Makers Of Indian Literature: Ghulam Rasool Santosh

Ghulam Rasool Santosh (1929-1997) was born as Ghulam Rasool Dar in the heart of the city of Srinagar at Chinkral Mohalla in a traditional Shia Muslim family. While growing up he fell in love with a Hindu girl in the neighbourhood, and adopted her name Santosh, by which he later on beccame known throughout the Country and abroad in the field of art literature. Though widely known as one of the top painters of modern India, not many know that he was a trendsetter in Kashmir literature too. Highly decorated and honoured, Santosh was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India, Kalhana Award from the State of Jammu & Kashmir, and Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection Be sokh Rooh, besides three Lalit Kala Akademi Awards. He was short story writer, a dramatist and a novelist. His novel Samander Pyasa Hai is a valuable addition to Urdu Literature.