Keshav Malik (5 November 1924 – 11 June 2014) was an Indian poet, art and literary critic, arts scholar, and curator. He remained art critic for theHindustan Times (1960–1972) andThe Times of India (1975–2000). He published eighteen volumes of poetry and edited six anthologies of English translations of Indian poetry.
He was awarded thePadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his contribution to literature. In 2004, theLalit Kala Akademi, India's National Academy of Art, made him aFellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi for lifetime contribution, which is its highest award.[1]
Malik was born in the town ofMiani, now in the Punjab, Pakistan, but at the time it was part ofBritish India. His younger sister is arts and dance scholarKapila Vatsyayan and brother Bhashi Malik.[2] He is also related to the brothersBalraj Sahni andBhisham Sahni.[citation needed]
He grew up inSrinagar,Kashmir,[2] where he graduated from the Amar Singh College, Srinagar in 1945. From 1947 to 1948, he was a personal assistant toJawaharlal Nehru. During the 1950s, Malik studiedRenaissance art in Florence, French at theSorbonne, and attended lectures atColumbia University.[3]
From 1960 to 1972, Malik was art critic forThe Hindustan Times.[3] During the 1950s, he was literary editor ofThought, a weekly Indian journal of the arts.[4] In 1973–74, Malik was curator for "The Human Condition," an exhibition of contemporary Indian art that travelled to Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, andYugoslavia. From 1975 to 2000, Malik was art critic forThe Times of India.[3]
Malik has published 18 volumes of poetry, includingThe Lake Surface and Other Poems,Storm Warning, andBetween Nobodies and Stars. He has also edited six anthologies of English translations of Indian poetry, and is a frequent lecturer and seminar participant. He co-founded thePoetry Society of India and was the president of the Poetry Club of India.[3] He also remained an advisor to theNational Gallery of Modern Art and an executive board member to theLalit Kala Akademi.[5]
Malik was awarded thePadma Shri for literature in 1991, given by the Government of India.[3][6]
Keshav Malik also wrote "Attars of Existence" based on the abstract works of Sudip Roy.
He has also been the subject of two documentaries,Keshav Malik – The Truth of Art andKeshav Malik – A Look Back.[7]
Malik died at age 89 at his home in New Delhi on 11 June 2014.[8] He was survived by his wife Usha.[2]
