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Rashid Nazki: A poet who redecorated Kasher poetics

12 0
07.01.2026

From devotional poetry to Philosophical poetry or from classical style to modern genre Nazki almost encompasses all the genres harnessed by his predecessors. Nazki, though a guardian of classical and traditional  aesthetics, often bridges the temporal divide to embrace the fragmented sensibilities of modern and postmodern art as evident from his  poetry. Nazki emerged as a poet of a new dawn, a luminous contemporary of Rehman Rahi, with whom he shared not merely a literary moment but a creative destiny. Together, they undertook the delicate yet daring task of redecorating and redesigning Kasher poetics—reimagining its contours, expanding its horizons, and infusing it with a renewed aesthetic consciousness. Their dialogue was constant and fertile, an exchange of ideas and intuitions that sought to reshape Kashmiri poetry from within rather than rupture it from without. This collaboration—perhaps the most celebrated and certainly among the most instrumental in modern Kashmiri literary history—proved decisive in enriching Kasher poetry with fresh images, suggestive symbols, innovative metaphors, and a refined expressive vocabulary.

Within this shared creative space, the traditionally rooted and devotionally inclined poetic voice of Rahi drew subtle yet profound inspiration from Rashid Nazki’s diction, intellectual clarity, and linguistic poise. Nazki, in turn, acted as a quiet enabler and aesthetic guide, facilitating Rahi in the crafting of his devotional poetry by lending it conceptual depth and stylistic precision (Letter 19 March 2006 from Rahi to Nazki).What emerged from this rare companionship was not imitation but illumination—a convergence where tradition found new resonance through modern articulation, and innovation remained anchored in cultural memory. Their shared legacy stands as a testament to how creative collaboration, rooted in mutual respect and intellectual generosity, can transform an entire poetic tradition and usher it into a richer, more nuanced age.  A close and contemplative reading of Rashid Nazki presents his different shadows to the reader who finds Nazki as trendsetter at one place, traditionalist at other place and anti-tradition at another........

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