''Shabkhoon'' was an
literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evalu ...
started in June 1966 in
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admin ...
, India.
The magazine was founded and edited by poet and author
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi who used to work on it along with his job at the Indian Postal Service. The journal covered the modernist (jadidiyat) voice in Urdu literature at a time when the literary scene was dominated by progressive literature (taraqqi pasand) and was hailed as "the harbinger of modernism in Urdu".
The Magazine was calligraphed by a scribe (katib) Salimullah Naiyer.
Forty years after being started, the journal was published for the last time in June 2006.
Though it was popular, it ceased publication owing to editor Shamsur Rahman Faruqi's failing health.
Describing the support of his wife Jamila Faruqi, Rehman said:
Origins
Faruqi initially thought of naming the Magazine ''Teesha'' (axe or adze) associated with
Farhad, a stonemason in the Persian Romance
Khosrow and Shirin, who had to cut through a mountain. Finally, ''Shabkhoon'' (surprise attack by night) — an allusion to "shaking the world of
rdu RDU may refer to:
*Raleigh–Durham International Airport's IATA code
*The Raleigh–Durham area
*RDU-FM, a New Zealand radio station
*Red Dot United, a political party in Singapore
*WTKK, a radio station licensed at the time to Wilson, North Caroli ...
literature out of stasis" — was decided upon. The magazine was financially supported by Faruqi's wife Jamila. It was published for the first time in June 1966 with Progressive writer Ejaz Hussain as its first editor.
Notable Contributors
The magazine became so popular that progressive writers started contributing to the magazine. The magazine also published works of Pakistani writers. Some of the notable contributors include:
*
Adil Mansuri
Adil Farid Mohammed Ghulam Nabi Mansuri (18 May 1936 – 6 November 2008) was an Indian poet, playwright, and calligrapher, primarily responsible for the development of modern Gujarati ghazal poetry and plays. He wrote in several languages, namely ...
*
Ali Sardar Jafri
*
Anwar Sajjad
*
Asif Farrukhi
*
Balraj Komal
*
Intizar Hussain
*
Ismat Chughtai
*
Rajinder Singh Bedi
*
Zafar Iqbal
External links
Various editions of the magazine are available on Rekhta
References
{{Reflist
2006 disestablishments in India
Defunct literary magazines
Defunct magazines published in India
Literary magazines published in India
Magazines established in 1966
Magazines disestablished in 2006
Mass media in Allahabad
Urdu-language magazines
1966 establishments in Uttar Pradesh