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Friday, November 26, 2010

"Akhbar Main Zaroorat Hay" an Essay Which Will Make You Laugh!

Hi Friends,

I hope you are doing good. Today I am going to post here an humorous essay with you. The essay is written by Naeem Arshad and it is about an advertisement in a newspaper. I am sure this essay will make you laugh or at least smile.

So lets have a smile on our faces, reading the essay "Akhbar Mai Zaroorat Hay" by Naeem Arshad.

Please note that I had read this essay some days back and I recall that the essay was written by Putras Bukhari the famous Urdu humorous writer but now I have found this essay with the name of Naeem Arshad. I believe it is written by Putras Bukhari. What do you think???

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

An Article on Wazir Agha by Dr. Anwar Sadeed

Wazir Agha (Urdu: وزیر آغا) (May 18, 1922-September 7, 2010) was a Pakistani writer, poet, critic and essayist, who lived in Sargodha. He ran a literary magazine 'Auraq' for many decades. He introduced many theories in Urdu literature. He is most famous for his work on Urdu humour. He has also written a seminal book on modern Urdu poets, notably those who have written more poems than ghazals. He has also written poetry and his poems mostly have an element of story.

Anwar Sadeed, an Urdu writer, had written an article on Wazir Agha. I would like to post that article here. I hope you will like it. Here you go!!!

An Autograoh by Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi

Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi or Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi D.Litt (HC), (Sitara-e-Imtiaz), (Hilal-e-Imtiaz) (Urdu:مشتاق احمد يوسفی) is an outstanding Urdu satirical and humor writer from Pakistan regarded by many as best Urdu Humorist. Yousufi has also served as the head of several national and international governmental and financial institutions. He received Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the highest literary honors by Government of Pakistan in 1999.

I had found some interesting autographs of Urdu men of liter and had post many of them. After some days I have found two autographs of Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi. One most interesting thing I have found there is Mushtaq Ahmad Youfusi has been bestowed upon with very beautiful hand writing skills. Here you go the one of the autograph. (Click here to see the other one)

Sitaroon Se Aagay; an Interesting Afsaana by Qurrat-ul-Ain Haider

Qurrat-ul-Ain Haider (Urdu: قراۃ العین حیدر; January 20, 1928, – August 21, 2007) was an influential Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she is most known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), a novel first published in Urdu in 1959, that stretches from 4th century BC to post partition of India. Popularly known as "Ainee Apa" among her friends and admirers, she was the daughter of the famous writer Sajjad Haidar Yildarim, (1880–1943). Her mother Nazar Zahra (who wrote at first as Bint-i-Nazrul Baqar and later as Nazar Sajjad Hyder) (1894–1967) was also a writer and protegee of Muhammadi Begam and her husband Syed Mumtaz Ali, who published her first novel. 

I feel pleasure to post here "Sitaroon Se Aagay" an interesting Afsana by her. I hope you will like it and enjoy reading it. Here you go!!

An Autograoh of Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi

Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi or Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi D.Litt (HC), (Sitara-e-Imtiaz), (Hilal-e-Imtiaz) (Urdu:مشتاق احمد يوسفی) is an outstanding Urdu satirical and humor writer from Pakistan regarded by many as best Urdu Humorist. Yousufi has also served as the head of several national and international governmental and financial institutions. He received Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the highest literary honors by Government of Pakistan in 1999.

I had found some interesting autographs of Urdu men of liter and had post many of them. After some days I have found two autographs of Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi. One most interesting thing I have found there is Mushtaq Ahmad Youfusi has been bestowed upon with very beautiful hand writing skills. Here you go the one of the autograph. (Click here to see the other one)

Monday, November 22, 2010

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi; an Eminent Urdu Poet and Critic

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (born 1935) is an eminent Urdu critic, poet and theorist, who has nurtured a whole generation of Urdu writers since the 1960s. He is regarded as the founder of the new movement in Urdu literature and has formulated fresh models of literary appreciation. With rare skill and clarity, he absorbed western principles of literary criticism and subsequently applied them to Urdu literature, but only after adapting them to address literary aesthetics native to Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.

He has done MA in English from Allahabad University in 1955.
He worked as a civil servant in the Indian Postal Department and other departments of the Government of India from 1958–1994 and became Chief Postmaster-General and Member, Postal Services Board, New Delhi.

