Tag Archives: Shahryar-Lyricist

Shahryar — A Life in Poetry review: Dream merchant

Aonia,Bareilly / Aligarh – UTTAR PRADESH :

ShahryarMPOs14oct2018

Why a flag-bearer of modern Urdu poetry chose to be moderate

In 1936, Munshi Premchand made a seminal speech, Sahitya ka Uddeshya(‘The Aim of Literature’), to the Progressive Writers’ Association. While asserting that literature is meant to critique society, the novelist said it can never regress into propaganda. The point applies to the work of Shahryar, who was born, reportedly, in the same year. For, while being a self-avowed Marxist, he refused to be bracketed into the categories of ‘modernism’ or ‘progressivism’. Finding his voice in the post-Nehruvian period of disillusionment in the 1960s, he turned his gaze inward, into the inner struggles of an individual, while not remaining oblivious of the external environment.

Rakhshanda Jalil stresses in Shahryar: A Life in Poetry that his tone was one of moderation. The poet, who was among the flag-bearers of the jadeed (modern) shayari, did not declaim, he whispered into the reader’s ears his thoughts on social issues. One example is Ek Siyasi Nazm (A Political Poem), where he gently chides a neighbour who has passed on his communal hatred to his children.

Some of the leitmotifs that occupied the poet’s imagination were sleep, dreams and night. His most famous collection, Khwab ke Dar Band Hain (The Doorway to Dreams is Closed), paid tribute to his favourite theme, khwab (dream). In its title nazm, he presents the night as freeing the eyes of the protagonist not only of all ‘sins’ but also of dreams, an act that he calls a punishment.

The poet, among the four Urdu writers to have been given the Jnanpith, is remembered outside Urdu literary circles, and especially among cinephiles, for his association with filmmaker Muzaffar Ali. The partnership resulted in Gaman, Umrao JaanAnjuman and the incomplete Daman and Zooni. It is when Jalil delves into this side of Shahryar that her arguments become a bit problematic, especially when she says that there exists a dichotomy between film lyrics and poetry.

Here, Sahir Ludhianvi’s write-up to his fellow poets is instructive. While Ludhianvi acknowledged that a nagma nigar (lyricist) doesn’t have the freedom of an adabi shayar (poet), as he is constrained by the film’s screenplay and characters, he added that his own attempt was to elevate film lyrics to the status of high art. It is when a film’s lyrics rise above its mere narrative that they take the form of art. What Jalil ignores is that a poetry lover would use such lyrics as a trigger to delve deeper into a poet’s corpus. An appreciation of Seene Mein Jalan won’t stop at listening to the song; it would progress to a reading of Ism-e-Azam, the collection from where the ghazal was taken.

Shahryar: A Life in Poetry; Rakhshanda Jalil, HarperCollins, ₹599.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Reviews / by Hari Narayan / October 13th, 2018

Umrao Jaan lyricist no more

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Shahryar
Shahryar

Acclaimed lyricist Shahryar of Umraao Jaan fame, 75, died of  lung cancer last night at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.

Born at Aonla Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, he belonged to a Muslim Rajput family. Shahryar retired as chairman of the Urdu Department at the Aligarh Muslim University. Later, he used to co-edit the literary magazine Sher-o-Hikmat.

Originally christened Akhlaq Mohammed Khan, he was recognised for his lyrics in Muzaffar Ali’s films like Gaman (1978), Umrao Jaan (1981) and Anjuman (1986).

His last lyrics were for Mira Nair’s critically acclaimed The Namesake (2006). In 1987, he was rewarded with the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai (1987). He was the fourth Urdu writer to win the Jnanpith Award in 2008.
In memoriam
I knew him since 1966. He was family to me. The news of his death came as a great shock to me. He was one of the greatest modern poets. He was my inspiration. I used his poetry in all my films. I met him last when he received the Jnanpith Award. It was two and a half months back. He was undergoing chemotherapy at that time. Actually, I was planning to go to Aligarh to meet him. However, it never materialised.

Shahryar’s death is not only a loss to me but to the world of poetry. He was an extremely well mannered person, particularly sensitive to social issues. As for his work, his maximum contribution was in Umraao Jaan. But you cannot rule out the value that he added to Anjuman and Gaman. It’s an irreparable loss. I will miss him.

I was shocked at the news. Shahryar had done some great work and wrote some outstanding songs in his film career, especially in Umrao Jaan. The songs were immortal. He understood the soul of the movies. Ek se ek gaane likhe the. He received an honorary doctorate, few years back. He also got the Jnanpith award and he deserved these awards. Bahut bade shayar hai hamare mulukh ke.

source:  http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Entertainment> Hindu> Bollywood News / Mumbai Mirror / February 14th, 2012

Shahryar (1936-2012): The poet who gave Umrao Jaan her voice

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

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

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.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Arts / by Ziya Us Salam / New Delhi – February 14th, 2012