Jan Nisar Akhtar | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1914-02-18)18 February 1914 |
| Died | 19 August 1976(1976-08-19) (aged 62) Bombay,Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Poet, lyricist |
| Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University |
| Genre | Ghazal |
| Literary movement | Progressive Writers' Movement |
| Notable works | "Khaak-e-dil" (The Ashes of Heart") (1973) |
| Spouse |
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| Children | Javed Akhtar Salman Akhtar Uneza Akhtar Albina Akhtar Sharma Shahid Khursheed Akhtar |
| Parents | Muztar Khairabadi (father) |
| Relatives | Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (great grandfather) |
Jan Nisar Akhtar (18 February 1914 – 19 August 1976) was an Indian poet ofUrdughazals andnazms, and a part of theProgressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist forBollywood.[1]
He was the son ofMuztar Khairabadi and great grandson ofFazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, who were both Urdu poets. His career spanned four decades during which he worked with music composers includingC. Ramchandra,O.P. Nayyar,Datta Naik also credited as N. Datta andKhayyam and wrote 151 songs. Notable among them were songs from his breakthrough film,A.R. Kardar'sYasmin (1955),Aankhon hi Aankhon Mein inGuru Dutt'sCID (1956),Yeh dil aur unki nigahon ke saaye inPrem Parbat (1974) andAaja re inNoorie (1979) and his last song,Ae Dil-e-naadaan, inKamal Amrohi'sRazia Sultan (1983).[2]
His poetic works includeNazr-e-Butaan,Salaasil,Javidaan,Pichali Pehar,Ghar Angan andKhaak-e-dil. The latter ("The Ashes of Heart") was a poetry collection for which he was awarded the 1976Sahitya Akademi Award inUrdu bySahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.[3]
Jan Nisar passed his matriculation from Victoria Collegiate High School, Gwalior, and in 1930 joinedAligarh Muslim University, from where he gained his B.A. Honours and M.A. degrees. He started his doctoral work, but had to return to Gwalior due to family conditions.[4]
In 1949, he resigned from his job, moved toBombay to write lyrics forUrdu/Hindi movies besidesghazals andnazms for general publication. Once in Bombay, he came in touch with other progressive writers, likeMulk Raj Anand,Krishan Chander,Rajinder Singh Bedi andIsmat Chugtai, who often met at Bombay's Silver Fish Restaurant, and subsequently came to be known as 'Bombay Group of Writers'.[5] Success came his way quite late as a film lyricist, till then he was supported by his wife who had stayed back in Bhopal, though she died prematurely of cancer in 1953.[6] Finally, he had a career breakthrough, withYasmeen (1955), with music byC. Ramchandra. His association withMadan Mohan, the music director resulted in many memorable movie songs.[4] Some of his notable lyrics were, Meri Neendon Mein Tum inNaya Andaz (1956) byKishore Kumar andShamshad Begum,Garib Jan Key Hamko Naa Tum Daga Dena sung byMohammed Rafi inChhoo Mantar, the hitPiya piya piya... inBaap Re Baap (1955) music byO.P. Nayyar, Aap Yun Faaslon Se byLata Mangeshkar inShankar Hussain (1977).[7]
His poetry was secular and like many of the progressive writers of his generation talked of freedom, dignity, economic exploitation and other issues gleaming of the leftist leanings.[8] Even his romanticism which was amply displayed in hisghazals, was replete with references to household and family life. His notable books includeNazr-e-Butaan,Salaasil,Javidaan,Ghar Angan andKhaak-e-Dil (all Urdu titles). One of his many famouscouplets is :
Ashaar mere yuu.N to zamaane ke liye hai.n,
kuchh sher faqat unako sunaane ke liye hai.n
Although my poems are meant for the whole world,
There are some couplets meant just for the beloved
He wrote and produced a film,Bahu Begum (1967), starringPradeep Kumar andMeena Kumari. During the period of four-year to his death he published three collections of his works most important of them being,Khak-e-Dil (The Ashes of Heart"), which has his representative poems from 1935 to 1970, and which won him theSahitya Akademi Award (Urdu) in 1976.[9] Jan Nisar was commissioned by the first Prime Minister of India,Jawaharlal Nehru to collate the best Hindustani poetry of last 300 years, and later the first edition of the book titledHindustan Hamara (Our Hindustan) in two volumes was released by Indira Gandhi. It contained Urdu verses on a topics, ranging from love and praise for India and its history, to festivals like Holi and Diwali, on Indian rivers like the Ganges, Yamuna and the Himalayas.[10]
He died in Bombay on 19 August 1976, while he was still working onKamal Amrohi's film,Razia Sultan (1983). He was nominated posthumously for 1980Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for "Aaja Re Mere Dilbar" from the film,Noorie.
His anthology,Hindustan Hamara was re-released in Hindi in 2006[11]
In 1943, he married Safia, sister of the poetMajaz. Safia worked as a school teacher at an Urdu-mediummadarsa (Muslim school). She was meeting a practical necessity, to work outside her home, because Jan Nisar's income was at best sporadic, and it was necessary for her to work to support her children. Thus, when Jan Nisar moved to Mumbai to try his luck at earning a living as a film lyricist, Safia stayed back in Gwalior with their children, and wrote her absent husband a series of letters in Urdu. A collection of these letters, written between 1 October 1943 to 29 December 1953 penned, were first published in 1955 in two volumes under the title, "Harf-e-Aashna" and "Zer-e-Lab." ProfessorAsghar Wajahat, former Head of the Hindi Department,Jamia Millia Islamia, translated these letters into Hindi and this was published under the title "Tumhare Naam" in 2004.[12]
Safia Akhtar died of cancer on 17 January 1953, less than ten years after her wedding, and left behind two sons.[citation needed] Jan Nisar left the children in the care of relatives while he pursued his hobbies of writing poetry and hobnobbing with various luminaries and socialites in Mumbai. Three years after Safia's death, Jan Nisar got married again on 17 September 1956, to Khadija Talat.
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