This Delhi doctor’s debut Hindi Novel, an epic tale of romanticism and revolution, is an ode to Ghalib’s Delhi, Hindi literature and Hindi Cinema

#PressRelease
Hazaron Khwahishen is the debut novel of Dr Rahul Chawla (MBBS, MD), a senior resident in a government hospital in New Delhi. It speaks of romance set against a backdrop of political turmoil in the nation’s capital city – events which will go on to change the history of the nation forever. The central theme of ishq and Inquilab (romanticism and revolution) resonates through the entire journey undertaken by the protagonists-a journey which begins when a girl and a boy with different ideologies inevitably fall for each other. The novel is a poignant reminder of more acceptable times when ideological differences weren’t met with the kind of belligerence today’s atmosphere fosters and partly serves to explain the genesis of this kind of narrative. It tries to dissect the dogmas of an increasingly aggressive population from a neutral perspective. The journey takes the reader through some of the most defining moments in this country’s history from the Partition, the Emergency, the events of 1984, the Shah bano case, kashmiri pandits and terrorism , all the way to Anna Hazare’s anti corruption movement and the general elections of recent times. The novel is an ode to delhi. There is an interesting anecdote where the protagonist explains the great history of Delhi from the time of indraprastha to its latest avatar given shape by Sir Edwin Lutyens – while answering a very valid question, who exactly is a delhi wala. It also has numerous interesting takes on the city’s numerous food joints and describes Shahjahanabad as a microcosm of India.

The book is available on Amazon at following link.

Hazaaron Khwahishen https://www.amazon.in/dp/9387464695/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_U0OiEb3XYHPWN

The characters in the novel range from IAS aspirants in Mukherjee nagar, intellectuals of gymkhana club and Khan market, the comrades of JNU, the beauty with brain of delhi university, to a boat man at the ghat of banaras.Ripe with cinematic, literary, historical and political references which keep the reader engrossed ,Dr Chawla dedicates his first book to the city of djinns,a city which Mir once called ‘aalam mein intekhaab’. It’s an ode to Delhi – the city of Nizamuddin Auliya, Mirza Ghalib, Momin and Meer. It’s an ode to Hindi cinema and its songs. It’s an ode to hindi literature and its doyens. It’s an ode to various political movements of the country, which have affected us as a society and Nation. Its an ode to an idea , that is India.As Dr Chawla says “The novel was initially planned in English, but midway I realized that full justice to the story could only be done when if it’s written in the language indigenous to the city and its characters. Now after having written it in Hindi, I am proud of the fact that I’ve completed my debut novel in my mother tongue. This novel is an experiment in itself with its multi layered structure, filled with self-references and Kafkaesque elements with a generous helping of sensationalism that is quintessential of any Hindi potboiler” .The book was launched last week in the world book fair 2020 at Pragati maidan and is available in all major bookstores and online . The novel has been published by hind yugm, the flag bearer of nayi wali hindi. Author Details:Dr Rahul Chawla (MD) is working in a government Hospital, New Delhi. He has written two academic books pertaining to medical entrance examination, Biology @ Your Fingertips and Handbook of Biology, which are amazon best sellers in their segment.He also runs a successful blog where he guides students preparing for medical entrance examinations. Two more academic books are scheduled to release next year. He has also written three feature length screenplays, two of them qualified first round of Mumbai mantra Cinerise screenwriters lab but however couldn’t make into the final 10. He was also among 100 storytellers chosen by Mumbai Mantra Screenwriters lab in year 2016. Hazaaro Khwaahishein is his debut novel.

Hazaaron Khwahishein: Dr Rahul Chawla’s debut novel to unveil in Delhi World Book Fair

Dr Rahul Chawla’s debut novel Hazaaron Khwahishein is slated to release in ongoing Delhi world book fair. The book will be available for sale in the book fair held in Pragati Maidaan, in Hall number 12A stall number 27-29. The book has been published by Hind Yugm, the flag bearer of ‘nayi wali hindi’.

Hazaaron Khwahishein is an epic saga based on the theme of romanticism and revolution. It’s a love story at the core, with a plethora of literary and cinematic references, and socio-political events in the country affecting the course of their relationship.

