5000 books from Kaifi Azmi's personal collection donated to Aligarh Muslim University

A personal collection of 5000 books belonging to renowned poet Kaifi Azmi's books were donated by his family to The Maulana Azad Library at Aligarh Muslim University. The book will kept under a special section called Kaifi Azmis Collection in the library. Kaifi Azmi, a member of  Progressive Writers Movement, was born in Mijwan village in January 1919. He died in 2002.

The formal event happened in presence of Kaifi's daughter Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Vice Chancellor Lt Gen Zameeruddin Shah.

A group of people most of whom were librarians had gone to Mijwan village in Azamgarh district to collect the books, reports a leading daily. The group was surprised by looking at the the mint condition of the books. The librarian even said that he had never seen a private collection that had been preserved and catalogued so systematically. Talking about the kind of reaction the poet's book collection got, Shabana Azmi said to the daily, "They were astounded that someone hailing from such a small place like Mijwan could have such a vast and neatly maintained collection of books." 

Amjad Ali of the Maulana Azad Library at AMU said that Azmi's library's was not well maintained but also unique.

The rich trove if treasure included books on Urdu poetry and literature, books in Persian, Urdu periodicals, accounts of history and books authored at the peak of the Progressive Writers' Movement including Urdu periodicals which are issues of Khuda Bakhsh, Naqoosh, Nigar and Shair.