Eminent Urdu litterateur Yusuf Nazim passed away at his residence in Mumbai. He was 88. His wife and four children survive him.

Yusuf Nazim, one of the foremost Urdu humorist in India, was a prolific writer and wrote over two dozen books. He penned popular columns for newspapers like Inquilab.

His initial articles were published way back in 1944. For almost 65 years he consistently wrote. He had joined Labour department of Hyderabad Deccan in 1944 and retired as Deputy Commissioner Labour in 1976 in Mumbai.

Born as Syed Mohd Yusuf, he also wrote travelogues and books for children. In Urdu daily Inquilab, Nadeem Siddqui, in an obituary tells us about one of his couplets:

khoon-e-Aadam bahe saDkoN pe to rangeeni hai
aaj ke daur ki qismat hi filisteeni hai

Though his ancestors belonged to Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, Yusuf Nazim was born in Jalna in Marathwada region of Maharashtra in undivided India.

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A poetic meet was organised in the historic town of Amroha where the poets recited their couplets in praise of the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him.

The event was known as Jashn-e-Fatma Zehra. Poetry and Urdu couplets praising Fatima [RH] were recited at the Urdu poetry recital session. Other than literary meets, such poetry sessions where poetry is rendered exlusively in praise of Prophet, Hazrat Ali, Bibi Fatima or Muharram, are common in Urdu-speaking areas in the sub-continent.

While Sunnis organise Natiya Mushairas, the Shias mostly hold poetry sessions where religious figures including Hazrat Ali, Bibi Fatima, Hazrat Imam Husain and the events leading to Yaum-e-Ashurah are the topic of poetry.

Some of the couplets at the poetry session:

kyaa tajallii hai ki Khurshiid-e-falak chakkar meN hai
nuur hai markaz pe lekin roshni manzar meN hai
[Shamim Amrohvi]

Zahra haiN yuuN khayaal-e-suKhanwar ke aas paas
khushbuu-e-paak jaise gul-e-tar ke aas paas
[Nausha Amrohvi]

nahiiN voh be-wafa ho hii nahiiN saktaa zamaane meN
tere Ghaazi kaa jo parcham uThaaye Fatima Zehraa
[Saahil Amrohvi]

mil gayii haii mujhko jurrat, ho gayaa be-baak bhii
madahat-e-Zahraa ne baKhshii quvvat-e-idraak bhii
[Haji Abid Amrohvi]

There are just a few sample asha’ar recited at the poetry session. Several other poets also read out their verses and received hearfelt applause from the audience.

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Obituary

Habib Tanvir who dominated the Indian theatre scene for nearly half-a-century is no more. He died in Bhopal at the age of 86.

Tanvir’s role in keeping Indian theatre close to the masses is second to none. Agra Bazar and Charandas Chor are universally acclaimed as among the most popular plays in post-independent India.

Tanvir, who was born in Raipur in 1923, had leftist leanings from the beginning. He wrote poetry in Urdu and adopted the ‘takhallus’ or pen name Tanvir.

He blended theatre, folk art and poetry with finesse. The artistes whether the fakirs of Delhi or the villagers from tribal dominated Chhattisgarh, remained with him like his family members.

With a firm conviction to expose the bigotry and fundamentalism in the society, he kept penning plays that often rubbed on the wrong side of the right-wing BJP-led governments.

His play ‘Ponga Pandit’ drew the ire of the BJP and its sister organisations. But Tanvir remained unperturbed. A crusader against communalism and a champion of communal harmony, Tanvir’s legacy will be carried by his daughter Nageen.

Read ‘Habib Tanvir and his play Agra Bazar based on Nazir Akbarabadi’s poetry’ at the link.

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Renowed Urdu poet Kavish Badri died in his native town, Ambur, in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu recently. One of the masters of Urdu poetry, Kavish Badri was among the most prominent Urdu writers in South India.

One of his ghazals with a unique ‘radeef’ is being posted here. It’s just a glimpse to the master craftsman who enriched Urdu language and literature for decades.

He was 84. Kavish Badri was published in Urdu journals across the world. His ghazals were a permanent feature in literary magazine, Shabkhoon.