It’s an ode to Delhi – the city of Nizamuddin Auliya, Mirza Ghalib, Momin and Meer. It’s an ode to Hindi cinema and it’s songs. It’s an ode to hindi literature and its doyens. It’s an ode to various political movements of the country, which have affected us as a society and Nation. Its an ode to the idea of India.

You are cordially invited to the book launch. Please come and get your peeps along. The book will be available on flipkart and Amazon from next week. Link will be shared soon. So, fasten up your seat belts as we are ready to fly in a space ship to the city of dreams.

What is a nazm?

Nazm is a popular poetry form that came to Urdu under the influence of the English poetry during the second half of the 20th century, and soon established its independent presence. 

It’s a significant genre of the Urdu poetry, that can be written both in rhymed verse following a rhyming scheme as well as in the free-verse form. 

Nazm is a form of a descriptive poetry, where the thoughts and feelings of the poet are constructively discussed as well as developed and finally, concluded, according to the poetic laws.The title of the Nazm holds the central theme and all the verses are interlinked and convey the same theme, unlike a ghazal where different shers are complete poems in themselves.

There are no rules to be followed while writing a nazm. It can be long or short and even there are no considerations being taken into account specifically about its rhyming scheme. There are no compulsions of makta and matla as is the case with a ghazal and it can be of any length from 12 to 186 lines.

Notable poets of Nazm are: 

Nazeer Akbarabadi, Sir Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Altaf Hussain Hali, Josh Malihabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Noon Meem Rashid, Majeed Amjad, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Zia Fatehabadi, Ali Sardar Jafri, Kaifi Azmi and Gulzar, Sahir Ludhianvi, Ahmed Faraz, Hafeez Jalandhri, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Syed Waheed Ashraf, Moeen Nizami.

What is a Ghazal?

A ghazal is a popular genre of poetry, consisting of a collection of couplets called shers that rhyme and have a common refrain (a part of a song which is repeated, usually at the end of each verse). All of these couplets are complete poems in themselves giving a message.

Each sher consist of two lines, each lines are called misra. The first misra of a sher is called misra-e-oolah and the second misra is called misra-e-saani. The first sher of a ghazal is called matla and the last sher in which poet is using his/her pen name is called maqta. Pen name of a poet is called ‘takhallus’. In ghazal each sher has to be complete in itself and should convey the whole story. Different sher may discuss different topics in the same ghazal. In ghazals, poet has to follow certain rules, which is the proper use of qafiya, radif and behr.

Qaafiya It is the pattern of rhyming words in each sher that must be followed.

Radif The second line of all the couplets must end with the same words. This repeating of common words is the “Radeef” of the Ghazal. It is preceded by a Qaafiyaa, which is a repeating pattern of words.

Example: Ek hi dharti ham sab ka ghar jitna tera utna mera  Dukh sukh ka ye jantar-mantar jitna tera utna mera

The words “utna mera” in the above couplet defines radif..

Behr Beher is a specific pattern, combining the arkaans  of Urdu prosody that define the “length” of a sher. In simple terms, the misra in a ghazal should be of equal length or must have approximately equal number of words.

History
The ghazal originated in Arabia in the 7th century, evolving from the qasida, a much older pre-Islamic Arabic poetic form. Qasidas were typically much longer poems, with up to 100 couplets.
The most significant changes to the ghazal occurred in its introduction into Iran in the 10th century. The Persian ghazals introduced two differences compared to their Arabian poetic roots. Firstly, the Persian ghazals did not employ radical enjambment between the two halves of the couplet, and secondly, the Persian ghazals formalized the use of the common rhyme in both lines of the opening couplet (“matla”). 

The ghazal spread into South Asia in the 12th century due to the influence of Sufi mystics and the courts of the new Islamic Sultanate. The 13th century poet and musician Ameer Khusrow is considered the first Urdu poet.
It gained prominence in the thirteenth- and fourteenth centuries, thanks to such Persian poets as Rumi and Hafiz, and later to Indian poets such as Mirza Ghalib. In the eighteenth-century, the ghazal was used by poets writing in Urdu. Among these poets, Ghalib is the recognized master.

Themes The ghazal was initially composed to a purely religious theme. Now it is more likely to lean towards romantic themes. This form of poetry always portrays the world from the point of view of a lover who has not been able to get his lover in the physical sense. The description of the lover and her physical and emotional features is laden with metaphors making Ghazals very meaningful.

