Jafar Askari is the son of famous Urdu critic Prof. Syed Ahtesham Hussain. He spent a considerable time in Allahabad where Muslim Saleem had a chance to meet him regularly at his Khuldabad house. Later, Jafar Askari moved to and settled in Lucknow. He joined Shia College there and has now retired as Urdu reader. Here is what Jafar Askari thinks about Muslim Saleem and his poetry.
Not only I was delighted to read the article by Dr. Jafar Askari on Muslim Saleem Sahib but the memories of his father, Prof. Ahtesham Husain came flooding. First time, more than fifty years ago I met him at the house of Mr. Rizawi who was Director of Archives. Later, in the sixties, he and I traveled together, in the same compartment, from Aligarh to Delhi and really got to know each other. I regret to say that my contact with him ended when I settled in the United States in 1964. He did such a service to literature that he will be remembered always. I enjoyed his son's insightful article on Mr. Muslim Saleem and found his comments poignant. Dr. Shahzad Rizvi
ReplyDeleteHai yeh Jafar Asari ka Haq ba janib tabsera
ReplyDeleteShair e khush fikr o khush guftar haiN Muslim Saleem
Ahmad Ali Barqi Azmi