ASA All , The news of Prof Qamar Rais (Qamar bhai to many of us ) sad demise is a big loss to Alig community .Qamar bhai was a towering personality in the literary and cutural field .I have had the pleasure of knowing Qamar bhai since his student days .Of course he was much senior to me in age .I first lerant about him when he edited Aligarh Magazine Urdu .He was also ediror of Jamia Urdu's jourmnal Adeeb .Aftter completing his PH D in Urdu under the guidance of Prof Rasheed Ahmad Siddiqui Qamar bhai joined Delhi university .Prof Khwaja Ahmad Farooqui the then Hear of Urdy Department of Delhi university recognized his potential and vwas instrumental in bringing him to Delhi university .Qamar bhai spent rest of his colourful life in the capital and over the yeaers he bacame an integral part of Delhi's intellectual and cultural life .After retitement from university he remained avtively associated with so many organzations and institutions like Delhi Urdu Academy ,Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Hind ,Ghalib Institute ,Urdu Council etc .It was a real pleasure to meet and interact with him at various litearsy functions and prrogrammes and he always met like an elder brother in a true Aligarh spirit ..My wife Salma was paricularly impressed when as Vice Chairman of Delhi Urdy Academy he came forward to greet us while he was surrounded by so many people and many VIPs were around .This was the graetness of Qamar Bhai . which made him a loveable persona.llity .Incidentally our last meeting took place just before a week at a function of Urdu Academy .Qamar Bhai's death is a big loss to Urdu world ..and Alig community .Let us pray for his maghfirat .and offer our sincere condolences to the bereaved family .Alvida Qamar bhai .I find it hard to think of a literary programme in Delhi without Qamar bhai . Dr Saleem Kidwai PHd 1976. Dr Saleem kidwai centre for Canadian,US and latin american studies, School of international studies jawaharlal nehru university New Delhi-110067,India |
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World Has Lost A Very Towering Personality
ReplyDeleteBY: PROFESSOR SYED WARIS SHERE
Renowned literary giant Professor Qamar Rais is no more. People from all walks of life around
the globe including politicians, writers, poets, scholars, educationists, and intellectuals
have condoled the sad and untimely demise of renowned literary giant Professor Qamar Rais. My
wife Parvin Shere and I were aggrieved on the death of Qamar Rais Bhai. Qamar Rais Bhai holds a
unique position as one of the best literary figures of current times, with a fine but
simplistic style of writing, even common people can easily understand and identify with.
Professor Qamar Rais was a notable scholar. He was one of the distinguished Urdu writers of the
twentieth century who are known for a unique style of their own. He was also a critic, a
biographer and an essayist of great distinction. Known for his impressionistic criticism, a
lively style of expression and eye for the right word, he has few equals in Urdu literature. We
have known him for over a quarter of a century. Qamar Bhai visited our home here in Winnipeg,
Canada along with Ahmad Faraz and Rais Amrohi. Only last year he honoured Parvin Shere during
our visit to Delhi at the Urdu and Ghalib academy and prior to that Parvin was honoured at the
Jamia Miliah. Professor Qamar Bhai along with Professor Ateequllah, Professor Quazi Obaidur
Hashmi were very instrumental in
organizing a superb evening presided by Dr.
Mushirul Hasan, the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Miliah. Qamar bhai was very fond of Parvin's work
and published her poetry and fiction very frequently in Aiwane-Urdu. He also paid a glowing
tribute to Parvin and wrote in depth in her book "KIRCHIAN". He authored "Zaheeruddin Muhammad
Babar", which is about the person who laid the foundations of the Mughal Empire in the sub-
continent. The book gives a different picture of the man. As Prof Qamar Rais says in the
foreword, he had for long been studying the works of Ali Sher Nawai and such other classical
poets of Uzbekistan but realized during his stay in that country that those people revered
Babar more for being an intellectual and a lyrical poet. In fact, even during the Soviet era,
he saw Babar’s pictures hung in most homes showing him holding a book and sunk in deep thought.
Professor Qamar Rais played a very significant role during the birth centenary of Sajjad
Zaheer in 2005 and the ensuing year has been earmarked for its celebration throughout India.
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, held a seminar in his memory in which, among others, Inder Kumar
Gujral, Dr Gopichand Narang and Prof Musheer-ul-Hasan participated. The monograph ‘Sajjad
Zaheer: Life and Achievements’, in the series of ‘Makers of Indian Literature’, was also
released at that time. Qamar Rais Bhai's popularity in life was as incredible as when he has
parted from us in the physical sense. In Professor Qamar Rais the world has lost a very
towering personality.
I have also written about his sad demise on my urdu blog here
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