Literature, Life and Shamsurrehman Faruqi

Society is a place where culture nourishes and each culture has specific traditions. Literature works as some sort of a mirror which reflects its culture and society in its own way.Life plays a pivotal role in determining the culture, society and literature. This article presents the indispensible relationship between literature and lifewith special reference to the views of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, the renowned Urdu critic. Lafz o Mani(1968) is his first collection of critical essays which depicts his interest over literature, life and modernism. He is of the view that literature must be independent of any restriction imposed by either of the systems, theories and persons. Life is a broader canvas and literature is an evident part of life. Literature needs no formal announcement to describe its relationship with that of life. There are in general two major categories through which a literary work may be created i.e., Art for art’s sake, and Art for life’s sake. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi rejects either of the above-mentioned theories as he strictly promotes the freedom of literature and the writer as well