As of 1994, he is a full-time writer and editor of his literary magazine Shabkhoon . The magazine ceased publication in 2005, when it had just entered its fortieth year of regular publication. He has been adjunct professor at the South Asia Regional Studies Centre, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
He also held the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Chair in the Faculty of Humanities at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. He permanently resides at Allahabad, a prominent city in State of Uttar Pradesh in India. In January 2009 he was awarded the "Padma Shri" (or "Lotus Adornment"), the fourth highest civilian honor that the Indian Government bestows.

He contributed a great and valuable literature to Urdu adab. Some of his work is mentioned below:

• Sher, Ghair Sher, Aur Nasr (1973)

• The Secret Mirror (in English, 1981)

• Ghalib Afsaney Ki Himayat Mein (1989)

• Sher Shore Angez (in 3 volumes, 1991–93)


• Urdu Ka Ibtedai Zamana (2001)

• Ganj-i-Sokhta (poetry)

• Sawar Aur Doosray Afsanay (fiction)

• Kai chand thay sar-e asman (novel)

• Jadeediyat Kal Aur Aaj (2007)
An expert in classical prosody and ‘ilm-e bayan (the science of poetic discourse), he has contributed to modern literary discourse with a profundity rarely seen in contemporary Urdu critics.

He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards. Most recently he was awarded the prestigious Saraswathi Samman for his pioneering work She`r-e Shor-Angez. In this four-volume study of the great eighteenth-century poet Mir Taqi Mir, Faruqi uses a refreshingly eclectic approach and a variety of insightful critical tools to interpret Mir’s art.
Farooqi has brought a new vision to investigate the greatness of the great Urdu poet mir taqi mir but while talking about his art of writing, to forget Muhammad Hasan Askari will leave him with no predecessor. Though he is a self acclaimed modernist, many a times he has gone through a lot of changes in his ideas. Farooqi writes the same way Askari used to wrote. The elaboration and the clarity in his expression comes directly from Askari,a great Urdu critic preceding him.

His writings are a combination of western and eastern theoretical efforts. While rediscovering mir he has chosen to implement the most effect tool of new criticism, close reading. He centralises a particular word and then replaces it with other synonymous words without disturbing the regular meteri attern of the couplet to why only that particular word has enlivened the couplet and imported it with such a charm and meaningfulness that differentiates it from other couplets of the same meaning. His greatness lies in the systematic, logical, and sharp expression lacking in the writings of almost all contemporary Urdu critics.

Dr. Aslam Farrukhi; a Renowned Urdu Poet

Dr. Aslam Farrukhi, (Pride of Performance), (Urdu: اسلم فرخی) (b. 1923) is a noted Urdu author, critic, poet, linguist, scholar and broadcaster of Pakistan. He is also known for children's writings. He remained associated as Professor and Chairman with Department of Urdu, University of Karachi for many years.

Aslam Farrukhi was born on October 23, 1923 in a literary family of Lucknow, India. Most of his family members were poets and writers. After the partition of India, he and his family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan.He has been associated with teaching and learning. He has taught at Sindh Muslim College and Karachi University. He also served as registrar of Karachi University. He is the father of young scholar Dr. Asif Farrukhi.
Dr. Farrukhi is not only an academic but also a poet, writer and broadcaster. He was associated with Radio Pakistan for more than six years. He is among the few writers of children's literature. His important titles include:

• Muhammad Hussain Azad - Hayat-o-Tasaneef

• Guldasta-e-Ahbab

• Aangann main Sitaray

• Farid-o-Fard Fareed
• Dabistan-e-Nizam

• Bachon ke Sultan jee

• Bachon ke Ranga Rung Amir Khusraw

As an editor:

• Tazkara Gulshan Hamesha Bahar

• Chand Bibi Sultana

• Qateel-o-Ghalib by Asad Ali Anweri

• Nayrang-e-Khayal by M. Hussain Azad

• Qasas Hind by M. Hussain Azad

• Adaeat-al-Quran by Deputy Nazeer Ahmed

Dilawar Figar; a Noted Humorist Urdu Poet

Dilawar Figar, (1929-1998) was a noted humorist, poet and scholar of the Pakistan. He is known as Shehansha-e-Zarafat and Akbar-e-Sani for his satirical and rich humor writings.

Dilawar Figar was born as Dilawar Hussain on July 8, 1929 in an illuminated family of Badaun, UP India. He got his early education from his town, and later joined Agra University where he got M.A. (Urdu). He also did M.A. (English) and M.A. (Economics). He associated with academia and teachings.
After partition of India, he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi where he joined Haroon College and taught Urdu. He also worked for KDA and remained Assistant Director Town Planning. He died on January 25, 1998 in Karachi.

