Mahjoor

Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad (Kashmiri: ग़ुलाम अहमद (Devanagari), غلام احمد (Nastaleeq)); 3 September 1885 − 9 April 1952), better known by the pen name Mahjoor (Kashmiri: महजूर (Devanagari), مہجور (Nastaleeq)), was a renowned poet of the Kashmir Valley, along with contemporaries, Zinda Kaul, Abdul Ahad Azad, Dinanath Nadim. He is especially noted for introducing a new style into Kashmiri poetry and for expanding Kashmiri poetry into previously unexplored thematic realms. In addition to his poems in Kashmiri, Mahjoor is also noted for his poetic compositions in Persian and Urdu.

Early life

Mahjoor was born in the village of Mitrigam, Pulwama, 38 km from Srinagar and 5 km from Pulwama. Mahjoor got his pen name MAHJOOR when he visited Punjab and starting writing poetry under the influence of great urdu poet, Shibli Namani . Mahjoor followed in the academic footsteps of his father, who was a scholar of Persian language. He received the primary education from the Maktab of Aashiq Trali (a renowned poet) in Tral. After passing the middle school examination from Nusrat-ul-Islam School, Srinagar, he went to Punjab where he came in contact with Urdu poets like Bismil Amritsari and Moulana Shibi Nomani. He returned to Srinagar in 1908 and started writing in Persian and then in Urdu. Determined to write in his native language, Mahjoor used the simple diction of traditional folk storytellers in his writing.