About
Farhat Ehsas, born Farhatullah Khan in 1952 in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, is one of the foremost contemporary post-modern Urdu poets in India, and also a critic, journalist, translator and scriptwriter. A specialist in the classical Persian and Urdu poetic tradition, he has evolved an idiom that draws on classical aesthetics to voice the sorrows and small joys of the common person amid social and ethical upheaval.
Ehsas edited the literary magazine of the prestigious Urdu daily Qaumi Aawaz, and for over fifteen years contributed current-affairs commentaries to All India Radio and the BBC Urdu Service. He has written scripts for poetry programmes and serials, and is at present closely associated with Rekhta, the platform for Urdu poetry and literature. He has published more than 250 essays alongside his poetry.
The artistry
Ehsas writes a post-modern Urdu that draws freely on classical aesthetics while confronting contemporary realities, giving voice to the common person amid corruption, anarchy and psychic void. His prose criticism is admired for clarity, subtlety and principled argument.
Ehsas offers a host a mushaira recitation or an incisive in-conversation on Urdu poetry and society, with the authority of a poet-critic and broadcaster. Strong for literary and academic programmes. [Atlas Assessment]
A significant modern voice who brings intellectual seriousness and social conscience to Urdu poetry and criticism.