Figar started writing in 1942 at the age of fourteen and soon got the company of noted masters, viz. Maulvi Jam Nawai Badayuni, Maulana Jami Badayuni. His literary work contains a Ghazal, humor, and translation.
Some of his contribution is mentioned below:

• Haadisay (collections of Ghazals)

• Sitam Zarifiañ (collections of humor poetry)

• Shamat-e-Aamaal (collections of humor poetry)

• Adaab Arz (collections of humor poetry)

• Assar-e-Nau (collections of humor)

• Unglian Figar Apni (collections of humor poetry)

• Matla Arz Hai (collections of humor poetry)

• Century (collections of humor poetry)

• Khuda Jhoot Na Bulwa'ay (collections of humor poetry)

• Chiragh-e-Khandañ (collections of humor poetry)

• Aaina-e-Raghib (125 rubaiyaat of Raghib Muradabadi)

• Khushbu Ka Safar (translation of selected English and American poetry)

• Khoob tar Kahan (translation of 'Why Not the Best' – biography of Jimmy Carter)

• Aabshar-e-Noor (poetic explanation of Sura Fatiha)

• Sila-e-Shaheed Kia hai (poetic biography of recipients of Nishan-e-Haider martyrs)

• Fi Sabeel Lillah (collections of humor poetry)

• Kaha Suna Maaf Karna (collections of humor poetry)

Mas'ood-Ul-Hasan Tabish Dehlvy; a Renowned Urdu Poet

Masood-ul-Hasan Tabish, (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), (Urdu: تابش دہلوی) was a renowned Urdu poet. He was born on November the 11th, 1911 in a learned family of India. Started his career in 19, later joined All India Radio on 1939. After Partition of India, he migrated to Pakistan and worked for Radio Pakistan.

He is counted amongst the poetic personalities who have infused a sense of devotion to literature among the newcomers. He has been widely acclaimed for his masterly poetic renderings both in and outside Pakistan.
The reputed historians of Urdu literature have categorised Tabish Dehlvi as a very learned poet of his time. He holds a distinguished position amongst his contemporaries and ranks high as a linguist. He gave new dimensions and directions to ancient words and their meanings.

He dominated the ‘mushairas’ he attended during his lifetime. The tone of his voice did not change despite his advance age. He was invariably requested to preside over ’mushairas ‘and other literary meetings.
At the instance of A.S. Patras Bukhari, the then director-general of All India Radio who had developed a liking for his literary talent and rich voice, Tabish, who is known as Masood Tabish in the field of broadcasting, began his radio career. He was a newscaster par excellence and ruled over the skies for several decades.

In the post-1947 period he was regarded as the new country’s most prominent newscaster.

The masses would be glued to their radio sets in order to hear his sonorous voice presenting Urdu news bulletins. He could justifiably claim that he had announced many breaking news events.
His contemporaries were greats like Josh Malihabadi, Jigar Muradabadi , Mahir Ul Qadri, Nayyer Madani, Salim Ahmed and many more.

He had four daughters and one son. 1. Zareena Mukhtar 2.Shahna Tabish 3.Durdana Qureshi 4.Rasheequa Rizvi 5.Saud Tabish

He became nostalgic when recalling how he managed to raise the slogan of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, which was not in the text, on the air waves just after the Quaid-i-Azam’s speech on June 3, 1947. He died in September 2004 in Karachi at the age of 93.
Tabish received many awards in his lifetime and was finally decorated with the coveted award of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan, during the reign of Nawaz Sharif by the Former President Rafiq Tarar in 1999.

His notable collection of poetry includes:

• Nimroz

• Chiragh-e-Sehra

• Ghubar-e-Anjum

• Mah-e-Shikasta

• Kisht-e-Nawa (full collection)

He also wrote auto biography the name of that book is ' Nazr-e-Tabish'. In which he also published some of this poetries.

Dr Saleem Wahid Saleem; an Urdu and Persian poet par excellence

Dr Saleem Wahid Saleem was a poet par excellence. He was born in Teheran, Iran to Khalifa Abdul Wahid Dar of Lahore (Now in Pakistan) and Bibi Fakhr-us-Sadat, a qajari princess of Iran. In fact, the Khalifa family had moved to Lahore from Kashmir in the 19th century. After the age of 11, his parents shifted back to India along with their two daughters Akhtar and Shamsi. 

