Two of the most prominent classical poets in Afghanistan at the time were Abdul Haq Betab and Khalil Ullah Khalili. Betab received the honorary title "Malek ul Shoara" (King of Poets). Khalili was drawn toward the "Khorasan style" of poetry instead of the usual "Hendi style". He was also interested in modern poetry and wrote a few poems in a more modern style with new aspects of thought and meaning. In 1318 (AH), after two poems by Nima Youshij titled "Gharab" and "Ghoghnus" were published, Khalili wrote a poem under the name "Sorude Kuhestan" or "The Song of the Mountain" in the same rhyming pattern as Nima and sent it to the Kabul Literary Circle. The traditionalists in Kabul refused to publish it because it was not written in the traditional rhyme. They criticized Khalili for modernizing his style.