The Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 21--Kaifi Azmi

Kaifi Azmi, born Syed Athar Husain Rizvi in 1919 in Mizwaan village near Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh), was one of the most influential Urdu poets of the 20th century. He showed literary promise from an early age, penning his first ghazal at the age of eleven. Deeply moved by social injustice, he became associated with the Progressive Writers’ Movement (Taraqqi Pasand Tahreek) in the 1940s—a collective of writers who sought to use literature as a vehicle for social reform, equality, and resistance against colonial and feudal oppression.

Kaifi’s political convictions led him to join the Communist Party of India, and he devoted his life to blending poetry with activism. He married Shaukat Kaifi, a noted stage and film actress, and their home in Bombay (now Mumbai) became a gathering place for artists, poets, and thinkers. His daughter, Shabana Azmi, is a celebrated actress who has carried forward his legacy of art with conscience.

Kaifi Azmi received numerous honors, including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award, but his truest legacy lies in his moral voice. His poetry collections include Jhankar, Aakhir-e-Shab, and Awara Sajde. He remained committed to secularism, communal harmony, and social justice throughout his life, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire poets and activists alike. Kaifi’s life demonstrated that poetry could be both aesthetically refined and socially transformative. In the landscape of Urdu literature, he stands as a bridge—connecting the romantic tradition of Ghalib and Faiz with the socially conscious modernism that continues to influence poets today.