Dr. Saleem was educated in Aligarh Muslim University Tibbiya College, Aligarh and later in London, where he also worked as announcer with BBC Persian Service. In Aligarh, he stayed with his close relative Dr. Ataullah Butt, of famous Butt Kada of Rashid Ahmed Siddiqui. Dr. Butt had founded Aligarh Tibbiya College.
Throughout his life, Dr Saleem continued to write both prose and poetry in Urdu, Persian and English. In the 50’s and 60’s, his ghazals were published in many prestigious Urdu periodicals including Nuqoosh, Funoon, Adab-e-Latif, Adabi Duniya and other contemporary periodicals.

The most remarkable work of Dr. Saleem Wahid Saleem is ‘Khayyam-e-Nau’, which is poetic translation of Umar Khayyam’s ruba’is. The collection has been published by Sanjh Publications, Temple Road, Lahore.

The book Khayyam-e-Nau can be bought online from emarkaz.com
During his last days, Doctor Sahib had become financially unstable and was greatly helped by his sister Mrs Akhtar Nazeer and her husband the late Malik Nazeer Ahmad. Dr. Saleem breathed his last in 1981.

Dr. Saleem wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. Some of his works are in English as well.

Dr. Saleem Wahid Saleem was married to Begum Umm-e-Habiba, who was granddaughter of Syed Abdul Baqi, who was among first five students of Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College (which later became Aligarh Muslim University) and had imbibed education directly from Sir Syed. He was later appointed as bursar (accountant-cum-registrar) of the university.
Tabenda Batool has completed her master’s thesis on Dr. Saleem in 1987 from Punjab University Lahore and then her M. Phil in 1995 from Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. Other collections of his poems and ghazals are also in the pipeline.

Dr. Saleem Wahid Saleem was a great man and a good poet, one blog is not enough to introduce him and his work. His work and he himself need a big website which would pay attention to provide knowledge about him.

Doctor Sahib's loyal son Mr. Muslim Saleem who himself is a good poet is doing very good job regarding this. You guys can get knowledge about Dr. Saleem wahid Saleem from websites designed by Muslim Saleem. You can visit for more details: 






Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq; a Bright Star in the Galaxy of Urdu Poets

Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq (1789-1854) (Urdu: شیخ محمد ابراہیم ذوق) was one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of Urdu poets. He wrote poetry under nom de plume "Zauq".

He was a poor youth, with only ordinary education, who went on to acquire quite some learning in history, tradition and astrology in his later years.

Zauq was a prominent contemporary of Ghalib and in the history of Urdu poetry the rivalry of the two poets is quite well known. During his lifetime Zauq was more popular than Ghalib for the critical values in those days were mainly confined to judging a piece of poetry on the basis of usage of words, phrases and idioms. Content and style were barely taken into account while appreciating poetry.
He was born at Delhi in 1789. His father, Sheikh Muhammad Ramzan was a lowly placed soldier in the Mughal army.

It was no less than a miracle that Zauq, without having the proper treatment on account of the penury of his family, survived the attack of a dreaded malady like smallpox during his childhood.

His father had no means to equip his son with the best available education of the time. He was sent to a maktab (elementary religious school) that was run by Hafiz Ghulam Rasool. Hafiz himself was a poet and used Shauq as his nom de plume. Under his influence the young Muhammad Ibrahim also got attracted towards poetry. Hafiz provided the required encouragement, took him as his pupil in poetry too and suggested Zauq as his nom de plume.

Though Zauq could not complete the course of the maktab, he got hooked to poetry. In those days Shah Naseer was the most famous master poet of Delhi. Zauq began showing his ghazals to Shah Naseer for improvement. Naseer recognized the natural talent and made him his pupil.
Gradually, Zauq began participating in the mushairas. His natural bent of mind towards poetry coupled with his singular obsession to excel in the pursuit brought him fame and fortune. He would be better appreciated in the mushairas than his mentor. Shah Naseer got very annoyed with the growing popularity of Zauq. He threw him out of the group of his pupils. Zauq, thereafter, relied only on his talent and continued writing poetry with a vengeance.

Another poet, Meer Kazim Husain Beqarar, a friend of Zauq's was appointed the mentor of the Crown Prince Zafar, who later ascended the throne. Through him Zauq could get the chance to enter the royal court. He also started participating in the royal mushairas. When Beqarar took up the job of Meer Munshi (Head Clerk) in the Office of John Elphinstone, Crown Prince Zafar appointed Zauq as his mentor with a monthly salary of Rs. 4 that was ultimately raised to Rs. 100 when Bahadur Shah Zafar ascended the throne. He remained the poet laureate of the Mughal Court till his death in 1854.
Zauq’s reputation in Urdu poetry is because of his eulogies that reflect his command over the language and his expertise in composing poetry in extremely difficult meters. Since he got associated with the royal court right from his teens and remained there till his death, he had to write mostly eulogies to seek the patronage and rewards from the princes and the King. His mentor, Shah Naseer, would also pay attention only to the linguistic eloquence and mastery over prosody. Zauq also emulated the example of his mentor. Such style of poetry suits eulogy writing. Many critics regard him a great eulogy writer next only to Sauda.

