Padhiye To Aankh Paiye

Ramkumar Krishak holds a special place among those who gave the Hindi ghazal its own identity, distinct from the traditional Urdu ghazal. The skill with which he incorporated broader socio-political concerns and the prosaic expanse of thought into his ghazal places him among the leading Hindi ghazal writers. His ghazals, written in Tatsam, Tadbhava, and colloquial vocabulary, not only showcase his unique linguistic style but also the struggle that every honest writer goes through when giving words to their experiences. To convey his message to the reader with its full intensity, he often expands the genre boundaries of the ghazal with his innovative rhymes and kaafis; yet he never violates the discipline of the ghazal, nor the fluidity that has been the foundation of its popularity. This collection, comprising a selection of his ghazals from 1978 to the present, not only reflects his evolution as a writer but also offers an emotional diary of our socio-political history spanning this period. The ever-increasing inequality in society, the deviation from democratic values, the increasingly distorted character of power and those in power, the misuse of religious beliefs, the terrorist expansion of the market, and the everyday helplessness and loneliness of humanity in the face of it; there is nothing that the common man of the country has endured over the past four decades that Ramkumar Krishak has not captured in his ghazals. For those who consider Hindi ghazal a powerful and autonomous genre, these ghazals are essential reading.