Poet Shahryayr passed away in the month of February. He was one of my most cherished writers. I had the priviledge of interacting with him as he was a family friend. Its apt to pay my respects to him in SDA QUOTIENT. After all I was introduced to Urdu poetry by my school friend and long time buddy Anwar Hussain.
This is a collage of Shahryar's life. Snippets from newspapers, youtube links of his songs and a very endearing interview by his son Faridoon.
Times Of India-
Poet Shahryayr's son Faredoon who lives in Mumbai said,"He passed away around 8.30 pm Monday. My elder brother was with him when he breathed his last.''
Shahryar had visited Mumbai for treatment last year and met Yash Chopra at the time."He had written the songs of Yashji's 'Faasle'.
My father worked extensively with Muzaffar Ali, having written for Zooni which got shelved and another three ghazals for his forthcoming film,'' Faredoon said. He recalled the family's happiness at seeing their ailing father walk up to receive the Jnanpith award. Actor Farooque Shaikh was shocked at the news.
"This is a big loss to the world of Urdu literature. Shahryar Sahab wrote the lyrics for four of my films, Gaman, Umrao Jaan, Anjuman and Faasle, and each of them was a masterpiece. I met him several times during the 1980s and more recently at his son's residence in Mira Road when he came over to Mumbai for cancer treatment.''
Shaikh describes Shahryar as an extraordinary poet. ``He was extremely well educated and always mindful of the fact that his verses should give society something to think about even amidst all the ornamentation,'' he says. ``Like all true artistes, he led a quiet life away from publicity. But his writings speak for him.'' Urdu writer Hasan Kamal said, `"Shahryar Sahab's passing is tragic news. Not only was he a fine human being but one of the best poets in modern Urdu literature. His songs from Umrao Jaan and Gaman are popular to this day. He was media shy but otherwise very friendly.''
Shahryar was born June 16, 1936, in a village named Anwalla in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education at Bulandshahr and then studied at Aligarh Muslim University. He was appointed as a lecturer in Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University in 1986 and served until in 1996 he retired as chairman of the Urdu Department of the University. He edited the literary magazine `Sher-o-Hikmat'. In 1987 he received the Sahitya Akademy Award in Urdu for his poetry collection, `Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai'. He leaves behind three children, two sons and a daughter.
HINDU-
Akhlaq Mohammed Khan, better known as Shahryar, who breathed his last in Aligarh on Monday following a prolonged battle with cancer, straddled the worlds of pure and popular poetry with equal ease. As a lyricist, he courted fame and riches with the unforgettable lyrics of Umrao Jaan. As a poet, he catered to connoisseurs of the Urdu language. He served both from his perch at Aligarh Muslim University, where he was a widely respected academic. He did not need to change his address to taste success in Hindi films as filmmakers approached him in Aligarh with their stories. A much sought after name in mushairas – poetic soirees – Shahryar was conferred the Jnanpith award in 2008 and the Sahitya Akademi Award for “Khwab ka Dar Band Hai”.
This is a collage of Shahryar's life. Snippets from newspapers, youtube links of his songs and a very endearing interview by his son Faridoon.
Times Of India-
Poet Shahryayr's son Faredoon who lives in Mumbai said,"He passed away around 8.30 pm Monday. My elder brother was with him when he breathed his last.''
Shahryar had visited Mumbai for treatment last year and met Yash Chopra at the time."He had written the songs of Yashji's 'Faasle'.
My father worked extensively with Muzaffar Ali, having written for Zooni which got shelved and another three ghazals for his forthcoming film,'' Faredoon said. He recalled the family's happiness at seeing their ailing father walk up to receive the Jnanpith award. Actor Farooque Shaikh was shocked at the news.
"This is a big loss to the world of Urdu literature. Shahryar Sahab wrote the lyrics for four of my films, Gaman, Umrao Jaan, Anjuman and Faasle, and each of them was a masterpiece. I met him several times during the 1980s and more recently at his son's residence in Mira Road when he came over to Mumbai for cancer treatment.''
Shaikh describes Shahryar as an extraordinary poet. ``He was extremely well educated and always mindful of the fact that his verses should give society something to think about even amidst all the ornamentation,'' he says. ``Like all true artistes, he led a quiet life away from publicity. But his writings speak for him.'' Urdu writer Hasan Kamal said, `"Shahryar Sahab's passing is tragic news. Not only was he a fine human being but one of the best poets in modern Urdu literature. His songs from Umrao Jaan and Gaman are popular to this day. He was media shy but otherwise very friendly.''
Shahryar was born June 16, 1936, in a village named Anwalla in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education at Bulandshahr and then studied at Aligarh Muslim University. He was appointed as a lecturer in Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University in 1986 and served until in 1996 he retired as chairman of the Urdu Department of the University. He edited the literary magazine `Sher-o-Hikmat'. In 1987 he received the Sahitya Akademy Award in Urdu for his poetry collection, `Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai'. He leaves behind three children, two sons and a daughter.
HINDU-
Akhlaq Mohammed Khan, better known as Shahryar, who breathed his last in Aligarh on Monday following a prolonged battle with cancer, straddled the worlds of pure and popular poetry with equal ease. As a lyricist, he courted fame and riches with the unforgettable lyrics of Umrao Jaan. As a poet, he catered to connoisseurs of the Urdu language. He served both from his perch at Aligarh Muslim University, where he was a widely respected academic. He did not need to change his address to taste success in Hindi films as filmmakers approached him in Aligarh with their stories. A much sought after name in mushairas – poetic soirees – Shahryar was conferred the Jnanpith award in 2008 and the Sahitya Akademi Award for “Khwab ka Dar Band Hai”.
Shahryar got success on his own terms. Eminent filmmaker Yash Chopra offered him three films after Faasle. However, Shahryar turned down the proposal as he did not want to be reduced to a “song shop” ready with wares according to the demands of the consumer. He preferred leisure and solitude for his work, something he got in Aligarh. In his poetry, he preferred to talk of the pain of the deprived, the social concerns of the man on the street. The feeling came out most aptly in the ghazal, “Seene mein jalan aankhon mein toofan sa kyun hai” which became part of Muzaffar Ali’s film Gaman in 1978.
Ali and Shahryar were friends from the student days. It so happened that Ali was a painter and once Shahryar went to show him some of the ghazals he had composed. Later, when Ali became a filmmaker, he used them in Gaman. They again worked together in Umrao Jaan. Incidentally, Asha Bhonsle got the National Award for rendering the ghazal, “Dil cheez kya hai” in the film.
However, Shahryar almost did not become a poet. In his younger days, he wanted to be an athlete. His father wanted him to join the police. Shahryar, though, ran away from his home and honed his craft under the watchful eye of Khalil-ur Rehman. To earn a living, he ended up teaching Urdu fiction in AMU, from where he retired as chairman of the Department of Urdu. He never taught poetry in the university as he believed poetry could never be taught. His first poetry collection, Ism-e-Azam was released in 1965 and he used to co-edit a literary journal Sher-o-Hikmat. He also composed songs for Ali’s forthcoming project Noorjehan.
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