Vellore has a subtantial Urdu speaking populace. In fact, one of the pioneers of Urdu ghazal, Vali Vellori (not to be confused with Wali Dakhni) also hailed from this town.

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Ghulam Nabi Azad

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has faced criticism from Urdu speakers for taking oath in English.

Azad, a former Union Minister and an ex-Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was expected to take the oath in Urdu, the official language of the state which he belongs to.

Besides, Indian Muslims predominantly speak Urdu and are emotionally attached to it. The Urdu Development Organisation (UDO) has condemned Azad’s decision to take oath in English, which is not his mother tongue either.

UDO office-bearer Bahrul Uloom has urged other Muslim leaders who are supposed to take oath during the next cabinet expansion, to express their love for Urdu, which is one of the official languages of India.

Azad was sworn in as a cabinet minister by president Dr Pratibha Patil after the recent Lok Sabha elections gave a decisive victory to Dr Manmohan Singh-led Congress government. In the past, Muslims have generally taken oath in Urdu.

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First an astonishing Urdu couplet:

talaaq de to rahe ho ataab-o-qahar ke saath
meraa shabaab bhii lauTaa do mere meher ke saath

[Sajid Sajni]

While Classical Urdu ghazal was called ‘Rekhta’, the poetry written in woman’s voice by men was termed as ‘Rekhti’. In the late 18th and early 19th century, in a deadent sultanate of Oudh, poetry in woman’s voice was penned by poets as a form of protest.

It was promptly dubbed Rekhti (opposed to Rekhta). Sa’adat Yaar Khan Rangin is credited as its creator. Though Insha, Jurat and Jan Sahib were other exponents.

In this genre, men wrote poetry in a feminine voice, using the idiom of women (begumati zubaan) and addressed another woman (bhabhi, baaji, aapa, ammi, saheli et al).

It gave a voice to women to express their grievances in their own language, except that it was written by men. Later it degenerated and was never recited in genteel soirees or homes. The genre died in the middle of 19th century

But Sajid Sajni revived it and refined it. He gave it a healthy direction apart from his sharp wit, satire and humour. Sajid Sajni was born in Lucknow in 1922 and settled in Bhopal in 1946.

[Article courtesy: Nasir Kamaal]

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rashk karte haiN jeetne vaale
hamne is taraH maat khaaii hai
[Mazhar Imam]

Here is a selection of some of the couplets of eminent Poet Mazhar Imam:

Renowned poet Mazhar Imam has been one of the leading Urdu poets of the sub-continent for over half-a-century.

He was born in 1928 in Bihar’s Darbhanga district. His father Syed Amir Ali was a post master. Imam did his post-graduation in Urdu and Persian before going to Pune for diploma from TV and Film Institute.

In 1951, he joined a daily newspaper Karvaan that was published from Kolkata (then Calcutta). He remained jobless for sometime before he became a schoolteacher for Rs 60 per month. Later he joined All India Radio and remained associated for over three decades. Mazhar Imam is considered the founder of Azad Ghazal genre in Urdu poetry.

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Legendary Urdu poet Jamil Mazhari

Allama Jamil Mazhari is a name that is taken with utmost respect in Urdu circles. The complete works of this legendary poet have recently been published.

The voluminous Kulliyat-e-Jamil Mazhari is a must for every bibliophile. The first part has over 200 Nazms. Educational Publication House has printed it.

A leading poet of his generation, Allama Jamil Mazhari never cared about name or fame. And this is one reason, he was often neglected by critics.

hamiiN the apne liye aap ek hijaab Jamil
ham uTh gaye to zamane ne hamko pahchaana

Jahangir Raza Kazmi, Hasan Shakil Mazari, Husain Khurshid Mazhari and Afzal Hasan Jafri have compiled this unique book. Another famous couplet of the poet:

baqadar paimaana-e-takhayyul suruur har dil meN khudii ka
gar na ho ye fareb-e-paiham to dam nikal jaaye aadmii ka

Interestingly, the other day Hindi blog Mohalla had mentioned Allama Mazahri and his visit to meet Jawaharlal Nehru. As per the anecdote, Allama was tired because of the long journey from Bihar and slept while sitting on the chair.

Though Dinkar and Suhail Azimabadi were alarmed, Nehru didn’t mind it and conversed in soft voice so as not to disturb his sleep.

