Kausar Chandpuri

Kausar Chandpuri [1] was the takhallus of Ali Kausar who was born on 8 August 1900 at Chandpur, District Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India. His father, Ali Muzaffar, was a practitioner of Unani medicine. Kausar Chandpuri studied Unani medicine at Princess Asifa Tibbia College, Bhopal. Thereafter, he worked at Unani Shifakhana, Bhopal, from where he retired as Afsur-ul-Atibba. Later on he moved to Delhi and joined Hamdard Nursing Home. He died in Delhi on 13 June 1990.

Kausar Chandpuri wrote seventeen novels, fourteen collections of short-stories, four books of literary criticism and six books on satire. He was a fluent writer of Urdu Prose. He held the view that short stories should seek to improve the standards of morality.[2] His book, Jahan e Ghalib,[3] which was written in response to Malik Ram’s Zikr e Ghalib, dealt with the darker side of Ghalib’s character and life, and is a classic. He also wrote articles and books on Unani medicine, practice and history (such as on the development of Unani medicines and treatments during the reign of the Mughals).[4] He also brought to light a ninth-century manuscript, Danish Namah e Jahan, which was reproduced in the book Studies in the History of Medicine 4 (1980), pages 53–56.[5] His major works are Jahaan e Ghalib, Atibba e ahd e Mughliyaa, Raakh aur Kaliyaan, Patthar kaa gulaab, Murjhaii kaliyaan, Karvaan hamaaraa, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Fikr o sh’uur and Didah e binaa.[6]

Zafar Ahmed Nizami published an appraisal of the life and works of Kausar Chandpuri, entitled Kausar Chandpuri (ISBN 9788126025374).[7] Obaidur Rehman Hashmi's article, "Kausar Chandpuri ki Afsana Nigari", which evaluates Kausar Chandpuri's Urdu short stories, is included in Altaf Ahmed Azmi's book Tibbe Unani.[8]

Kausar Chandpuri's books include:

• Mehakatii bahaaren
• Pyasii nadiyaa
• Dilchasp afsaane
• Goongaa hai Bhagwaan
• Atibba e ahd e Mughliyaa
• Hakeem Ajmal Khan
• Murjhaaii kaliyaan
• Md. Bairam Khan
• Raakh aur kaliyaan
• Patthar kaa gulaab
• Didah e binaa
• Kaarwaan hamaaraa
• Fikr o sh’uur
• Muskarahaten