Ghazals are also written in Hindi, Punjabi, Gujrati and other Indian languages apart from Urdu and other Arabic languages.

What’s in a name?

An Ode To Gulzar: Songs For Every Occasion

Like most of the products of late eighties and early nineties, our first encounter with Gulzar dates back to early nineties when wewe us to watch Jungle book on doordarshan as a kid. The theme song of jungle book was penned by Gulzar and the music was given by Vishal Bharadwaj. This partnership recently gave us a number of soulful songs in the era of Himesh Reshamiya bullshit. Gulzar has done his best work in collaboration with RD Burman, Vishal Bharadwaj and AR Rahman.

An ode to Gulzar:  Wishing him a very Happy Birthday!

Timtimate taro se lukachhupi karta Chand muskura raha tha raat mein 
Patte jo sookh gaye the, naach rahe the barsaat mein
Kalam ruk hi nahi rahi thi, jab pata chala aaj unka janmdin hai..
Nikal hi aayi zubaan par, chhupa rakhi thi jo keemti nazmein, Dil-e-Gulzar mein…

Gulzar Songs for every occasion. 

1. Childhood Nostalgia

Jungle Jungle pata chala hai

Jungle Jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai.. Arre chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai

Ek parinda hoy sharminda tha woh nanga Bhai isse to ande ke andar tha woh changa Soch raha hai bahar aakhir kyun nikla hai

Arre chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai

Jungle jungle pata chala hai, chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai

2. Anthem for the first love: “Pehli Baar Mohobbat Ki Hai” khwaab ke bhoj se, kapkapati hui,
Halki palkein teri yaad aata hai sab,
Tujhe gudgudana… satana yuhi sote hue,
Gaal pe teepna… meechna bewajah besabab.

Yaad hai peepal ke jiske ghane saaye the,
Hum ne gilehri jhoothe matter khaaye the,
Yeh barqat unn hazrat ki hai. Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai,
Aakhiri baar mohabbat ki hai…

3. Anthem for the Broken Hearts: “Mera Kuchh Samaan” from Ijazat. 

मेरा कुछ सामान, तुम्हारे पास पड़ा हैसावन के कुछ भीगे-भीगे दिन रखे हैंऔर मेरे एक ख़त में लिपटी रात पड़ी हैवो रात बुझा दो, मेरा वो सामान लौटा दो [Some of my things are still lying with you –Some drenched monsoon days,And a night wrapped in my one of my lettersExtinguish that night, and send these things back to me]

पतझड़ है कुछ, है ना?पतझड़ में कुछ पत्तों के गिरने की आहटकानों में एक बार पहन के लौटाई थीपतझड़ की वोह शाख अभी तक काँप रही हैवो शाख गिरा दो, मेरा वो सामान लौटा दो [Remember, it was autumn….In autumn, I gave you the sound of falling leaves,After trying it on as earrings.That branch from autumn is still trembling in windsMake that branch fall, and send these things back to me]

एक अकेली छतरी में जब आधे-आधे भीग रहे थेआधे सूखे, आधे गीले, सूखा तो मैं ले आई थीगीला मन शायद बिस्तर के पास पड़ा होवो भिजवा दो, मेरा वो सामान लौटा दो [Remember, once when we were both getting drenched, since we were sharing one umbrella…Half the things were drenched. The things that were still dry, I brought with meBut I think I left behind my rain-soaked heart beside the bedSend that, along with the other things I’ve left behind]

एक सौ सोलह चाँद की रातें, एक तुम्हारे काँधे का तिलगीली मेहँदी की खुशबू, झूठ-मूठ के शिकवे कुछझूठ-मूठ के वादे भी सब याद करा दूंसब भिजवा दो, मेरा वो सामान लौटा दो [One hundred and sixteen nights of the moon, and that one mole on your shoulderThe scent of undried henna, and those moments of mock tantrumsLet me also remind you about all those false promisesReturn everything that’s mine, but still lying with you]

एक इजाज़त दे दो बस, जब इनको दफ़नाऊगीमैं भी वहीँ सो जाऊंगी,मैं भी वहीँ सो जाऊंगी [Just grant me this one wish, that when I bury these things,I will also breathe my last]

4. Old World Romance

Dil to bachcha hai ji

Aise Udaasi Bethi Hai Dil Pe Hansne Se Ghabara Rahe Hain Saari Jawaani Katra ke Kaati Piri Me Takara Gaye Hain Dil dhadkata Hai To Aise Lagatha Hai Woh Aa Raha Hai Yahi Dekhta He Na Ho Prem Ki Maare Katar Re Tauba Ye Lamhein Kat te Nahi Hain Kyun aankho Se Meri Hatate Nahi Jo Darr Lagata Hai Mujhse Kehne mein ji Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji..

