Today’s Google doodle on Kaifi Azmi, the great Urdu poet and Shabana Azmi’s dad

Today Google pays honors Kaifi Azmi, the great Indian Urdu poet on his 101^st birthday with a mesmerizing doodle. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.

Kaifi Azmi (Sayyid Athar Hussein Rizvi) was born into a shia Muslim family in the village of Mizwaa(n) in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh in India. At the age of 11, he wrote his first ghazal 'Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade'.

Kaifi Azmi was inspired by Gandhi's 1942 Quit India freedom movement, he later left for Bombay (now Mumbai) to write for an Urdu newspaper. He then published his first collection of poems, Jhankar (1943), as well as became a member of the influential Progressive Writers' Association that used writing to try to achieve socioeconomic reforms.

With work ranging from passionate love poems and activist verses to Bollywood songs lyrics and screenplays, Kaifi Azmi has become one of the most renowned poets of the 20th century in India, and his humanitarian efforts continue to impact people's lives today.

Kaifi Azmi was prolific and won numerous awards for his contributions, including three Filmfare Awards for Garm Hawa ('Scorching Winds,' 1973), the prestigious Padma Shri Award for Literature and Education (1974), and one of India's highest literary honors, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship (2002).

In one of his early and most famous poems, 'Aurat,' Kaifi Amzi advocated for women's equality, one of the causes he championed in his lifetime. He also founded the NGO Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS) to support various educational initiatives to improve the lives of rural women and families, and to this day, MWS continues its work in the spirit of its founder.

Kaifi Azmi was married to Shaukhat Azmi. They have a daughter, Shabana Azmi who is a renowned Bollywood personality and Padma Shri winner. Kaifi is also survived by a son, Baba Azmi who is a renowned cinematographer.

The government of India has inaugurated a train named 'Kaifiyat Express' which runs from his hometown Azamgarh to Old Delhi. The great poet died on May 10, 2002 at the age of 83. Google pays tribute to him for his contribution to the world of poetry with a beautiful doodle.