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ABSTRACT
In this interview, Geeta Patel discusses her research on the Urdu modernist poet Miraji (1912–49), including her influential work Lyrical Movements, Historical Hauntings: On Gender, Colonialism and Desire in Miraji’s Urdu Poetry (Stanford, 2002), the first book in English devoted to Miraji’s oeuvre. Convened in 2019, this interview was conducted as a conversation with a new generation of Miraji scholars. Patel describes the challenges she faced in her research as well as the difficulties researchers must address in studying Miraji today.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. The Sahitya Akademi, also known as the National Academy of Letters, is India’s premiere literary organization.
2. Asrar ul Haq ‘Majaz’ (1911–1955) is a well-known Urdu poet who wrote poems about revolution and romantic love.
3. C.M. Naim (1936-) is one of the foremost scholars of Urdu literature and founder of two prominent Urdu journals, The Annual of Urdu Studies and Mahfil. He is currently professor emeritus at the University of Chicago.
4. Frances Pritchett (1947-) is a leading scholar of nineteenth-century Urdu poetry and literature. She is currently professor emerita at Columbia University.
5. Akhtar ul Iman (1915–1996) is a prominent Urdu poet who is best known for reinventing the Urdu nazm [poem].
6. Waris Alvi (1928–2014) is a prominent twentieth century Urdu poet.
7. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (1942-) is University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University.
8. Jamil Jalibi (1929–2019) was a prominent Urdu scholar, linguist and teacher. He edited the complete works of Miraji (Kulliyat-e-Miraji) as well as a volume of essays by and about Miraji (Mutala-e-Miraji).
9. Seh Aatisha [Black Fire] is a collection of poems by Miraji.
10. Zulfikar Ali Bukhari (1904–1975) and Patras Bukhari (1898–2958) are distinguished radio broadcasters who began their career at All India Radio in Delhi, India. In the 1930’s and 40’s they recruited a number of important Urdu writers (including Miraji and Saadat Hasan Manto) to work for AIR in Delhi. After Partition, they moved to Pakistan and worked for Radio Pakistan.
11. Edward Said (1935–2003) was a Professor of Literature at Columbia University.
12. Altaf Hussain Hali (1837–1914) was a prominent nineteenth-century Urdu poet and a writer.
13. Shabkhoon [Evening’s Blood] was an Urdu literary magazine that began in 2966 and lasted until 2006. It was published by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi and featured modernist literature in Urdu.
14. Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan or Ghalib (1797–1869), is one of the most prominent and renowned literary figured in Urdu poetry. He wrote during the last years of the Mughal Empire, and his legacy endures in South Asia today.
15. Faiz Ahmed Faiz (February 1911–1984) is one of the founders of Modernist Urdu poetry. He is best known for uniting the ideals of revolution with the images, metaphors and styles of the Urdu ghazal.
16. Noon Meem Rashed (1910–1975) is one of the founders of Modernist Urdu poetry. He is best known for his complex, abstract poems in both Urdu and Persian.
17. Muhammad Hasan Askari (1919–18 January 1978) was a Pakistani scholar, literary critic and writer. He is best known for his literary criticism and essays.
18. This refers to a Journal by the Progressive Writers’ Association (1935–1949), a Marxist-literary collective who believed in representing the plight of the poor and downtrodden in literature.
19. Carlo Coppola is Professor Emeritus of Hindi-Urdu and Linguistics at Oakland University (Michigan, USA) and is best known for his comprehensive work on the Progressive Writers Association, especially his book Urdu Poetry 1935–1970 (Oxford University Press, 2017).
20. Sampooran Singh Kalra (1934-) known by his penname Gulzar is a poet and lyricist for Bollywood cinema.
21. Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) is research institute for the social sciences and humanities in New Delhi, India.
22. Mirabai (1498–1546) was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and is celebrated as a Bhakti saint.
23. Saadat Hasan Manto (1912–1955) was a prominent modernist Urdu writer and playwright. He is celebrated for his social realism and his short stories of Partition.
24. Ismat Chughtai (1915–1991) was a well-known Urdu writer. She is best known for the feminist themes of her short stories and novels, which largely focus on the patriarchal conditions of women’s lives.
25. Zoe Ansari (1925–1991) was a prolific Urdu writer, critic, poet and translator. He worked for a time at All India Radio and is best known for his translations of Russian writers.