5. Adolescent Dreams

Aasman ke paar shayad

Inn lambe raaston par Sab tez chalte honge Copy ke panno jaise yahaan din palat te honge Shaam ko bhi subah jaisa Kya sama hoga Hoga kya sama, kya sama hoga Mai hawa ke paron Pe kahan jaa raha hoon kahaan..

6. Defining Love Humne dekhi hai un aankhon ki mehakti khushboo
Haath se chhoo ke ise rishton ka ilzaam na do
Sirf ehsaas hai ye rooh se mehsoos karo
Pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do 
Koi naam na do

7. Depiction of divine beauty: Bekaraan from 7 khoon maaf Bekaraan hain bekaraan,Aankhein band keeje naDoobne lage hain hum,Saans lene deeje naEk zara chehra udhar keeje, inaayat hogiAapko dekh ke, badi der se, meri saans ruki hai

8. Reunion after long separation

Tere bina zindagi se koi, shikwa nahin (shikwa nahin, shikwa nahin)Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin zindagi to nahin (zindagi nahin, zindagi nahin) [There is not much to complain about, in a life without you.But then, a life without you is hardly a life]

9. Baraat/Item Song: Kajrare

Surame se likhe tere waade, aankhon ki zabaani aate hainMere roomaalon pe lab tere, baandh ke nishaani jaate hain

Keeping Kajrare and Sheela ki Jawani, Munni Badnam et al into same genre of item songs is an insult to this amazing piece of art. But still if we include it here, it’s the best item song ever written.

10.  Disco song: Dhan te Dan from kaminey

Aaja Ki One Way Hai Yeh Jindagi Ki Gali, Ek Hi Chance Hai Aage Hawa Hi Hawa Hai Agar Saans Hai toh Yeh Romance Hai Yahi Kehte Hain, Yahi Sunate Hain Jo Bhi Jaata Hai, Jaata Hai, Woh Phir Se Aata Nahi Aaja Aaja Dil Nichode, Raat Ki Mataki Tode koiGood Luck Nikaale, Aaj Gullak Toh Phode Hai Dil Dildaara Mera Teli Ka Tel Kaudi Kaudi Paisa Paisa Paise Ka Khel Chal Chal Sadakon Pe Hogi Than Than Dhan Te Dan Ta Da Da Da….

11. A song for the bhais and dadas: Goli Maar bheje mein, ye bheja shor karta hai from satya

Aye goli maar bheje mein Ke bheja shor karta hai Bheje ki sunega to marega Kallu Arre tu karega doosra bharega Kallu Mama Kallu mama, aye mama Kallu mama

12.  A song on separation and distances: “Yeh Faasle” Ghazal sung by Jagjeet Singh

ye kaisi sarhadein uljhi hui hain pairon mein hum apne ghar ki taraf uthhke baar baar chale hazaar baar ruke hum hazaar baar chale Ye faasle teri galiyon ke humse tai na huye

13. Patriotism

Aye mere pyare watan, aye mere bichhade chaman tujhpe dil kubran
Too hee meree aarazu, too hee meree aabaru, too hee meree jan

14. No Smoking Anthem:

A highly underrated song…and one of Gulzar’s own favourite..from Anurag Kashyap’s Masterpiece “No Smoking”

bahut se aadhe bujhe hue
din pade hain is mein
bahut si aadhi jali hui
raatein gir padi hain

ye ash tray
bharti ja rahi hai
ye ash tray
bharti ja rahi hai

ke surkh tukde hain
kuchh talab ke
sulag rahe hain
sulag rahe hain
ye ash tray bharti ja rahi hai

dhuaan lipatata hai dhuaan
dhuaan dhuaan
dhuaan dhuaan
dhuaan dhuaan
dhuaan lipatata hai baazigar ki tarah hawa se

wo pal pe bal khaake uth raha hai
uth raha hai
uth raha hai
tamaam kartab dikha raha hai
dikha raha hai
dikha raha hai
ye ash tray bharti ja rahi hai..

