The Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5 Episode 13: Asghar Gondvi

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Asghar Hussain, known by his pen name Asghar Gondvi, was born in 1884 in Gorakhpur. Despite formally studying only up to the 8th class, Asghar achieved mastery of Urdu, Persian, and Arabic through self-study, and also gained proficiency in English. He was under the spiritual influence of Sayed Abdul Ghani Kazmi, a religious saint and mystic, and led a life of piety and self-control. Asghar worked in various occupations - he traded optical items, worked in the railway engineering department, and later worked at the India Press in Allahabad. He was associated with the Urdu magazine ‘Hindustani’ as an editor for many years, working under Tej Bahadur Sapru's Hindustani Press. He became a close associate of the famous poet Jigar Moradabadi, who guided him in his poetry. Jigar was married to a sister of Asghar's wife. His poetry collections include ‘Nishat-e-Rooh’ (Bliss of the Soul) and ‘Surood-e-Zindagi’ (Song of Life). Asghar Gondvi died in 1936 due to a paralytic stroke. While his work is relatively small compared to that of classical poets, the quality and spiritual depth of his poetry make it superior in its own right. His poetry continues to be celebrated for its mystical content, philosophical depth, and the unique way he expressed spiritual love through the traditional imagery of romantic Urdu poetry.