Munawwar Rana

Munawwar Rana Biography

Munawwar Rana is a modern Urdu poet from Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. He has published numerous ghazals apart from other forms of poetry. Most of his poetry works have ‘Mother’ as the centre point of his love, much different from other poets who pen romantic lines. He received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu Literature in the year 2014 for his immense contributions to Urdu literature. However he returned the award in 2015, during the "intolerance" movement started by the civil society activists of Bihar. He also took vow never to accept any honour given by government. He chooses Hindi and Awadhi words for his poetry, and avoids Persian and Arabic.

Munawwar Rana was born in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh in 1952. But he spent most of his time in Kolkata. He is currently settled in Lucknow with his wife. Apart from poetry, he also writes prose pieces. Rana is famous for his couplets comprising Hindi and Awadhi words, and this special talent gave him a better edge than other poets among his contemporaries. Another characteristic of his works is the absence of flowery language. Most of his works are about praises to mother.

He is a very popular poet at Mushairas. He also performs wonderful and live poetry on stage for special occasions and events. In 2006 in a public function, a public spat between him and poet Bashir Badr happened. The celebrated poet penned hundreds of ghazals dedicated to mother thus creating a special genre in ghazals, at a time when ghazals are mostly dedicated to romance and love feelings. Rana is not interested in receiving awards, and he never submits his writings for an award.

Published: March 01, 2019

Updated: March 01, 2019