Gulzar is not just India’s finest lyricist, but an extraordinary poet with a unique style of his own. His collection of short stories are equally amazing. He is also one of the greatest directors in India who introduced an element of sublimity and humanity in the story line. He’s best known for his portrayal of complex human relationships in day-to-day situations.

Harivansh Rai Bachchan

One of the most prominent poets of india, Hariwansh Rai Srivastav was born in Allahabad to a kayasth family. He was called Bachchan (which means “ kid”) at home, which he later used as his pen name. He introduced himself as “mitti ka tan, masti ka mann, kshan bhar jeevan-mera parichay“.

Hariwansh Rai Bachchan got his primary education from a municipal school in Allahabad, then followed the family tradition of attending kaayastha paathshala to learn urdu to build a career in law. He later studied in Allahabad university and Banaras Hindu University, where he came under the influence of the independence movement. From 1941 to 1952, he taught English at Allahabad university and spent the next two years in Cambridge university, completing his thesis on W.B. yeats.  This was then he started using “Blachchan” as his last name instead of Srivastava. His thesis on W.B. Yeast got him his PhD at Cambridge and he became the second Indian to get his doctorate in English from Cambridge.  

In 1926, at the age of 19, Bachchan married his first wife, Shyama, who was then 14 years old. However she died ten years later in 1936 after contracting tuberculosis. Bachchan thereafter married Teji Bachchan in 1941. They had two sons, Amitabh Bachchan and Ajitabh Bachchan. 

Though he taught English, he wrote in hindi. In 1955, bachchan joined the external affairs ministry and was closely associated with the evolution of hindi as the official language. He translated great literary work in hindi, some of the famous being omar khayyam’s rubaiyat, shakespeare’s  Macbeth and Othello and the Bhagwat Gita. As a poet, he is famous for his poem madhushala. He got many awards for his literary work. He was rewarded with sahitya akademi award in 1968 and padma bhushan in 1976. He was also honoured with the saraswati samman for his four volume  autobiography ,the sovietland Nehru award and the lotus award of the afro-asian writers’ conference. He wrote his last poem “ek November 1984” in November 1984 on the assassination of indira Gandhi.

His work has also been used in hindi cinema, the most famous being the couplets of his work “agneepath”, used throughout in the film agneepath, starring Amitabh Bachchan.

He died on 18 january 2003 at the age of 95.

Pash

Pash was born as Avtar Singh Sandhu on 9 September 1950 in jalandhar district, Punjab. He was brought up in the environment where naxalite movement against the landlors, insustrialists , traders etc was prominent. He is considered as one of the major poet of the naxalite movement in the 1970s. His leftist, revolutionary ideas were strongly reflected in his poems. He published his first book of revolutionary poems “loh-katha” in 1970, which resulted in a false murder charge against him and imprisonment of two years. He became  a prominent naxalite poet and served as the editor pf a literary magazine “Siarh”.

Due to his popularity in left wing politics, Pash was awarded a fellowship at the Punjabi academy of letters in 1985. He toured the UK and the US in 1986 and got involved with Anti-47 front, opposing sikh extremist violence.

 On 23^rd march, 1988, when he was in Punjab for the renewal of his visa from the US, he was shot dead along with his friend hans raj by khalistani extremists. Co-incidentally, he was gunned down the same day Bhagat singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged, which is now known as the Martyr’s Day. 

No doubt pash was a revolutionary writer but he also wrote  beautiful love poetries, one of the most famous being “ab mai vida leta hoon”.

Munshi Premchand

Munshi Premchand was born as Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava on 31 July 1880. He was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindi-Urdu literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early twentieth century. He began writing under the pen name “Nawab Rai”, but subsequently switched to “Premchand. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the “Upanyas Samrat” (“Emperor among Novelists”) by writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

When he was 8, his mother died after a long illness. His grandmother, who took the responsibility of raising him, died soon after. Premchand felt isolated, as his elder sister had already been married, and his father was always busy with work. His father, who was now posted at Gorakhpur, remarried, but Premchand received little affection from his stepmother. The stepmother later became a recurring theme in Premchand’s works.

