Doyen of Kashmiri literature Rehman Rahi dies at 98

Samaan Lateef

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Srinagar January 9

Kashmir’s renowned poet and Jnanpith awardee Professor Rehman Rahi passed away on Monday morning at his Vicharnag residence in Srinagar. He was 98.

His funeral will be held at the shrine of Khwaja Habibullah Nowshehri (RA).

People from different sections of society, especially the literary circle, expressed condolences over his death.

Calling Rahi’s death a great loss to the Kashmiri language and literature, president of the Halqua-e-Adab Sonawari (HAS), Shakir Shafi remembered the close association of Prof Rahi with the organistation.

“Prof Rahi has always been of great support to HAS. He has rarely missed any major events of the organisation and would always ensure his presence on Prof Mohi ud Din Hajini Day. His absence at such events would be missed by all of us and his fans,” Shafi said.

In 1961, Prof Rahi was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection Nawroz-i-Saba, the Padma Shri in 2000 and India’ highest literary award, the Jnanpith Award (for the year 2004) in 2007.

Prof Rahi is the first Kashmiri writer to be awarded the Jnanpith, India’ highest literary award ,for his poetic collection “Siyah Rood Jaeren Manz” (In Black Drizzle).

“With the passing away of Prof Rahman Rahi, Kashmir has lost an era, a culturist, an institution and a grand versifier,” said Khalid Bazaz, a Kashmir University scholar.

Bazaz quoted a verse from Rahi’s work, “Din gawaehi myaene kaene, yem praene kaene daewaar meane (Stone wall remnants would speak for me).

“May Allah grant him highest place in Jannat with his long standing wish that ‘the pride of Kashmir be restored’ coming true pretty soon,” he said.

“I am deeply saddened by the demise of legendary Kashmiri poet and lyricist Rahman Rahi sahib. He will be remembered for his pre-eminent contribution as a poet and as a critic enriching Kashmiri language and literature in a profound manner. With his memorable and progressive poetry, he has left an indelible mark on the hearts of people. Today the literary world of Kashmir has suffered a great loss. His death marks the end of an era. My condolences to his loved ones in this hour of grief,” said former chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Prof Rahi’s original name was Abdur Rehman Mir. He was born in Srinagar in 1925. He did his schooling at Islamia High School, Srinagar, and his first post-graduation in Persian and then in English Literature from the University of Kashmir. Soon after he was appointed a lecturer in a government college.

A few years later, Rahi joined the Department of Persian at the University of Kashmir. In 1977 he joined the newly-established Department of Kashmiri at the university, where he taught till his retirement.

Though he was drawn to poetry from his childhood, Rahi started writing poems when he came under the influence of the Progressive Writers movement. In his early work of poetry, he comes off as an idealist romantic, aspiring for a perfect world where all his young passions would find fulfilment.

His poetic collection Nouroz-i Saba bears the imprint of this mix of progressive ideology and romantic aspirations. “This is quite visible in his poetry of this period which not only helps in tracing the evolution of Rahi as a poet but also in understanding his everlasting engagement with the pursuit of art in its purest sense. This compounding of the romantic with his passion for pure art is visible in many of his poems including Sheayir (The poet), Husn-e lazawal (The immortal beauty) and above all in fann baraye fann (Art for art’s sake). The last one celebrates art as an attitude which in itself is sufficient to survive in life,” said Dr Abid Ahmad, a literary critic.

“In his search for his own diction, Rahi fundamentally changed the idiom of Kashmiri poetry, thereby changing the traditional perceptions in Kashmir’s cultural constructs,” Ahmad said.

Through his creative expressions, Rahi literally created a fresh worldview that was more suitable for and more accommodating of the contemporary sensibility and contemporary realities. The result was poetry that has enriched the Kashmiri imagination, expression and idiom in an unparalleled way.

“Rahi’s poetry mirrors contemporary sensibility that reflects life’s tragic sense, its vulnerability, its awareness of the sense of fragmentation as experienced in contemporary times due to a higher level of consciousness, the latest research in sciences, both abstract and material, the historical evolution and the changed meanings of basic human emotions like love,” he said.

Rahi is the name of an ever-unfolding evolution. He is always open and receptive to changes outside and to growing maturity inside.

From being a celebrated poet to a trend-setting critic and literary theorist, Rahi remains one of the most formidable influences on Kashmiri culture and literature. His distinct approach to the Kashmiri language and its adoption to convey universal themes remains unique.

His legacy of having created his own idiom for his expression sets him apart from his contemporaries. His artistic accomplishments have expanded the imaginative and poetic world of the Kashmir language in an unprecedented way.