Wednesday, January 21, 2009

ASAD - 54

Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995

After another break, damn the workpressure, the series continues. I missed the discussion :-( on Faiz's famous poem, "mujhse pehalisi muhabbat", which I had mentioned in my first article on him. Here is the promised 3rd and last article on him, about his life.

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The opening line/Sher from this song/GHazal composed by Preethamacharya's favourite MD :-) goes like ...

kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi hai
kahaN ho tum, ke ye dil beqaraar aaj bhi hai

It may not be a case of plagiarism, but this is very similar to an ending of another Faiz creation. I am giving the last 3 lines of this Nazm.

KHuda wo waqt na laaye, ke tujhko yaad aaye ...
wo dil, ke tere liye beqaraar ab bhi hai
wo aaNkh, jisko tera intezaar ab bhi hai

Similar words ? Yes.
But the first line gives a splendid and totally different 'vazan' to the next two lines ! The "mood" changes amazingly.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born at Sialkot in 1911. He studied English Literature and Philosophy at Lahore. Then he began his career in Amritsar as a lecturer. During the World War II, he joined the Welfare Dept. of Army and became a Lt. Colonel, from 1940 to 1947. His socialist ideology forced him to leave military. Then he became a distinguished and much respected editor of "The Pakistan Times". He was charged with complicity in the Rawalpindi conspiracy, and was jailed from 1951 to 1955. In jail, his intellect was still free to write 2 of his 4 books.

As he himself said

mata-e-lauh-o-qalam = likhane ka saamaan [pen, ink etc.]

mata-e-lauh-o-qalam chhin gayi, to kya gham hai
ke khoon-e-dil me dubo li haiN ungaliyaaN maine
- 'Faiz' Ahmed Faiz

An admirer of Karl Marx, he was the most popular poet in Pakistan. He was a poet who did not believe in "Art for Art's sake", and was a true poet of the people. He was honoured by Soviet Union with the prestigious Lenin Award for Peace.

He died in 1984, but his creations have become immortal treasue of Urdu Poetry in the Indian subcontinent.

- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !

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