Meanwhile, I must thank eminent poet Allama Ali Abbas Ummeed for letting me see the book and write a piece on it. This book can be obtained from Educational Publication House by sending an email to info@ephbooks.com

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An Urdu novel ‘Ek mamnua mohabbat ki kahani’ was released at a function in Mumbai recently.

Eminent writer Salam Bin Razzaq released the book. He hailed the novel as a major work set in the backdrop of Konkan region.

Razzaq said that the novel is set in Konkan but the story revolves around a village. He said that it’s heartening to see region-based works in Urdu.

Aslam Pervez, Muqaddar Hameed and Yaqoob Rahi were also present. The function was organised under the aegis of literary group Eteraaf.

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Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt

Recalling that his mother Shireen was a Shia Muslim who was married to a secular Hindu Brahmin, she had to hide her religion because she didn’t want her children to suffer and face communalism or develop comlex personalities, he writes in an emotional article in The Hindu.

He recounts how his father made Bollywood movies that had dialogues in Urdu but had shouted when he heard All India Radio’s Urdu service programmes on radio in the house.

Mahesh says that his father had termed it Pakistani radio and she meekly turned off the radio. Though she often visited Majlis, she raised Mahesh as a Hindu and told him stories about Hindu mythology.

It was later when he grew up, did he realised that he had a Muslim legacy which he needed to sport proudly. Mahesh Bhatt is sad that the state doesn’t promote learning of Urdu.

After the amendment of constitution, it is the duty of the government to ensure teaching the language at primary and secondary level.

He urges citizens to fight for the rights of Urdu populace. ‘It is the fundamental right of every Urdu speaking child to get education in his mother tongue and all Urdu lovers must force the government to act urgently.

Read the passionate plea of Mahesh Bhatt

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Recently two important Urdu poets, Rafat Sarosh and Fiza Ibn Faizi passed away.

Sarosh, who was born on April 8, 1924, in Nagina town in Bijnore district of Uttar Pradesh. He had spent long years of his professional life with the All India Radio (AIR).

He was 84. Sarosh’s auto-biographical work is considered an important literary masterpiece and gives us a peep into the life of writers of his generation. He passed away on November 30, 2008 and with him anothe pillar of Urdu poetry has fallen.

Another veteran poet Fiza Ibn Faizi passed away in January 2009. He 86. Faizi was a native of Maunath Bhanjan (Mau) district of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

He was considered a ‘qadir-ul-kalaam’ poet and had received numerous awards from across the Urdu world. At least, six poetry collections of Faizi had been published and acclaimed.

Last year several renowned poets like Hafiz Banarasi ( 1933-2008), Ahmad Faraz (1933-2008) and Saghar Nizami had left for heavenly abode.

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Adil Mansuri, the leading Urdu poet, passed away in America recently. He was the most promient of modernist poets along side Zafar Iqbal, Nida Fazli, Mohammad Alvi and Ameeq Hanafi.

He was 72. Mansuri is survived by his wife and five children. He was born in Ahmedabad in 1936. Though his mother tongue was Gujarati, Mansuri learnt Urdu in Pakistan after the family migrated there soon after partition.

But a few years later Mansuri’s father decided to come back to India. Adil Mansuri went on to become the master of surrealism and a poet of repute in both the genres–Nazm and Ghazal.

He also penned poetry in Gujarati. Renonwed critic and author Shamsur Rahman Faruqi says that Mansuri’s ghazal was different in the sense that the poet steered the ghazal from a delicate to direct approach.

The late poet was also a calligrapher par excellence. He had settled in New Jersey where he passed away. Read his ghazal in Urdu, Hindi and English scripts at Best Ghazals. [Photograph: Courtesy www.adilmansuri.com]

AnIndianMuslim.com

Urdu poetry transcends geographical boundaries and is understood and loved by millions who can’t read a word written in Urdu script. I am happy that my other blog now has a collection of 200 selected ghazals and Nazms, each in Urdu, Hindi and Roman English scripts, for the benefit of readers. Read.

Due to the linguistic politics, Urdu unfortunately got identified as a language of Muslims in India, and the script of the langauge suffered as a result. However, the poetry remained as popular as it was in the past.