His ghazals also have some literary values. Since Bahadur Shah Zafar was fond of using simple and colloquial diction, Zauq too composed his ghazals using simple words, phrases of everyday use and similes rooted in the common culture. His ghazals are also notable for their spontaneity. Zauq was a deeply religious man. In his ghazals too he would deal with religious and ethical themes. Therefore, his ghazals lack lyricism and appear to be the verses of a preacher.

Major portion of Zauq’s poetical output got lost because of mutiny of 1857. Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad compiled a slim volume of his poetry with the help of his pupils like Hafiz, Veeran, Anwar and Zaheer that contains twelve hundred couplets of Ghazals and fifteen Eulogies. Even though much of his work was lost, he left behind a legacy of ghazal, qasida, and mukhammas.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Khumar Barabankvi; an Urdu Poet

Khumaar Barabankvi (1919 - 1999) (Urdu: خمار بارہ بنكوی ) was an Urdu poet and lyricist from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India. Khumar was his takhallus (pen name), which means intoxication. The word comes from the Arabic root 'Khmr' which means alcoholic wine.

Khumar Barabankvi's real name was Mohammed Haidar Khan. He was born in 1919 in Barabankvi in Uttar Pradesh, India. His book of poetry has been published under the title 'Aatish-e-Tar'. He passed away in 1999.

Fani Badayuni; a Noted Urdu Poet

Shaukat Ali Khan Fani Badayuni (1879–1941) was noted Urdu poet. Shaukat Ali Khan was born in Islamnagar, Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, (then United Provinces). He graduated from Barreilly College in 1901, studied law at Aligarh Muslim University, earning his LL.B. degree in 1906. He practiced law in Bareilly and Lucknow but could not make much success and migrated to Hyderabad. The Nizam's Diwan Maharaja Kishan Prasad 'Shad' who himself was an Urdu lover and poet, got Fani appointed in the department of Education.

Fani started composing poetry around twenty years of age. He translated works of Shakespeare and Milton in Urdu. Fani belonged to the Ghalib's tradition of Urdu poetry. It will be more appropriate to place Fani in the category of what is known in Urdu as 'Sahib-e-gam' because he was a poet of pathos. This tradition in Urdu poetry is headed by Mir Taqi Mir; hence he belongs to Mir's tradition as well. Fani lived at Hyderabad till his death in 1941.

Fani was associated with the Junior Prince Moazzam Jah nocturnal court throughout his life in Hyderabad. With him in the court were Josh Malihabadi,Sadiq Jaisi, Maher Ul Quadri and others.

Fani was a highly emotional persoanl he loved Hyderabad and the society. He was initially offered to join as a "munsif" (Judge) since he was a Law Graduate. But Fani did not accept it since he had to move away from the city. He later accepted the post of a school head master in Hyderabad. In the day fani would go to school and in night would attend Moazzam Jah's court till early hours, this night outs did not give him enough time to continue at school as head master, he could complete sleep at the office chair. News spread and he was removed from the post.
His work and contribution added a valuable stuff to Urdu Adab and enriched the Urdu literature with some beautiful material. Some of his contribution is given below:

  • First collection of poems (1917) published from Badaun by Naqib Press.
  • Baqiyat-e-Fani (1926) published by Maktab-e-Agra
  • Irfaniyat-e-Fani (1938), publishe by Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu.
  • Fani ki nadir tahriren: Havashi, tasrihat aur tanqidi ja'ize ke sath by Shaukat Ali Khan Fani Badayuni (1968)
  • Intikhab-i Fani (Silsilah-yi matbu'at) by Shaukat °Ali Khan Fani Badayuni
  • Irfaniyat-i-Fani: Ya'ni Janab Shaukat Ali Khan Sahib Fani Badayuni ke qadim-o-jadid kalam ka mukammal majmu'ah (Silsilah-e-Anjuman-e
  • Taraqqi Urdu) by Shaukat Ali Khan Fani Badayuni (1939)
  • Kulliyat-i Fani (Silsilah-e-matbu'at) by Shaukat Ali Khan Fani Badayuni (1992)

A detailed account of Fani's personal life can be found in the book "Durbaar-e-Durbaar" by Sadq Jaisi in Urdu and in English translation of the same book by Narendera Luther "The Nocturnal Court".

