Ghazal is a form of poetry that was introduced to India by the Moghuls in the 12th century. While Ghazals can be written in any language, in India it is more popularly written in Urdu, Hindi and Gujarati. When it comes to Gujarati Ghazals, the city of Surat is considered the front runner with the most popular Ghazalkars or Shayers (i.e. poets) coming from Surat. In an unprecedented move, a publisher from Surat has published a book called Ghazal-E-Surat that contains about 76 Ghazals from the 41 living Ghazalkars. I came across this news on the blog of Dr. Vivek Tailor a Ghazalkar from Surat, and Layastro a leading Gujarati Ghazal site. One of the Ghazalkars published in the book is my Grandfather, H. N. Keshwani. My Grandfather is well known in the Gujarati Ghazal circle in Surat, but little outside of it. I am very proud of my Grandpa for his achievements, and very happy that he was recognized by the publishers of Ghazal-E-Surat. Among the other Ghazalkars’ pictures on the front and back cover of the book, my Grandpa is on front cover, first picture on the third row.
Image courtesy: Dr. Vivek Tailor who is also published in the book.
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