Rashid Meer (1 June 1950 – 11 May 2021) was a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

poet, critic, editor and researcher from India. He was a founder editor of ''

Dhabak ''Dhabak'' (Gujarati: ધબક) is a quarterly Gujarati language ghazal poetry journal published from Gujarat, India which is edited by Rashid Meer. It is dedicated to the growth and publicizing of Gujarati ghazal and its form. History ''Dhabak ...

'', a Gujarati ghazal poetry journal. He received his Ph.D. His significant works include ''Saat Suka Pandada'' (1993), ''Ghazal Nu Pariprekshya'' (1995), ''Thes'' (1998) and ''Adhakhula Dhwar'' (1999). The Indian National Theater,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

conferred the

Shayda Award Shayda Award (Gujarati:શયદા ઍવોર્ડ) is an annual award given to a young Gujarati ghazal poet. It was founded by the INT Aditya Birla Centre for Performing Arts & Research. The award is named after Gujarati ghazal poet Harji La ...

(2003) on him for his contributions to Gujarati ghazal poetry.

Biography

Meer was born in Thasra, a village in Padal of Kheda district to Kamaluddin Meer and Halima Meer. He completed his S.S.C. in 1968 from Sharada Mandir High School, Menpura. He completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1973 at Arts and Commerce College, Balasinor and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1975 from C. B. Patel Arts College,

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. The city is managed by the Nadiad Municipality. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

with Gujarati literature as one of his subjects. He completed his B. Ed. in 1980 from Faculty of Education,

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

and obtained his Ph.D. for his dissertation ''Gujarati Ghazal Ni Saundarya Mimansa'' from the same university. He died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on 11 May 2021 at

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

Career

Meer started his career as a teacher at M.E.H Girls High School,

. He started his writing career in 1968 with influences of

Ghalib Mirza Beg Asadullah Khan (Urdu, fa, مرزا بیگ اسد اللہ خان; 27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869) also known as Mirza Ghalib (Urdu, fa}) was an Urdu and Persian language, Persian shayar (poet), poet of the 19th century Mughal Em ...

, Faiz,

Jigar Moradabadi Ali Sikandar (6 April 1890 – 9 September 1960), known by his pen name as Jigar Moradabadi, was an Indian Urdu poet and ''ghazal'' writer. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his poetry collection "Atish-e-Gul", and was the secon ...

and

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

. In the same year, his ghazal came out for first time in Gujarati magazine ''Jay Jay''. He served as an administrator of Muslim Educational Society, Vadodara and wrote column ''Gulchhadi'' in ''

Gujarat Samachar ''Gujarat Samachar'' is a Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. Its headquarters are in Ahmedabad with a branch in Surat. It is distributed from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Mehsana, Bhuj and New Y ...

'' on every Tuesday. He was a founder editor of Gujarati ghazal poetry journal ''

'' in 1991.

Works

His first ghazal anthology, ''Thes'', was published in 1985, followed by ''Chitkaar'' (1987), ''Saat Suka Pandada'' (1993), ''Khali Hathno Vaibhav'' (1996), ''Adhakhula Dhwar'' (1999), ''Rubaru'' (2002) and ''Laapata ni Shodh'' (2010).

Criticism

His criticism of ghazal poetry includes; * ''Gujarati Ghazalni Saundarya Mimansa'' (1990; Ph.D. theses) * ''Ghazal Nu Paripreksha'' (1995) * ''Aapna Ghazalsarjako'' (1996) * ''Ghazal Vivaksha'' (2000) * ''Ghazal Vilokana'' (2001) * ''Ghazal Lok'' (2008) * ''Jigar Muradabadi'' (2002) * ''Faiz Ahmed Faiz'' (2005) * ''Ghazal Vanchana'' (2015)

Compilation

* ''Ghazal Nu Shil Ane Saundarya'' (1988) * ''Ghazals From Gujarati'' (English translation of selected Gujarati ghazals; 1996) * ''Ghazal Vimarsh'' (1998) * ''Suralay'' (2001) * ''Diwan-e-Patil'' (Unpublished works of Patil; 2003) * ''Gulchhadi'' Vol. 1 (2010)

References