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Alys Faiz Writes About Her Husband Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (February 13, 1911-November 20, 1984) (Urdu: فیض احمد فیض) was a renowned Pakistani poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind (All India Progressive Writers' Movement) and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.

Today, on 20th November 2010, the 26th death anniversary of Faiz is celebrated in Urdu circles across the borders. I have some articles on Faiz written by some literary figures, and on his death anniversary going to post them for you.

I hope you will like them. Here you go the one by Alys Faiz, Faiz's English wife. (Click here and here to read the other two articles.)

Qurrat-Ul-Ain Hyder Writes about Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (February 13, 1911-November 20, 1984) (Urdu: فیض احمد فیض) was a renowned Pakistani poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind (All India Progressive Writers' Movement) and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.

Today, on 20th November 2010, the 26th death anniversary of Faiz is celebrated in Urdu circles across the borders. I have some articles on Faiz written by some literary figures, and on his death anniversary going to post them for you.

I hope you will like them. Here you go the one by Qurrat-ul-Ain Hyder. (Click here and here to read other two articles.)

Hameed Akhtar Writes About Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (February 13, 1911-November 20, 1984) (Urdu: فیض احمد فیض) was a renowned Pakistani poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind (All India Progressive Writers' Movement) and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.

Today, on 20th November 2010, the 26th death anniversary of Faiz is celebrated in Urdu circles across the borders. I have some articles on Faiz written by some literary figures, and on his death anniversary going to post them for you. 

I hope you will like them. Here you go the one by Hameed Akhtar, a friend of Faiz. (Click here  and here to read the other two articles.

Friday, November 19, 2010

An Article on Qateel

Aurangzeb Khan or Qateel Shifai (24 December 1919 - 11 July 2001) (Urdu: قتیل شفا ئی) was a Pakistani Urdu poet. He was born in Haripur, Hazara Division, British India (now Pakistan).

He adopted Qateel Shifai as his pen name in 1938 under which he was known in the world of Urdu poetry. "Qateel" was his "takhallus" and "Shifai" was in honour of his ustaad Hakim Mohammed 'Shifa' whom he considered his mentor.

Over 20 collections of verse and over 2,500 songs for Pakistani and Indian films were published. His poetry has been translated into numerous languages including Hindi, Gujarati, English, Russian and Chinese.

I have come across two articles about Qateel. Here I am posting one of them. I hope you will like it and it would increase your knowledge about Qateel. Here you go!! (Click Here to read the other one.)

An Article on Qateel Shifai

Aurangzeb Khan or Qateel Shifai (24 December 1919 - 11 July 2001) (Urdu: قتیل شفا ئی) was a Pakistani Urdu poet. He was born in Haripur, Hazara Division, British India (now Pakistan).

He adopted Qateel Shifai as his pen name in 1938 under which he was known in the world of Urdu poetry. "Qateel" was his "takhallus" and "Shifai" was in honour of his ustaad Hakim Mohammed 'Shifa' whom he considered his mentor.

Over 20 collections of verse and over 2,500 songs for Pakistani and Indian films were published. His poetry has been translated into numerous languages including Hindi, Gujarati, English, Russian and Chinese.

I have come across two articles about Qateel. Here I am posting one of them. I hope you will like it and it would increase your knowledge about Qateel. Here you go!!

(Click here to read the other article)

Meri Shadi; the Story of Manto's Marriage

Saadat Hassan Manto (Urdu: ‏‏سعادت حسن منٹو) (May 11, 1912 – January 18, 1955) was a short story writer of Kashmiri heritage. He is best known for his short stories , 'Bu' (Odour), 'Khol Do' (Open It), 'Thanda Gosht' (Cold Meat), and his magnum opus, Toba Tek Singh'.

Combining psychoanalysis with human behaviour, he was arguably one of the best short story tellers of the 20th century, and one of the most controversial as well. When it comes to chronicling the collective madness that prevailed, during and after the Partition of India in 1947, no other writer comes close to the oeuvre of Saadat Hassan Manto.

Here I am posting "Meri Shaadi' by Manto, in which he tells the interesting story of his marriage. I hope you will like it. Your comments will be appreciated. Here you go!!

