surveillance. He behaved like any teenager of his age, neglected his studies, spent his time and money the way he liked, and failed his exams. Yet, his time was spent not on games or in disreputable activities, but in attending mushairas (poetry symposia) and music concerts. It was at this time that he came in contact with both senior and upcoming poets of Agra, including Fani Badayuni, Ale Ahmad Suroor and Jazbi. With difficulty, Majaz finally cleared his intermediate exams in 1931, and rejoined his parents in Aligarh, where his father got him enrolled for BA at Aligarh Muslim University, his subjects being philosophy, economics and Urdu. He graduated in 1936, again taking a year more than he should have. Career The years that Majaz spent in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) coincided with the presence there of many important poets and writers of Urdu. AMU was indeed a nursery of literary talent during those years. Here he came in contact with the Progressive Writers' Movement under K. M. Ashraf and Abdul Aleem. Majaz lived and wrote in times which were exceptionally vibrant for poetry; poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Fani Badayuni, Jazbi, Makhdoom, Sahir Ludhianvi, Ismat Chughtai, and Ali Sardar Jafri were among his peers. They were not merely his contemporaries but close friends as well. Others such as Josh and Firaq knew him well. His first diwan, Ahang, is dedicated to Faiz and Jazbi whom he calls his “dil-o-jigar,” and to Sardar Jafri and Makhdoom, who are “mere dast-o-bazu.” Faiz wrote a thoughtful prelude to Ahang. Majaz abandoned his MA in Aligarh due to financial reasons and moved to Delhi where he worked as sub-editor for the journal, Awaaz (Call). Here he became actively involved with the Delhi branch of the Progressive Writers' Association run by Shahid Ahmad Dehlvi. He also worked for the All India Radio for a year before moving to Bombay. In Bombay, he worked in the Department of Information for the Government of Bombay. In 1937, he returned to Lucknow and along with Jafri and Sibte Hassan founded the literary magazine, Parcham (Flag) which ran only for a single issue. In Lucknow, he also worked on the editorial staff of journals like Halqa-e-Adab (Circle of Literature) and in Naya Adab (New Literature) along with Jafri and Sibte Hassan. Death Majaz died on 5 December 1955, while the first Students' Urdu Convention was underway in