When you intend to put the gems of Urdu poetry on the web, you can’t ignore that a vast majority of readers can’t read Urdu script (especially Indians). While Roman script was used for writing Urdu even in Indian Army, it has certain restrictions.

Though devanagari script is quite scientific, it also has some limitations. When I started blogging I aimed at publishing the best of Urdu poetry. I soon learnt that one has to use all the three scripts as most of the readers understand Roman but are not too comfortable with the transliteration.

So I decided to write each ghazal or Nazm in English, Urdu and Hindi scripts. Roman and Hindi supplement each other. For example, if a person can’t understand a word in Roman, he can read it in devanagari and be able to pronounce it clearly.

Of course, those who can read Urdu, will have no problem. But they will also get help in pronounciation of difficult or confusing words by reading the Roman text. The result is that now there are over 200 Ghazals and Nazms which you can read at this website. Click

From classical masters like Mir, Ghalib, Momin, Dard and Dagh to progressive poets and the modernist stream, we have tried to incorporate the best verses of each generation.

Nazms are often neglected but on this site you will get to read poetry of Akhtarul Iman, Faiz, Majaz, Ibn-e-Insha, Sahir, Nida and many others. The number of posts is now well over 200 and it will keep growing.

The beauty of Urdu poetry, especially ghazal, lies in the fact that though it has at least five to six couplets, each couplet can be separately used and quoted. The quotability makes Urdu poetry unique and the ’sher’ reverberate from pan kiosks to parliament of India.

Click to read Urdu poetry.

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Bashir Badr

Bashir Badr, a fine poet, has lately become an embarrassment for the entire Urdu fraternity.

His excessive bragging and boastful statements suggest that he is bordering megalomania.

In a recent interview published in a prominent Hindi daily newspaper, Badr, said that if Mir and Ghalib were alive even they would be jealous of his popularity. Though the interviewer didn’t ask him, he repeatedly said that he owns plush house that has over ten rooms on both the floors.

Badr is the Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Urdu Academy and got the post due to sycophantic ways. When asked why the Academy has stopped publishing books and helping writers who are living in penury, he said that he was not aware of that.

When he was asked that a veteran poet like Raza Rampuri is seriously ill and needs financial support but why the Academy hasn’t bothered, Badar didn’t care to answer. Flying off at a tangent, Badr said that he considerd Atal Bihari Vajpayee as his father.

He kept on saying things like, “I make lot of money, earn thousands for a single couplet and that he is the last poet in the line of great poets of Urdu that is a language borne out of Sanskrit”.

Ironically, Badr has been sycophantic to such an extent that he famously said that he can even clean the floor of the BJP office. It was in return that he was offered the post of Urdu Academy chairman. In intervies, he keeps on stressing that there is no photograph of his father in his house but Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s photographs are present in every room.

During his tenure the MP Urdu Academy has stopped all work. There are no function, no grants, no seminars, no campaigns for Urdu or efforts to appoint Urdu teachers, except a couple of mushairas every year.

No doubt, Bashir Badr is a fine poet. His collections of poetry have earned him name and fame. But he is neither the most representative poet of his era, nor a poet of stature of Shaharyar and Ahmad Faraz, let alone Ali Sardar Jafri, Majrooh, Kaifi Azmi or Janisar Akhtar.

However, his statements claiming that he is better than Ghalib and Meer, have hurt his image. Publicly and even among poetic fraternity he is now looked down upon. Many of his couplets are said to be work of old masters with lesser fame which he allegedly changed to suit his needs.

The literary societies who used to invite him for mushairas, stopped inviting him because of his demand for more fee. He also used to force them to send two tickets so that he could take his wife along.

Still, despite all these allegations and controversies, he was considered a fairly good poet. But in the last couple of years, his growing megalomania had made him almost a pariah in Urdu poetry circles.

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AnIndianMuslim.com

Read this post in Urdu. It is an excerpt from Ahmed Javed’s article that was published in Hindustan Express Urdu daily recently. The text may be a bit taxing for your eyes but do read it. The plight of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and the criminal silence of the society that remained almost indifferent to her, is shocking by any means. Though there are voices now and Pakistanis seem to have woken up to the tragedy but there is no anger visible on the street as yet.

