Danishwar Hameed
Khul Noorabad is a far-flung village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The remote area is often in the news for the pathetic condition of the roads or the non-availability of drinking water. However, the area is in news this time after a youth from this village brought laurels to the entire area by participating in an international ceremony on World Poetry Day in Malaysia.
The 19-year-old has co-authored over 100 poems on a global level in Germany, Saudi, and several other nations and has published two books and published a paper on the subject ‘Theory of relativity and Natural philosophy.’ In March, Suhail Ibn Shahnawaz participated in a global ceremony on the occasion of World Poetry Day.
Shahnawaz comes from a middle-class family. His father is a government employee and his mother is a homemaker. He is the eldest among three siblings and has received formal primary education from a local school, Hanfia Noorani Public High School, Khul in the Kulgam district.
“It was in school that I started taking interest in the poetry from textbooks. Poetry took me to another state. Within some time, I took keen interest and within a few more weeks, I knew I could write,” Suhail said.
He said that he was writing poems and his teachers praised his poetry which inspired him to continue writing poems.
“In the year 2017, I had uploaded a few verses of my self-written poetry when a Saudi Arabi-based author, Shahana dropped me a message in my inbox and asked me to write poetry so that she can get it published. Initially, I assumed It was a prank. But then, I checked her account and found that she was a genuine person. Within a few weeks, my happiness knew no bounds as my first poem was published internationally,” Suhail Ibn Shahnawaz said.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, he said that he was in class 11th when he started writing his first book named ‘Own the Wisdom.’ The book that focuses on the critical subject of ‘Mind psychology’ published in January 2022 received an award from Star’s Book of World Records.
At the age of 19, his second book titled ‘The Soldier at Duty out of Ministerial’ was published in the month of March 2022.
“I often used to think that I should quit because I come from a remote village and no stories from the area make it to the mainstream media. It is unfortunate that in every household there is a story, but the stories from rural areas often go reported. People in my village feel proud of me. But I want the youth to know that talent knows no boundaries. We have to go out there and make ourselves heard,” he said.
Suhail has also been awarded the ‘Indian Responsible Citizen of the Year’ by the Indian Book of Records in the present year. “Such achievements should not go unnoticed as the current generation of Kashmir valley is undergoing depression and feel demotivated because of multiple reasons. There is a need to bring out stories of local youth who are fighting the odds,” Suhail told The Kashmiriyat.