Indian poet Kaifi Azmi's 101st birthday celebrated in today's Google doodle

On the occasion of what would have been his 101st birthday, today’s Google doodle relives the moment of Kaifi Azmi on stage reciting his spectacular poetry. The artwork is so beautifully done, it feels like Azmi’s doodle would speak up any moment. For the uninitiated, Kaifi Azmi was an Indian poet, songwriter, and social change advocate. Azmi was one of the most popular 20th century poets, with his work ranging from love poems, activist verses to Bollywood songs lyrics and screenplays. [caption id=“attachment_7902281” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”]  Google Doodle[/caption] If you are still trying to connect the dots, yes, Kaifi Azmi is popular actress Shabana Azmi’s father. Interestingly, Kaifi Azmi was his pen name. He was born Syed Athar Hussain Rizvi in 1919 in the Azmargh district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Google reveals a little about his childhood in the blog: “At age 11, he composed his first poem, a ghazal-style piece. 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.” Azmi won several awards for his work in his lifetime. He won three Filmfare Awards for Garm Hawa (1973), a Padma Shri Award for Literature and Education (1974), and one of India’s highest literary honors, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship (2002). Azmi was also a great advocate for social change. One of his most famous poems “Aurat” talked abou women’s equality. Per the blog, Azmi 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.”