Profile: Researcher, Critic, Translator, Teacher, Poet and Dramatist

Professor Ghulam Ashraf Qadri was born on 19 January 1971 in the well-known village of Ababkarpur in Vaishali district, Bihar. After completing his early education, he moved to Aligarh for higher studies and earned his PhD from the Department of Persian, Aligarh Muslim University, under the supervision of Professor Syed Mohammad Tariq Hasan. His formal academic career began in 2003 when he was appointed as a faculty member in the Department of Persian at Gandhi Faiz-e-Aam College, Shahjahanpur. In recognition of his academic contributions, he was elevated to the rank of Professor in 2021.

Professor Qadri is a versatile literary personality. In poetry he uses the pen name “Khayal,” while in the television world he worked under the name Khayal Qadri. He acquired practical experience in various aspects of media production, from script writing to editing. Although he spent some time in the media circles of Delhi and Mumbai, he soon returned to academics and permanently devoted himself to teaching and scholarship. He possesses strong command over Persian, Urdu, Arabic and Hindi.

Among his notable works are Sukhanwaran-e-Ahd-e-Pahlavi (on modern Iranian poets), Aakhri Faryad (editing the unpublished poetry of Hazrat Dil Shahjahanpuri), Khamkhana-e-Hafiz (a compilation of Persian poetry of the Sufi Ahmad Husain Ahmad Shahjahanpuri), and Boond Boond Dariya (a collection of previously unpublished seminar and conference papers). He also edited the critical essays of Dr. Mohammad Abdul Qadir Ahqar Azizi under the title Dhoondoge Agar…, and translated into Hindi a Persian work on Iranian history titled Kitab Iran.

His bibliographical work Fehrist Nuskha-haye Khatti is particularly significant, documenting the Persian, Arabic and Urdu manuscripts preserved in the central library of Gandhi Faiz-e-Aam College. He also edited a volume on Naseem Shahjahanpuri titled Misl-e-Chiragh Tha Wo…, and published selected Persian poetry of India and Iran under Khayalistan, along with a Persian prose selection titled Nigaristan.

Professor Qadri is also recognized as a notable dramatist. His well-known plays include Amarbel, Tees Patte, and Kashkol, and a collection of his plays has been published under the title Amar Bel. Through his contributions to research, teaching, creative writing, and drama, he has established himself as an active and influential figure in contemporary literary circles.