Gautam Rajrishi – The soldier with a pen & shayar with a gun!

There have been many wonders in the history that we often remember to realise how wonderful the world has been over the centuries, coming to this age of chaos and uncertainty. Out of many countries in the world, India has certainly been a nation with an eye for the surprises and ears too… with a big heart! Getting to know artists, poets, authors, dancers and so many people from so many walks of life is not a big thing here. However, when we know special people from the fields that seldom match their secondary skill, there are surprises that pleasantly shock us! Today, I will be introducing one such talent from the world of Hindi-Urdu literature, shayari genre, Gautam Rajrishi. Gautam Rajrishi is a serving Indian Army officer and also a well-known shayar who has been actively writing for more than a decade now.

Neela-Neela, a recent publication by Gautam, in early 2020, has given him fame and wide popularity. He is praised by the readers for his instantly connecting style, use of easy words and a style which might be dubbed as unconventional or avant-garde by many classical shayars who like to write traditionally. However, in spite of everything and along with all the qualities that Gautam has, his works have been very popular among the young readers and admirers of Urdu Shayari… an increasing lot day by day.

Gautam Rajrishi tries to fuse rationale and imagination together in such a way that his works become everyone’s work. For example, he can write about a couple fighting over small issues like shopping and ornaments, a lady denying her partner about some minor thing, a person wooing his beloved to sit in the car, a soldier remembering his lady in the battlefield… so on and so forth. Gautam uses everything that comes to his thought and he is gifted with a talent to find words for his expressions and imaginations.

Other than being a popular shayar, Gautam is also a short story writer and his first short story collection has been published in 2018, Hari Muskurahaton Wala Collage. This is a collection of fine short stories dedicated to brave soldiers of the Indian army. His first published work, a collection of Ghazals and shayaris, was Paal Le Ik Rog Naadan, in 2017.

Gautam Rajrishi is a brilliant example of a soldier with a pen when he doesn’t hold a gun! His works are admired by the readers as well as by the contemporary critics of Indian literature. Though his style may be debated at length, it is apparent that he has been effective with his productions and reached his audience with style. He is popular among his readers for his writings as well as his bold and emphatic voice in which he renders his poems, shayaris and ghazals in the poetry festivals, sahitya manch and kavi sammelans.

I will try to bring the book review of Neeela Neela on Active Reader very soon.

Story by Samridhi for Active Reader – Book Blog