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Shamim Karhani (Urdu: شمیم کرھانی, 8 June 1913 - 19 March 1975) was an eminentUrdu poet ('Shayar') of the 20th century.
Shamim Karhani | |
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 Shamim Karhani | |
| Born | (1913-06-08)8 June 1913 Karhan,United Provinces of Agra and Oudh,British India |
| Died | 19 March 1975(1975-03-19) (aged 61) New Delhi,India |
| Occupation | Poet teacher |
| Citizenship | Indian |
Shamim Karhani was born in a 'Zamindar' family to Syed Muhammad Akhtar and Ummat ul Zehra on 8 June 1913 in village'Karhan' districtMau,UP in India. His real name was 'Syed Shamsuddin Haider', yet he adopted 'Shamim Karhani' as hispen name ('Takhallus'), following the tradition among Urdu poets to append a place's name as a suffix.[1][2] Later, this pen name of his became so famous that once, at an interview, when he was asked his name, he himself had to pause for a moment to remember his real name! He completed his secondary education fromAligarh Muslim University and also did 'Maulvi Kamil Munshi'. For his profession, he chose to be a teacher.[3] He worked withDayanand Anglo-Vedic Schools System, Kaumi Awaz andAnglo Arabic School (New Delhi).[3][4][5] He was a scholar of thePersian language; however he did all his poetry inUrdu.[6]
Shamim had a taste in poetry since he was a kid. He composed his first couplet at the age of eight.[3] He now was aware what he was born for. He started writing and was adored all overUttar Pradesh. This was the era when India was vehemently trying to get out of snare ofBritish rule. Being an Indian he started writingpoems that conveyed the moral of adhesion to one's own country. These poems became so influential that his popular revolutionary'Nazms' and 'Naghmas' ('Geets') were sung in the 'Prabhat-Pheris' taken out on the streets of cities likeLucknow andVaranasi during thefreedom struggle.
Soon Shamim Karhani's nationalist and revolutionary poetry started attracting the attention of both the common people and the literati. It was through this nationalist platform that he joined theProgressive Writers' Movement.[7] In 1948 he composed apoem entitledJagao Na Bapu Ko Neend Aa Gayi Hai just after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.[8] The above poem had such an emotional appeal that it spread like the jungle fire.[3] Once, Shamim Karhani had the opportunity to recite the poem in the presence of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Nehru, after listening to the poem, got impressed by Shamim's work and asked him to come toLucknow to recite his poems inCongress election meetings. Later, after independence, Nehru asked Shamim to come toDelhi. He migrated toDelhi in 1950 and metNehru at 'Teen-Murti'. Nehru asked him to compose an epic in Urdu on thefreedom movement of India[9] and started giving him a stipend for the job from his personal pocket.[6] On 7 February 1950 he wrote in Shamim's diary:
"A poet should make his life itself a poem. Shamim Karhani has sung of India's freedom. I hope he will continue to do so and enjoy this freedom"[10]
His collection entitled "Roshan Andhera" was entirely devoted to the "Quit India Movement".[11]
Shamim Karhani was a contemporary of eminent poets likeFaiz Ahmed 'Faiz',[6]Ali 'Sardar' Jafri,[6] 'Majaz Lucknawi',Moin Ahsan 'Jazbi',[6]Ali 'Jawad' Zaidi,[12] etc. Being basically a 'Ghazal-go'[3] (one who composes'Ghazals'), however, tried his hand on each and every 'genre' of Urdu poetry and some of his compositions found eternal place inUrdu literature. He has composed (apart from ghazals) poems,'rubaees', 'qataat', 'geet', elegies,'marsiyas','eulogies' etc.[3]
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