Jagannath Azad and Pakistani National Anthem What is Reality

Since my childhood I believed and know that Hafeez Jallandhari was the poet who wrote Pakistan's national Anthem. And like me, almost all of Pakistani people especially the young generation of Pakistan know that. If someone asks about Jagannath Azad as the writer of national anthem of Pakistan he may be denied.

But some days back I came across a discussion about the writer of first Pakistani national anthem and I was shocked when I knew that some people say that Jagannath Azad had written the first anthem. I just read that discussion and ignored. I had no intentions to mention that here as that was related to history and politics, though that had some links with literature.
But now when I searched Jagannath Azad on Internet, I found an entry about him in WikiPedia, in which it was tremendously expressed that Jagannath Azad had written first Pakistani national anthem. Further he was awarded The President of Pakistan's Gold Medal for his services to Urdu Literature. 

Then I decided to present you all of that discussion which took place some months back in Pakistani media. First I will mention the column written by beena Sarwar, who is an independent journalist and blogger from Pakistan, in daily DAWN, a well reputed English newspaper from Pakistan. Beena Wrote:

"As children we learnt that Pakistan didn’t have a national anthem until the 1950s. My journalist uncle Zawwar Hasan used to tell us of a reporter friend who visited China in the early 1950s. Asked about Pakistan’s national anthem, he sang the nonsensical ‘laralapa laralapa’.
If these journalists were unaware that Pakistan had a national anthem — commissioned and approved in 1947 by by no less a person than the country’s founder and first Governor General, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, long before Hafeez Jullandri’s Persianised lyrics were adopted as the anthem in 1954 – ordinary citizens may be forgiven for their ignorance.
The lyricist of the first national anthem was the poet Jagannath Azad, son of the renowned poet Tilok Chand Mehroom (who won accolades for his rendering of naat at mushairas). Born in Isa Khel (Mianwali), Jagannath Azad was working in Lahore when Mr Jinnah commissioned him for this task just three days before Independence. He complied, Mr Jinnah approved the lyrics, and the anthem went on air on Radio Pakistan the day Pakistan was born. Some Pakistanis still remember hearing it, like Zaheer A. Kidvai, then seven years old, who mentioned it on his blog Windmills of my mind – ‘A Tale of Two Anthems’, May 03, 2009. Those who came after 1948 have no memory of it.
My own introduction to it was recent, through an unexpected resource. Flying to Karachi from Lahore, I came upon an article on the history of Pakistan’s flag and national anthem in PIA’s monthly ‘Hamsafar‘ magazine (‘Pride of Pakistan’, by Khushboo Aziz, August issue).

“Quaid-e-Azam being the visionary that he was knew an anthem would also be needed, not only to be used in official capacity but inspire patriotism in the nation. Since he was secular-minded, enlightened, and although very patriotic but not in the least petty Jinnah commissioned a Hindu, Lahore-based writer Jagan Nath Azad three days before independence to write a national anthem for Pakistan. Jagan Nath submitted these lyrics:

Ae sarzameene paak Zarray teray haen aaj sitaaron se taabnaak
Roshan hai kehkashaan se kaheen aaj teri khaak
Ae sarzameene paak.”

(“Oh land of Pakistan, the stars themselves illuminate each particle of yours/Rainbows brighten your very dust”)

As Jaswant Singh’s forthcoming book on Mr Jinnah created ripples in mid-August, The Kashmir Times, Jammu, published a short piece, ‘A Hindu wrote Pakistan’s first national anthem – How Jinnah got Urdu-knowing Jagannath Azad to write the song’ (Aug 21, 2009). The reproduction of a front-page report by Luv Puri in The Hindu (Jun 19, 2005), it drew on Puri’s interview of Azad in Jammu city days before his death. Talking to Puri, Azad recalled how Jinnah asked him to write Pakistan’s national anthem. In the interview, headlined ‘My last wish is to write a song of peace for both India & Pakistan: Azad’, he said he was in Lahore working in a literary newspaper “when mayhem had struck” the entire country (Special Report by Luv Puri, Milli Gazette, New Delhi, Aug 16-31, 2004).

“All my relatives had left for India and for me to think of leaving Lahore was painful… My Muslim friends requested me to stay on and took responsibility of my safety. On the morning of August 9, 1947, there was a message from Pakistan’s first Governor-General, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It was through a friend working in Radio Lahore who called me to his office. He told me ‘Quaid-e-Azam wants you to write a national anthem for Pakistan.’

“I told them it would be difficult to pen it in five days and my friend pleaded that as the request has come from the tallest leader of Pakistan, I should consider his request. On much persistence, I agreed.”

