Urdu Poets (Firaq Gorakhpuri)

Raghupati Sahay 'Firaq' Gorakhpuri (Urdu: فراق گورکھپوری) (1896-1982) was one of the most noted contemporary Hindu, Urdu poets from India. He established himself, in an era which boasted stalwarts of Urdu poetry, likes of Sahir, Iqbal, Bhupendra Nath Kaushik "Fikr", Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Kaifi Azmi.

His noted poetry collections include, Rooh-o-Qaayanat, Gul-e-Ra'naa, Nagma-numaa and his magnum opus, Gul-e-Naghma.

Raghupati Sahay, was born in 1896, Gorakhpur in a Kayastha family. He was co-opted into the Provincial Civil Service (PCS), but resigned and joined Allahabad University as a lecturer in English. It was here he wrote most of his Urdu poetry and his magnum opus Gul-e-Naghma which fetched him the Jnanpith Award and also the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu, and was later awarded the highest award of the 'Akademi', the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship' in 1970. Of a very sharp intellect, he was also known for his vituperative wit.

He died in 1982.