MAN OF MANY ROLES, ASHIQUE IS A POET AT HEART

Kamal Ashique must divide his day to do justice to the varied roles he plays, besides conducting his yarn and thread business. This ‘shayar’, who has published a book titled ‘Tassavur’ (Imagination) in 1998, is now busy with his YouTube channel where he features literary personalities, besides taking up social causes through his social organisation ‘Akash Ganga’. He is also a singer, photographer and the complete family man.

EARLY LIFE

Born in a conservative business family of Agra, Kamal Kumar Agarwal (49) had his initial education in the premier St Peter’s College and was brought up with English as base language. But his passion for writing began with his fondness for writing a diary.

‘I had to shift from St Peter’s College in 1986 to Agarwal College in the city before graduating in science from Agra College. I did not study further and being part of a business family, I opted for thread and yarn business to earn a livelihood for my family.

PASSION FOR WRITING

All through this journey, I developed a liking for ‘ghazals’ sung by Pankaj Udhas, while Mirza Ghalib was my favourite writer. Initially, I began writing a diary but my father was not that in favour of all this. In 1998, when Kamal Kumar Agarwal the transformation to Kamal ‘Ashique’ was taking place, as the compilation of poetry of love, ‘Tassavur’, was being

created.

“‘Tassavur brought me name, fame and acceptability in the world of poetry and encouraged me to indulge further in ‘shayari’ and the journey continues’ said Kamal Ashique.

MAN OF MUSIC

Blessed by ‘Saraswati’, Kamal Ashique then turned to singing. He began learning vocals going on to attain ‘Prabhakar’ in vocal. He has to his credit Bengali bhajan besides light Hindi music. He has won many awards for his efforts.

“Instruments became my other favourites and I play guitar, harmonium, keyboard, flute, harmonica and tabla as a natural accompaniment to my vocals, for which I am indebted to people like Keshav Talegaonkar,” said Kamal Ashique, who loves talking about music even at his unit for business.

SOCIALLY ACTIVE

When recently a school girl of St Patrick’s Junior College died in tragic road accident, the NGO ‘Akash Ganga’ took up the cause of these students who face threat to life each day while moving on city roads.

‘We constituted the NGO in 2000 and carry out a series of seminars on social issues with the help of volunteers of ‘Akash Ganga’ and we all love celebrating festivals like Diwali differently by being with children who are poor and unable to afford crackers on their own,” he said.

‘KAVITA’ – THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

“Despite such varied contributions, I thought I missed the spotlight that I deserved. Thus, to connect with the young generation, I began ‘Kavita’ – the YouTube channel featuring artists from the city from July this year,” Ashique said.

“Till now, we have aired 14 episodes of ‘Kavita’ and hope to continue, although such activities do take a toll on my business. But now, my son is assisting me.

A FAMILY MAN TO CORE

Kavya Agarwal, Ashique’s daughter, carries her father’s DNA and his love for writing. Currently, she is busy writing her first English book. Ashique’s son, Raja, is a national level shooter. Naturally, both are a source of much joy and pride for Ashique. A photographer too, Kamal Ashique loves capturing natural sites. He writes mostly during the night and hopes to have another book on the art he knows well, and is to hit the stands soon.

But through everything, there is something that one can borrow from Ashique – his philosophy of life. “One’s job or profession is necessary and cannot be done away with, for it provides a means of sustenance. But through passion, which one carries within oneself, on e can tackle drabness and monotony of ‘zindagi’,” said the poet businessman.

“There is so much to do instead of complaining about life. The economics of life is imperative, but then there is also the soul that demands utterance and must find a voice, one way or another,” said Ashique.

Tassavur brought me name, fame and acceptability in the world of poetry and encouraged me to indulge further in ‘shayari’ and the journey continues KAMAL KUMAR AGARWAL ‘ASHIQUE’, AUTHOR/SINGER

RAJU TOMAR/HT PHOTO

HT Kamal Kumar Agarwal with his family