Name: Gautam Rajrishi (हिंदी: गौतम राजऋषि)
Born: 10 March 1975, in Saharsa, Bihar
Language: Hindi, Urdu
Genres: Poetry, Shayari, Ghazal, Short stories
Books: Paal Le Ik Rog Naadan, Hari Muskurahaton Wala Collage, Neela–Neela

Introduction: 

With the rise of contemporary Hindi literature in India, readers have been left with too many options. They can enjoy contemporary poetry, short stories, novels and Shayari and ghazals written by many authors as they all compete to exhibit their talent, peculiar features and unique qualities to the readers. The world of shayari, especially in Urdu, has seen the rise of many emerging talents who have the gift of mesmerising their audience with two-three or four lines or even a single line. After the publication of Neela-Neela in 2020, a name that is regularly featuring in gatherings of Shayars and poets, Gautam Rajrishi has created a separate space for himself on the horizon of contemporary Urdu poetry. His unique style that offers an amalgam of the contemporary and traditional is being appreciated by the critics and liked by the readers. Gautam has been published in various Hindi-Urdu magazines and newspapers in recent years. A serving Indian army officer, he is known for his shayaris that exhibit love, emotions and various human-feelings in a language that is spoken by the general people, more often.

Personal Details:

Gautam Rajrishi was born in 1975, in Saharsa, Bihar. He completed his initial education in Saharsa before leaving for National Defence Academy, Khadagwasla, Pune, Maharashtra. Most of the postings of Gautam has been in the terror-affected areas in Kashmir. Gautam has been awarded the Sena Medal and the Parakram Padak for the valour that he exhibited many times during the combat with terrorists and enemies of the nation. Though he serves the Indian Army as a Colonel, the sounds of guns and canons have not been able to sway him away from the music of poetry and shayari. He has been writing for many years now. A harmonious bond between gun and pen…

His Writing:

Gautam Rajrishi began his writing with publications in various Hindi literary magazines. He mainly produces contemporary Hindi-Urdu shayari and Ghazals. Known for his peculiar use of language, Gautam appeals to both the segments of readers – the traditional ones as well as contemporary readers of Urdu poetry. He writes about love, meeting someone, falling apart, waiting, living, his duty, evening, morning, night, village, urban psyche and so on… he has seldom left a theme or an issue that has been traditionally dealt with by the Urdu-Hindi writers. However, his approach to these themes is different compared to traditional as well as contemporary writers. He uses the language that is used today by most of the people in general conversation. In short, for Gautam, the way he talks is not different from the way he writes. Except for qualities like rhyme and rhythm, his language is very close to the language that contemporary readers use every day.

हमने भी उम्मीद अब तो छोड़ दी
फ़ेसबुक पर वो भी दिखनी बंद है

Gautam uses not only the language of the commons but also all the contemporary household and friendly aspects of life. Facebook also features in his shayari, English words get space in his lines, occasionally and he also keeps a connect with the traditional terms that have been enriching the art of Indian poets for centuries. So, he is not parting with the tradition, for sure. However, he is trying to connect more readers with his accommodative or adaptive use of language. And this is, to be honest, a very good initiative. Very much in line with Kumar Vishwas like poets but with a different style and unique appeal.

कूचा-कूचा रुसवाई थी…जोगी करता भी तो क्या
गंगा-जमुना पलकों पर ले संगम-संगम बैठा है

Gautam’s mastery over words doesn’t limit itself to the genre of poetry & short poetry (shayari) only but also extends to storytelling. His short story writing has also been praised by the readers who read Hari Muskurahaton Wala Collage, a collection of short stories that the author has dedicated to his colleagues and everyone in the Indian Army. Mainly coming from emotional aspects of another side of the lives of our brave army men, the short stories in Gautam’s collection have added many readers to the list of his admirers.

Books by Gautam Rajrishi:

Paal Le Ik Rog Naadan, poetry collection, 2017
Hari Muskurahaton Wala Collage, short story collection, 2018
Neela-Neela, poetry collection, 2020

Conclusion:

Gautam’s contributions have been duly acknowledged by the literary fraternity in India. Contemporary Hindi literature in India has become popular once again, after the dusk that it has seen and we all know when, and it owes too much to the poets like Gautam. Gautam’s ‘free-style’ shayaris and poetry must have inspired many young talents who want to reach the readers with their talent but hesitated because of their language of style. Gautam Rajrishi knows only one thing – delivering the message in a creative way and make it the best-delivered it can be, with a language that is not too subtle to make it a dry transfer of thoughts. These are, as of yet, the attempts of the poet made in the time that he could manage after his duty to the nation. Let us hope that we will have the opportunity to read the best of Gautam’s poetry once he enjoys the freedom to write whenever he wants. Nevertheless, one can certainly be sure of the fact that Gautam is capable enough to deliver memorable couplets or wonderful misres and shayaris which the youths would hum and seasoned readers would be delighted to read. A popular genre that is becoming even more popular as the journey goes on should see more of this poet as he continues writing. Often seen on the stages of many poetry festivals, shayars-gathering and mushayaras, Gautam’s writing will be delighting the readers in the coming years and we will also update the sections as we observe the progress.

With best wishes to the poet, it is also to inform the readers that they can know more about Gautam by visiting his website: https://gautamrajrishi.in/

Written by Amit Mishra for The Indian Authors