Shamsur Rahman Faruqi

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Biography

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi is an Indian poet and Urdu critic, is regarded as the founder of the new movement in Urdu literature. He along with his nephew Mahmood Farooqui, have played significant roles in the revival of Dastangoi in the past one decade or so, an Urdu oral storytelling art form. Both are known for their outstanding contributions in the revival of Dastangoi in the new millennium.  Since its revival, Mahmood Farooqui and fellow actors have travelled across the world with their performances and they performed before Jama Masjid in Old Delhi and the Mohatta Palace in Karachi, Pakistan.

As a leading Urdu critic and theorist, his writings and novels are welcomed by readers and often mobbed by fans who wouldn't stop asking him questions, just to catch his attention. He is known for using western principles of literary criticism and applied it to Urdu literature, and has made a dormant contribution in this area. He is regarded to be an expert in classical prosody and ‘ilm-e bayan. Sher, Ghair Sher, Aur Nasr, (1973) The Secret Mirror (in English, 1981) and Ghalib Afsaney Ki Himayat Mein, (1989) are some of his published works.

Shamsur was born in January 15, 1935 and completed his post-graduation in English from Allahabad University in 1955. He started writing in the early 1960s and many of his essays were rejected by editors. But slowly Faruqi emerged as one of the leading Urdu critics of the region. He worked in Indian postal department for 8 years since 1960, and then chief postmaster-general and member of the Postal Services Board, New Delhi - a post he held till his retirement in 1994. He started a literary magazine Shabkhoon, where he served as editor. He also worked as part-time professor in many educational institutions and universities including University of Pennsylvania.

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Updated: December 11, 2015