Sikandar Ali Wajd | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1914 (1914) |
| Died | 1983 (aged 68–69) |
| Pen name | Wajd |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Ghazal, |
Sikandar Ali Wajd (1914–1983) was a talentedUrdu poet fromAurangabad,MaharashtraIndia. He had equal proficiency in composing gazals and poems.
He was born on 22 January 1914, inAurangabad. In 1935, he was selected forHyderabad Civil Service. Later he was appointed as Munsif Magistrate in Judicial Service. At the time of his retirement, he was a sessions judge. In the year 1972, he was elected to theRajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) fromMaharashtra State.
He was President of theAnjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu, Maharashtra and was awardedPadma Shri in 1970 for his literary services. PanditJawaharlal Nehru released Wajd's third collection "Awarq-e-Mussavar". Prior to this collection his other poetical works 'Laho-Tarung', 'Aftab-e-Taza' and 'Bayaz-e-Maryan' were published in 1944,1952 and 1974 respectively. He was well versed inUrduPersian and English. As he was gifted with a melodious voice, wherever he recited his gazals and poems, the audience listened to him in rapt attention.[citation needed] His poems ‘Ajanta’, ‘Ellora’, ‘Taj Mahal’, and ‘Karvan e Zindagi’ are well known.
He died on 16 June 1983 atAurangabad. The Sikandar Ali Wajd Memorial Trust atAurangabad is involved in promoting cultural and literary activities in the city, there is also an auditorium near Town Hall built in the memory of the poet.His wife continues to live at Jublee Park, Aurangabad.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Urdu Literature By Abida Samiuddin vol 2
19°53′21.12″N75°19′23.52″E / 19.8892000°N 75.3232000°E /19.8892000; 75.3232000