Majnun Gorakhpuri himself was inspired by the writings of noted writer

Niaz Fatehpuri Niaz Fatehpuri (1884–1966) was the pen name of Niyaz Muhammed Khan, a Pakistani Urdu poet, writer, and polemicist. He was also the founder and editor of ''Nigar''. In 1962, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India for "Literat ...

(1884 – 1966).

Education

Majnun Gorakhpuri's early education took place in Gorakhpur, and he went to Allahbad University for higher education. He earned his MA in English degree from

Agra University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after B. R. Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of t ...

and thereafter earned an MA in Urdu degree from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

Academic career

Majnun Gorakhpuri taught at different colleges and universities throughout his life including

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Gorakhpur University DDU Gorakhpur University (simply known as University of Gorakhpur) is located in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The University of Gorakhpur is a teaching and residential-cum-affiliating University. It is about . from the downtown to the east and al ...

and the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

. He taught in the Department of Urdu at

. He migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1967 and went on to live in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and taught at

Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whi ...

till his last years of life.KARACHI: Majnun Gorakhpuri remembered
Dawn (newspaper), Published 17 October 2004, Retrieved 25 August 2018

Literary work and contribution

Besides his collection of short stories, Majnun Gorakhpuri wrote over 25 books on Urdu literature. Literary Criticism ''Adab aur zindagi'': Majnun Gorakhpuri ki chand tanqidat ka majmu'ah, tarmim-o-izafah ke sath (1944) ''Iqbal: Ijmali tabsirah'' (1945) ''Tanqidi hashiye: Tanqidi mazamin ka majmu'ah'' (1945) ''Nuqūsh-O-Afkār'' (1955) ''Sher Aur Ghaazal'' (1962) ''Adab Aur Zindagī'' ; Majnoon, Ahmad Siddiq (1964) ''Ghazal Sara'' (1964) ''Ghālib : Shakhs Aur Shāir'', (Karāchī : Maktabah-i Arbāb-i Qalam, 1974) ''Armaghān-I-Majnūn'' (1980, 1984) ''Jamaliat'' (aesthetics) ''Masnavi-i-Zahr-i ishq, Mirza Shauq : tabsire'' by Majnun Gorakhpuri and Mohsin Faruqi; (digar rumani dastanen, Mohsin Faruqi tazkirah va tanqid) Criticism and interpretation on Zahr-i-ishq, poetical work written in 1855 by Mirzā Shauq; includes criticism on different folk tales by Mohsin Fārūqī. ''Pardesi ke Khutut'' Collections of Short stories *''Saman posh'' (1934) *''Zaidi Ka Hashr'' * ''Khvab-o-khayal aur dusare afsane'' (1943) * ''Saman posh aur dusre afsane, jin ka ta'alluq ruhaniyat se hai'' (1971) Translations: * ''King Lear'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(Urdu) * Shamshoun Mubariz (Samson Agonistes by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

) He also edited 'Aivan' literary journal/magazine from Gorakhpur 1931-35.

Awards and recognition

*He was a winner of

Tamgha-i-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

(Medal of Distinction) in Pakistan which he accepted reluctantly from President

General Zia Ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

References