Shaukat Hayat


Shaukat Hayat born on 1 December 1950, is a modern and post-modern Indian writer who writes in Urdu, Hindi. His stories often include allegory, flat narration and sometimes core values of the progressive movement, and sometimes deviate from storytelling altogether. He is best known for his story "Gumbad ke Kabutar".

Early life and education

Hayat was born in Patna, Bihar, India. He graduated in Science from the Patma University Science College in 1970 and later pursued his Masters in Urdu from Magadh University. He is UGC.

Career

Hayat's "Gumbad ke Kabutar" received acclaim from veteran critics of Urdu, including Mehdi Jafar and Waris Alvi, who praised his mastery over literature and language. Hayat's stories are about social, political and economic realities; the pain, loneliness and disappointment that may be found in a few of his stories are the reflection of his experiences in life, all he has gone through. Joginder Pal in his book New Urdu Fictions names Hayat as "the innovator of new trend of Urdu Fiction referred to as 'Anaam Kahani,'that is,'The Namesless Story.'"
In 2014 Hayat is the President of "Pragmatic Writers Guild,Patna" and his stories are taught in post graduate courses at various universities in India and abroad.

Achievements

Hayat is recipient of "Katha Award]" in the year 1996 for his story "Gumbad Ke Kabootar". The story was later translated in English by Dr.Sara Rai titled "Pigeons of the dome". The English translation of this story is included the book The Eastern brew by Syed Sarwar Husain. The same story has also been included as the cover story & title for the Rakshanda Jalil's book for which she took special permission from him. Hayat is also recipient of "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Bihar Urdu Academy in 2010. A few of his stories which are used as a reference & benchmark in modern Urdu literature are viz."Baang","Dhalaan Pe Ruke Hue Kadam","Koobad","Mr.Glad","Maadhav","Shikanja" etc. His noveletteSarpat Ghoda received wide critical acclaim.