As a child, Premchand developed a fascination for books. He took the job of selling books for a book wholesaler, thus getting the opportunity to read a lot of books. He learnt English at a missionary school and studied several works of fiction. He composed his first literary work at Gorakhpur, which was never published and is now lost.

He was married at the age of 15, while still studying in the ninth grade.

His stories portray a real picture of the social condition of contemporary times. He fearlessly wrote about the various social taboos and religious obligations.

In 1901, his first story was published by the name of ‘Sanskar ka Sabse Anmol Ratan’ in Jamana. In 1901, ‘Soz- i- Waten’, a collection of short stories was published. But the British government banned it. He wrote nearly 300 stories and most of the stories are collected under the title ‘Mansarovar’. Premchand’s work has acquired greater significance. 

His novels like Godan and Gaban have achieved cult status and his short stories like ‘ Iddgah’, ‘ Do Bailon ki Katha’ and ‘ Shatranj ke Khiladi’ are an essential part of curriculum in schools and colleges. His works have been adapted for screen, including by Satyajit Ray.

Premchand’s novel Godaan, considered to be one of the greatest Hindi novels, deals with the themes of caste discrimination, exploitation of poor and women; and ill-effects of industrialisation. It was made into a film in 1963.

On  8th of October 1936, Munshi Premchand,the Upanyas Samrat left the world. His last story writing is Cricket Match which was published after his death in Zamana in the year 1937.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost was an American poet, known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. He frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.
Frost was born in San Francisco, California, to journalist William Prescott Frost, Jr. and Isabelle Moodie. His mother was a Scottish immigrant, and his father descended from Nicholas Frost of Tiverton, Devon, England, who had sailed to New Hampshire in 1634 on the Wolfrana. 

His father’s untimely death from tuberculosis in 1885 prompted her mother to take him and his sister to Lawrence, Massachusetts, where they were taken in by the children’s paternal grandparents. While his mother taught at a variety of schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Robert and his sister grew up in Lawrence, and graduated from high school in 1892. 

In 1894, he sold his first poem, “My Butterfly. An Elegy”. The same year he proposed marriage to Elinor Miriam White, who in turn refused wanting to finish college first. The following year, having graduated, Elinor agreed and the two tied the knot. They had six children, two of whom however died during infancy. 

Frost fought against discouragement. Poetry had always been considered a young person’s game, but Frost, who was nearly 40 years old, had not published a single book of poems and had seen just a handful appear in magazines

In 1912, Frost sailed with his family to Great Britain and within a year he published A Boy’s Will(1913). From this first book, such poems as “Storm Fear,” “The Tuft of Flowers,” and “Mowing” became standard anthology pieces.
A Boy’s Will was followed in 1914 by a second collection, North of Boston, that introduced some of the most popular poems in all of Frost’s work, among them “Mending Wall,” “The Death of the Hired Man,” “Home Burial,” and “After Apple-Picking.” 

The outbreak of World War I brought the Frosts back to the United States in 1915. By then Amy Lowell’s review had already appeared in The New Republic, and writers and publishers throughout the Northeast were aware that a writer of unusual abilities stood in their midst. The American publishing house of Henry Holt had brought out its edition of North of Boston in 1914. It became a best-seller, and, by the time the Frost family landed in Boston, Holt was adding the American edition of A Boy’s Will. Frost soon found himself besieged by magazines seeking to publish his poems. Never before had an American poet achieved such rapid fame after such a disheartening delay. From this moment his career rose on an ascending curve.

Frost is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He became one of America’s rare “public literary figures” and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961, Frost was named poet laureate of Vermont. 
Robert Frost wrote the poem “The Road Not Taken” as a joke about his friend.

He was the first of only five poets to recite a poem at a U.S. presidential inauguration.

Frost died on 29 january, 1963 due to complications related to prostate surgery. He was survived by two of his daughters, Lesley and Irma. His ashes are interred in a family plot in Bennington, Vermont.

Some of Frost’s most well-known poems include:
“The Road Not Taken”

“The Death of the Hired Man”

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

“Mending Wall”

“In the Clearing”

“After Apple-Picking”

“North of Boston”

“Mountain Interval”

“New Hampshire”

“Storm Fears”