Why him? Azad felt that the answer lay in Jinnah’s speech of Aug 11, 1947, stating that if everyone saw themselves “first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations… in the course of time, Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.”

“Even I was surprised when my colleagues in Radio Pakistan, Lahore approached me,” recalled Azad. “…They confided in me that ‘Quaid-e-Azam wanted the anthem to be written by an Urdu-knowing Hindu.’ Through this, I believe Jinnah Sahib wanted to sow the roots of secularism in a Pakistan where intolerance had no place.”

Mr Jinnah approved Azad’s lyrics within hours, and the anthem was broadcast on Radio Pakistan, Karachi (then the capital of Pakistan).

Hamsafar terms it “the anthem for Pakistan’s Muslims” — apparently forgetting about the country’s non-Muslim citizens. Even after the forced migrations on either side, West Pakistan still had some 10 per cent, and East Pakistan about 25 percent non-Muslims – symbolised by the white stripe in Pakistan’s flag.

Increasing insecurity forced Azad to migrate to Delhi in mid-September 1947. He returned to Lahore in October, says his son Chander K Azad in an email to this writer. “However, his friends advised him against staying as they found it difficult to keep him safe… He returned to Delhi with a refugee party.”

Azad had a distinguished career in India – eminent Urdu journalist, authority on Allama Iqbal (in the preface of his last manuscript, unpublished, ‘Roodad-e-Iqbal’ he wrote immodestly, “anything on Iqbal after this has no meaning”), author of over 70 books, government servant (retired in 1997), and recipient of numerous awards and honours (See his son Chander K. Azad’s email of Sept 6 on this blog.)
However, his lyrics survived in Pakistani barely six months beyond Mr Jinnah’s death in September 1948. “The people and the Constitutional bodies of the country wanted to have a more patriotic and more passionate national anthem that depicted their values and identity to the world,” explains Hamsafar (loaded ideological terminology aside, one never read about the Hindu poet Azad’s contribution in any official literature before, ‘enlightened moderation’ notwithstanding.)

The National Anthem Committee (NAC), formed in December 1948, took two years to finalise a new anthem. After the Shah of Iran’s impending visit in 1950 made the decision imperative, NAC member Hafeez Jallandri’s poem was chosen from among 723 submissions.
The anthem commissioned by Mr Jinnah was just one of his legacies that his successors swept aside, along with the principles he stressed in his address to the Constituent Assembly on Aug 11, 1947 — meant to be his political will and testament according to his official biographer Hector Bolitho (Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan, John Murray, London, 1954).
Pakistan’s inherited problems, he said included the maintenance of law and order (the State must fully protect “the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects”), the “curse” of bribery and corruption, the “monster” of black-marketing, and the “great evil” of nepotism. Since Partition had happened, he said, we must “concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor.”
This speech, literally censored by “hidden hands” as Zamir Niazi documents in Press in Chains (1986), also contains Mr Jinnah’s famous lines about the “fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State”, where religious identity becomes secondary and where religion, caste or creed “has nothing to do with the business of the State…”
A month after his death, the Safety Act Ordinance of 1948, providing for detention without trial – the draft of which Jinnah had in March angrily dismissed as a “black law” – was passed. The following March, the Constituent Assembly passed the ‘Objectives Resolution’ that laid the basis for recognising Pakistan as a state based on an ideology.
In all these deviations from Mr Jinnah’s vision, perhaps discarding Azad’s poem appears miniscule. But it is important for its symbolism. It must be restored and given a place of honour, at least as a national song our children can learn – after all, Indian children learn Iqbal’s ‘Saarey jehan se accha’. Such symbolism is necessary if we are to claim the political spaces for resurrecting Mr Jinnah’s vision about a nation where religion, caste or creed “has nothing to do with the business of the State.”

Now I am posting two columns by Dr. Safdar Mahmood, a well known Pakistani columnist and Bureaucrat.

Dr. Safdar writes in Daily Jang, a well reputed and the most circulated Urdu newspaper from Pakistan. Dr. Safdar is regarded as a person who believes in research and arguments. He has a great knowledge about Pakistan and Quaid-e-Azam which could be reflected by his columns.

Here I am posting his two columns about the national anthem and Jagannath Azad. Read the columns by Beena Sarwar and Dr. Safdar Mahmood and decide yourself. Everyone is free to believe in what he thinks to be right. Here you go!!


After this column, Dr. Safdar Mahmood has written another one. Here you go the second column.

After reading both versions about Pakistan's national anthem, to what conclusion you have reached?? Please inform me!!!

Thank you!!