Identity: Eminent Ghalib scholar, researcher, editor, poet, and versatile litterateur
Kali Das Gupta “Raza” is known in the Urdu world as a distinguished researcher, editor, and especially as a Ghalib scholar. He rendered extraordinary services in researching and arranging Ghalib’s life and poetry and produced substantial scholarly work in editing, criticism, and poetry. His single book “Diwan-e-Ghalib in Historical Order” alone is enough to keep his name alive in literary history.

Kali Das Gupta “Raza” was born on 25 August 1925 in Mukandpur, District Jalandhar. The values inherited from his elders became part of his personality. His mother tongue was Punjabi, but Urdu became the primary language of his expression and emotions, to which he was deeply devoted.

After his early education, he entered practical life. By profession he was a businessman and, for trade, lived in East Africa (Nairobi) for about twenty years. According to Ali Sardar Jafri, he did business to earn a living and served literature to beautify life. Later, a major part of his life was spent in Mumbai, where alongside his business he remained constantly engaged in academic and research activities.

The most prominent aspect of his scholarly identity was Ghalib studies. He was an ardent lover and devotee of Ghalib, so passionate that he remained absorbed in Ghalib research day and night. He authored around twenty books on Ghalib, including Mutalliqāt-e-Ghalib, Ghalibiyāt: Chand Unwānāt, Diwan-e-Ghalib (aksi), Ghalib Darun-e-Khana, Makātib-e-Ghalib in Panj Ahang, and Tafhim-e-Ghalib ke Do Harf, among others. Besides Ghalib, he also conducted research on the poetry of Dagh, Zauq, Atish, and Chakbast.

Raza Sahib was also a mature poet. As a disciple of Ustad Josh Malihabadi, he was linked to the Dagh school. His poetry collections include Shola-e-Khamosh, Shorish-e-Pinhan, Shakh-e-Gul, and Ghazal Gulab. His poetry is marked by spontaneity, fluency, and strong command over language and expression. He also used Hindi words beautifully along with Urdu.

He loved books to the point of obsession. His personal library contained rare books and manuscripts, on which he spent large sums of money. His vast reading and remarkable memory amazed his contemporaries.

He was a dignified, compassionate person and a custodian of the Ganga-Jamuni composite culture. During his stay in Mumbai, his home and office remained open to writers, where he welcomed everyone without discrimination. The last years of his life passed in severe personal and external difficulties, yet he endured them with patience and a smile.

Death: He passed away in Mumbai on 21 March 2001.