Ludhiana, April 13
There is a typically lavish poetic self-praise still dominant in Shaharyar, the noted Urdu poet, who has brought out several poetic collections and was also awarded Sahitya Akademi award in 1985, proclaiming that there is no other poet who could match him.
Although quite well-known and duly acknowledged in poetic, literary and academic circles, Sharharyar shot into prominence after the classic composition for the Hindi feature film Umrao Jan ‘Dil cheez kya hai, aap meri jaan lijye, bas ik bar mera kaha maan lijye, is anjuman mein aap ko aana hai bar bar, deewar-o-dar ko ghor se pehchan lijye’.
But Shaharyar refuses to be described as the writer of the film songs. He is proud of being a poet. “I am the best living Urdu poet. At this time I have no match”, he asserts, while claiming that there is no surviving Urdu poet who could stand at a par with him.
Born in Bulandshahar city of Uttar Pradesh, Kunwar Ikhlaq Muhammad Khan, who became popular by his pen name Shaharyar, has traversed a long course to prominence. He started his career as a journalist with an Urdu journal. He did his Masters in Urdu in 1961 and joined the famous Aligarh Muslim University in 1966 as a lecturer. He retired as chairman and head of the Department of Urdu in AMU.
Like other great Urdu poets as Kaifi Azmi, Sardar Jafri and many reputed names, Shaharyar was also influenced by left-oriented progressive thought. He admits and asserts with pride his affiliation with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
He has written songs for several Hindi feature films, which became quite popular. His film songs also reflect the depth of thought presented in a simple and lucid language. The famous song of ‘Gamman’, ‘Seene mein jalan aankhoon mein toofan sa kyon hai, Is shahar mein har shakhs pareshan kyon hai’, is as famous today as it was about two decades ago. The list is long, including some latest movies like Yash Chopra’s ‘Faasle’ and Muzafar Ali’s ‘Zooni’, an incomplete movie on the troubled life of famous Kashmiri folk poetess Habba Khatun.
Shaharyar admits that some songs he has written for ‘Zooni’ are based on the translation of Habba Khatun’s original songs. His songs were addressed to her father wherein she narrates the woes she faces in her in-laws. One famous song he has written for ‘Zooni’ reads ‘jeene ki koi rah dikhai nahin deti, baba mere baba, warna mein kabhi aise duhai nahin deti baba mere baba’. Although he had developed some differences with Muzaffar Ali during the process of completion, Shaharyar denies any such rift. The differences had led Muzaffar Ali even asking Naqsh Lal Puri to write a few songs for ‘Zooni’.
The famous poet claims to reflect social problems in his poetry. However, he asserts that India is strong enough rooted in its history and culture to face any challenges. “India has always survived all eventualities and has always emerged stronger”, he says with confidence
