One of the most important voices in contemporary Indian poetry, Shahryar (1936-2012) casts a mesmeric spell since the publication of his very first collection, Ism-e Azam, in 1965. In a career spanning five decades, it is interesting how Shahryar always managed to remain topical and his poetry could always be called ‘the call of the time’. This ability to remain relevant and to always have something to say consistently over a period of time is a singular quality. This book locates Shahryar’s considerable body of work in the trajectory of contemporary Indian writings and evaluates his extraordinary contribution to not merely modern Urdu poetry but, more significantly, modern Indian poetry.