Muzaffar Aazim

Muzaffar Aazim was a Kashmiri-American poet and a writer of the Kashmiri languageThe History of Kashmiri Language & Literature, by Prof. Shafi Shauq, Ali Mohammad & Sons, Srinagar pp. 431-433
==Early life and career==
Muzaffar Aazim was born in 1934 in picturesque hillside Tangmarg town located along Himalaya mountains in erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir State of India. He graduated from Sri Pratap College and briefly taught at Amar Singh College.T“SRI Pratap College Home Page”. SRI Pratap College. Retrieved 30 December 2023. “Amar Singh College Srinagar Home Page”. Amar Singh College. Retrieved 30 December 2023 He later became the Director of Sericulture in Kashmir, a position that enabled him to travel widely. 
==Kashmiri Font and Script Promotion==
He was instrumental in promoting Kashmiri poetry and language, partly by creating the first Kashmiri Narqalam and Gulmarg Nastalik fonts.GULMARG EDUCATIONAL MEDIA (26 August 2013). “Kashmiri Language”. Kashmirilanguage.com. Retrieved 30 December 2023. In collaboration with other language experts, he pushed for improvement in Unicode to better represent Kashmiri language.ANDERSON, DEBORAH, ET. AL (14 May 2009). "Proposal to add two Kashmiri characters". Unicode.org. Retrieved 30 December 2023. This enables almost seven million Kashmiri-speaking population worldwide to write in their chosen language.
==Literary Works==
Aazim started writing poetry at the age of 10 and published his first Kashmiri poetry book, ‘Zolana’ (The Fetters), ,in 1963. His contemporary, noted Kashmir poet Rahman Rahi, writing about this book ,“The chief quality that distinguishes Aazim from almost all other poets of his age is his dexterity as a craftsman, a quality which can be appreciated in his ghazals.”.RAHI, RAHMAN (1964). “Kashmiri Literature (pp. 52-55)”. JSTOR. Retrieved 30 December 2023. Vol. 7, No. 2 (1964). His second Kashmiri poetry book was ‘Manikaman’ (The Desire). His other poetry books include Saze-Salasil (The Rhythm of the Chains) in Urdu and Haraf Dai (Two and a Half Words) in Kashmiri. He authored ‘Mahmud Gami’, Makers of Indian Literature, published by Sahitya Akademi.AAZIM, MUZAFFAR. “Mahmud Gami (Makers of Indian Literature)”. Biblio. Retrieved 30 December 2023. He compiled a comprehensive review on ‘Experiments in Modern Kashmiri Poetry’ in ‘Indian Literature, also published by Sahitya Akademi.INDIAN LITERATURE (March 1978). “Experiments in Modern Kashmiri Poetry (pp. 92-97)”. JSTOR. Retrieved 30 December 2023. Vol. 21, No. 2 (1978). He published ‘Yak Rang’, a popular collection of unpublished poems by mystic Kashmiri poet Anwar War Anwar (1873–1905).APHARWAT (21 September 2012). “Yak Rang Feturing Anwar War Anwar Released by Muzaffar Aazim”. The Pinnacle of Objective Kashmiri Thought Process. Retrieved 30 December 2023. He has appeared multiple times on television to discuss poetry, literature, and life.KOSHURI1 (7 July 2013). “Muzaffar Aazim on ‘Subhai Subhai’ Show: Srinagar Kashmir Television”. YouTube. Retrieved 30 December 2023. He has written several plays for All India Radio Srinagar, including Havas ta Haasil (Longing and Gain), and for Door Darshan TV, including Nai Mout (The Flute Fakir). He started abstract digital art in 2014. This became his main outlet of creative expression in the later years of his life.
==Translations==
Muzaffar Aazim translated many classics into Kashmiri including Tolstoy’s War & Peace ,ublished by the Cultural Academy.JK Cultural Academy (2 June 2021). "Jang Te Aman Vol 1 Kashmiri Translation of Tolstoys War and Peace JK Cultural Academy". Archive.org. Retrieved 30 December 2023. He also translated Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Awami Raj, originally written as Iyaruingam (People's Rule) in Assamese by Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya and published by Sahitya Akademi.
==Popular Songs==
Muzaffar Aazim wrote many Kashmiri songs that are mostly played on All India Radio Srinagar and quickly became favorites. ‘Asi bor wizi wizi’ was adopted by the University of Kashmir as an anthem for 3 years.“University of Kashmir Home Page”. University of Kashmir. Retrieved 30 December 2023. ,GONMATH “Asi bor wizi wizi”. Retrieved 30 December 2023. ‘Yina sa cheshman’, a song he dedicated to his wife became a classic.AHMED, LUQMAN “Yina sa cheshman”. Retrieved 30 December 2023. . Other songs include ‘Jigar zakhmi’ and ‘Yena zulfow chanew’, both still very popular.T-Series Kashmiri Music “Jigar zakhmi”. Retrieved 30 December 2023. 
==Awards and Honors==
Muzaffar Aazim received the best book award for two of his Kashmiri poetry collections ‘Zolana’ and ‘Manikaman’ by Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture & Languages.ACADEMY OF ART, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGES. “About us”. Government of Jammu & Kashmir. Retrieved 30 December 2023. He was awarded Soviet Land Nehru Award for translating ‘War & Peace.“Soviet Land Nehru Award”. Bharatpedia. Retrieved 30 December 2023. Other notable recipients of this award include Mother Teresa, Kaifi Azmi, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Qurratulain Hyder|Quratulain Hyder, Satyajit Ray and Padma Sachdev. He was also honored with a ‘Dastar Bandi’ by Academy of Art, Culture and Languages of Kashmir.KOSHUR1 (15 June 2013). “Dastar Bandi Celebration of Muzaffar Aazim, Kashmiri poet and writer”. YouTube. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
==Death==
Muzaffar Aazim died on July 8, 2022, in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Category:Indian digital artists
Category:1934 births
Category:2022 deaths
Category:American poets
Category:American people