Munawwar Rana Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Munawwar Rana

• Munawwar Rana (1952-2024) was an Indian poet who wrote in Hindi, Urdu, and Awadhi languages. His notable work includes the poetry book “Maa,” a compilation of couplets highlighting a mother’s virtues. He died due to cardiac arrest in January 2024.

• He was born in a Muslim Family in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh.

• After India’s partition, when most of his relatives migrated to Pakistan, his father preferred to reside in India.

• When Munawwar Rana was still a child, his family moved to Kolkata, where he had most of his schooling.

• The turmoil of partition snatched away the ‘Zamindari’ (land-owner-ship) from his father. Later, his father started a transport business for the subsistence.

• While in Kolkata, young Munawwar inclined towards ‘Naxalism.’ He started meeting Naxalites and also became friends with some of them. When his father came to know about his ‘Naxal’ connection, he evicted Munawwar out of the house. For the next two years, Munawwar wandered hither-thither without any concrete purpose. According to Munawwar, those two years were like a learning period for him and he had learned a lot about the human values and the epitome of life during that period.
  

  The Young Munawwar Rana

• Munawwar Rana was very close to his mother, and in most of his interviews and couplets, his love for ‘Mother’ was reflected explicitly.

• When Munawwar Rana visited Lucknow, he became so fascinated with the flavours of the city that it became his favourite city in the world.

• It was in Lucknow where Munawwar Rana met the famous Ghazal Shayar Wali Aasi. He started learning poetry under the mentorship of Wali Aasi. Munawwar Rana often credited his poetry skills to Wali Aasi.

• Munawwar recited his couplets for the first time at a ‘Mushaira’ in Delhi.

• In 2015, he attracted several criticisms for returning the Sahitya Akademi Award under the pretext of disturbing communal harmony in the country.

• He gained recognition for depicting sensitive issues in his couplets with the use of Hindi and Awadhi words.

• The most notable feature of Munawwar Rana’s poetry is that he eulogized ‘Mother’ in his couplets. A glimpse of his work:

          “मैंने रोते हुए पोंछे थे किसी दिन आँसू
मुद्दतों माँ ने नहीं धोया दुपट्टा अपना”

“किसी को घर मिला हिस्से में या कोई दुकाँ आई
मैं घर में सब से छोटा था मेरे हिस्से में माँ आई”

“ऐ अँधेरे! देख ले मुँह तेरा काला हो गया
माँ ने आँखें खोल दीं घर में उजाला हो गया”

“इस तरह मेरे गुनाहों को वो धो देती है
माँ बहुत ग़ुस्से में होती है तो रो देती है”

“अभी ज़िन्दा है माँ मेरी मुझे कु्छ भी नहीं होगा
मैं जब घर से निकलता हूँ दुआ भी साथ चलती है”

• He used to smoke cigarettes ocassionally.

• He used to consume alcohol on various ocassions.

• Here’s is a glimpse of Munawwar Rana and his poetic life: