SAHIR LUDHIANVI

If you keep listening to my complaints and cries about seeing that shine of that bright morning (woh subah kabhi toh aayegi) for India, that morning when we Indians will not cry for the basic necessities of life “roti, kapda aur makaan”, that morning when Indians will not be the greatest enemies of Indians, that morning when the rich Indians would not oppress and suppress the poor Indians, that morning when naked little children would not begin the streets, that morning when young women would not be treated like commodities to be sold to make a living for themselves and their families, that morning when farmers would not commit suicide and their families would not die of starvation, that morning when corruption would be wiped out, that morning when the sun would really shine for Indians, it is all because of the tremendous impact just that one poem Sahir wrote made on me and still does, “woh subah kabhi toh aayegi” in the film “Phir Subah Hogi”.

If you hear me lashing out in helpless anger against the double standards of life, about the many faces of man, about the fake values followed and practiced by men and women like a new religion, about dishonesty, fraud, fake feelings, words and thoughts meaning nothing, about human relationships loosing their sanctity, it is all because of the poems written by Sahir when I was in my early twenties. If you see me wearing a jacket over a kurta or a shirt, it is only I saw Sahir dressing up like that, if you see me drinking with my glass held in the palms of my hands because he drank like that.

If I have never thought of gaining all the riches of the world, all the comforts and luxuries which are the ultimate interests of every Indian now (and I have nothing against them and I say God bless them with more), it is all because of Sahir’s way of life. The life he lived as a simple man with the only thing rich about his life being an apartment he built in Juhu on the advice of some friends and named it “Parchhaiyan” after the name of one of his collection of poems, a name Guru Dutt used for the poems Vijay the angry, revolutionary and loveless poet wrote in the memorable film “Pyaasa”. Sahir lived on one of the floors with his sister. When Sahir suddenly died his apartment went to his sick sister. A fake poet married her because of the riches he could inherit after her death but Sahir’s sister died and soon the fake poet followed her and Sahir’s apartment had no inheritors because the society which consisted of all those people who once came begging to him to give them flats at very low rates set its eyes on it. And when they finally opened his apartment, all that was left were rotten books, awards, trophies and manuscripts left behind by the greatest poet of the century (my opinion), Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai?

If I loved something more about Sahir who I have always respected as the greatest of this century always it is because the few meetings I had with him because of his frequent visits to my guru, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas who he called Ek hi insaan jo apne usoolon pe chalta hai, “ek hi insaan jisme insaaniyat abhi baaki hai, ek hi insaan jo sachche maaine mein progressive, leftist aur communist maana jaa sakta hai, baaki sab bakwaas karte hai aur bakwaas ke sahare besharmi se jeete rehte hai.” I felt honoured to listen to a poet like Sahir talking about the man who made me what I am. I realized how so many whose lives he had made a difference to had forgotten him and this is not my time to talk big or boast about the plaque I tried my level best to put up outside his humble house.

I remember that last meeting with Sahir when he came visiting Abbas Sahab who was not at home and had gone looking for his dress man who had not collected his salary. He could only walk with a heavy stick. But he took a bus and went all the way to a slum in Chembur to look for the dress man and pay him the money that was his due and Sahir instantly said, “Isiliye toh baar baar kehta hoon ki hazaron saal mein ek hi Abbas janam leta hai.” I found the right time to ask Sahir to talk about love and his face shone.

“I don’t understand why people go to temples, mosques and churches to find God and even create their own Gods on earth without knowing that God is love and love lives within them. Pyaar ka koi dharam nahi hota, pyaar ka koi imaan nahi hota, pyaar koi mausam thodi hai jo aata hai aur jaata hai. Pyaar ki koi umar bhi nahi hoti kyonki sachcha pyaar amar hota hai jaise khuda amar hai”. I remember those great lines about love spoken by Sahir as I find myself helplessly falling in love at a stage and age when people think it is foolish and even sheer madness to even talk about love. But I am in love, what can I do about it. I am inspired to write these few lines and offer them as my tribute to Sahir, the great poet of love….

“Ek tha Sahir aur Sahir hamesha rahega
Sahir tha, isliye mohabbat aaj bhi zinda hai
Sahir tha, isliye nafrat,zillat aur berozgaari k khilaaf jung aaj bhi ladi jaati hai
Sahir tha isliye aaj bhi dharam aur jaat ko insaan ko haiwaan banane se rokta hai insaan
Sahir tha, isliye insaan ki insaniyat aaj bhi zinda hai, aur insaan apni insaniyat jo bacchane ke liye har roz jeeta hai aur marte rehta hai, iss umeed ke saath ki woh subah kabhi toh ayegi
Sahir tha, Sahir hai aur Sahir rahega, kyonki jab tak mohabbat zinda hai Sahir kabhi mar r nahi sakta