Gopal Mittal (1906–1993) (
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
: گوپال مِتّل) was an
Urdu poet
Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...
, writer, critic and journalist.
Biography
Gopal Mittal was born on 6 June 1906 in
Malerkotla
Malerkotla is a city and the district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It served as the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the Dominion of India, un ...
,
Punjab Province, British India
The Punjab Province, officially the Province of the Punjab, was a Presidencies and provinces of British India, province of British India, with its capital in Lahore and summer capitals in Murree and Simla. At its greatest extent, it stretched ...
. His father, Walayati Ram Jain, was a renowned practitioner of
Unani
Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific.
The term '' Yūnānī'' means 'Greek', ref ...
medicine. After completing his schooling in
Malerkotla
Malerkotla is a city and the district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It served as the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the Dominion of India, un ...
as a student of Malerkotla High School, and college education in 1932 as a student of
Sanatan Dharma College
Sanatan Dharma College commonly known as S.D. College, is a graduate and post graduate college, established in 1916 and situated in Ambala Cantonment, India on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway. Originally established in Lahore, the college was re ...
, Lahore, he joined "Subah e Ummid" a newspaper published from
Ludhiana
Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224
http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF
Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...
that soon folded up. He then joined "Shahkar" published by Maulana Tajwar Najeebabadi from
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, and alongside also wrote for "Jagat Laxmi", a Film-magazine. He lived in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
till August 1947 and thereafter moved to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
where he worked for the Daily Urdu newspapers, "Milap" and "Tej". In 1953 he left this employment and started publication of Monthly Tahreek that he also edited.
From 1956 to 1979,
Makhmoor Saeedi was the Joint Editor of this magazine.
Gopal Mittal was 87 years old when he died in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
on 15 April 1993.
Literary life
Gopal Mittal was a progressive writer and a creative writer. He has written some of the finest verses on "man and his destiny." "His complete works published in 1994 contain a rich fare of ghazals, nazms and qatas besides diadactic and religious verses." He was a more fluent writer of
nazm
''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ghazal.
is significantly written ...
s.
Till date four collections of his nazms, ghazals and qatas have come to light, they are – 1) ''Dorahaa'', 2) ''Saharaa Mein Azaan'', 3) ''Sharaar e naghmaa'' and 4) Sachche Bole. He had also penned his memoirs titled – Lahore kaa jo zikr kiyaa
(). His complete works, titled ''Kulliyaat e Gopal Mittal'', were published after his demise.
His life and works were commented upon and appraised by leading poets and writers –
Jagan Nath Azad
Jagan Nath Azad (5 December 1918 – 24 July 2004), List.No.380 was an Indian Urdu poet, writer and academician. He wrote over 70 books, including poetry collections, poems, biographies, and travelogues.
He was a well known author on the ...
, Makhmur Saeedi,
Wazir Agha, Balraj Komal, Hamidi Kashmiri, Bani, Hayatullah Ansari, Rashid Hasan Khan, Azad Gulati,
Krishan Mohan,
Zia Fatehabadi and Nazir Siddiqi, whose assessments were compiled and edited by Kumar Pashi and published in 1983 titled ''Gopal Mittal – shakhsiyat aur fan'' (). Earlier a similar earlier exercise conducted and later on compiled by Muhammad Abdulhakim titled ''Gopal Mittal – ek mutalia'' was published by Nazish Book Centre in 1977. In 2005 an appraisal of his poetry conducted by Ziyauddin was published titled ''Gopal Mittal: Shakhs Va Shair''.
Bibliography
Urdu Poetry:
* ''Doraahaa'' (1944)
* ''Saharaa mein azaan'' (1970)
* ''Sharaar e naghmaa'' (1984)
* ''Sachche Bole'' (1988)
* ''Kulliyaat e Gopal Mittal'' (1994)
Memoirs:
* ''Lahore ka jo zikr kiya''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mittal, Gopal
1906 births
1993 deaths
People from Sangrur district
Urdu-language poets from India
Hindu poets
20th-century Indian poets
Indian male poets
Poets from Punjab, India
20th-century Indian male writers