AnIndianMuslim.com

Shugoofa is a rare magazine dedicated to humour and satire, which is published from Hyderabad Deccan (India).

In an era when magazines are finding it tough to survive, Shagoofa has completed 40 years of publication and is now in its 41st year. What distinguishes it from other magazines is the fact that all the articles and verses are purely literary with a tinge of humour and satire unlike most other magazines with popular humour.

It is difficult to find such a standard literary-humorist magazine in any other language. The standard of magazines that are solely devoted to humour generally deteriorates and cheap humour makes an entry but this is not the case with Shagoofa.

It has articles, ghazals, nazms, travelogues and all literary genres. The Zindadilan-e-Hyderabad, a literary organisation, brings out this magazine. The Editor is Dr Syed Mustafa Kamal while Abid Moiz is the Overseas Editor.

The postal address is 31, Bachelors Quarters, Moazzam Jahi Market, Hyderabad-500001 India. The magazine is priced at Rs 20 and the annual subscription is Rs 225. The phone numbers are 24745716 and 23326185.

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The campaign to put up signboards in Urdu that has set off in Mumbai. It’s been quite long since we last heard of such a drive from anywhere in India.

The Qaumi Majlis-e-Shoora (QMS) has started the ‘Urdu tehreek’ and nameplates written in Urdu have been put up again. The drive has started from Bhindi Bazaar and will soon spread to other parts of the metropolis and later to state.

The recent incident in which the Urdu nameplate of leader of the Samajwadi Party councillors (corporators) group in BMC was removed by Shiv Sena, seems to have jolted the Urdu-speaking populace.

The fact is that Urdu is one of the official languages of Indian republic and ought to be given its rightful place along with other languages. Over 2.5 million (25 lakh) people speak Urdu in Bombay alone. Organisations in other cities across the country must also take the lead and emulate QMS. Every Urdu-speaker must ensure that at least his nameplate would be in Urdu and the shop will have Urdu signpost.

AnIndianMuslim.com

Urdu writer

Eminent Urdu writer Rafia Manzoorul Ameen passed away in Hyderabad Deccan recently. She was 78.

Her first novel ‘Saare jahaan ka dard’ that was set in Kashmir was published by Naseem Anhonvi’s publication from Lucknow. She wrote Yeh Raste and later Aalampanah which got her immense popularity as TV serial Farmaan was based on it.

She passed away when the muezzin gave the call for Zohr namaaz and after repeating the initial words ‘Allah-o-Akbar’, she breathed her last, reports Nadeem Siddiqui, in Inquilab Urdu daily (Mumbai).

She wrote over 200 stories in her literary career. She was a student of science and also wrote a book ‘Saainsi Zaaviye’ that was in the syllabus in Nagpur. Rafia Manzurul Amin was born in 1930 and died on June 30, 2008.

AnIndianMuslim.com

For almost six decades, Noor, has been the leading children’s magazine in the country and has helped keeping Urdu alive among the young ones in India.

The Noor digest is published from Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) and is a must in every household where Urdu is spoken. Along with Umang and Payam-e-Talim, Noor is among the few standard periodicals for kids whose mother tongue is Urdu.

Priced at Rs 18 per month, the annual subscription costs Rs 200, however, if you want it through registered post the charge is Rs 410. For subscription you can contact idaraalhasanat@hotmail.com

In the past, Khilaunda, Toffee and Kaliyan were among the major children’s magazines but now few such magazines remain. And all Urdu lovers must patronise them.

For subscription you can send money order and also write a post card with the details of money order slip to Idara-e-Alhasanat, Old Khandsar, Rampur (UP), 244901.

AnIndianMuslim.com

One of the most popular humorist poets of Urdu, Saghar Khayyami passed away in Mumbai. He was admitted to the Nanavati Hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.

Khayyami, whose real name was Rashidul Hasan, was 70. The body has been flown to Lucknow for the last rites. Saghar Khayyami’s demise has left the Urdu world in a state of shock. He was unquestionably the most popular satirist and exponent of humorous poetry in Urdu.

His presence ensured the success of any mushaira and was among the most recognised faces of Urdu poetry in the country. Apart from India, he was also popular in Gulf and America. The stage of mushaira would no longer be the same, without Saaghar Khayyami.

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