Munawwar Rana

Munawwar Rana was born in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh in 1952, but spent most of his life in Kolkata.[3]

He uses Hindi and Awadhi words and avoids Persian and Arabic. This makes his poetry accessible to Indian audiences and explains his success in poetic meets in non-Urdu areas.[4][5]

Munawwar has published numerous ghazals.[6] He has a distinct style of writing. Most of his Shers have Mother as the centre point of his love, much different from other poets.[7]

• Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu Literature (2014).[8] He returned the award about one year later, during the"intolerance" movement started by the civil society activists in the run-up to the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election. He vowed to never again accept a government award. He was accused (along with other Akademi award winners) of conspiring to tarnish the image of government).[9][10]

Munnawar Rana is married and lives in Lucknow.[11]

• Munawwar Rana's selected couplets
• Official site