Urdu Zabaan Par Ek Nazm

Afzal A. Khan

unread,

Feb 10, 2021, 1:58:49 PM2/10/21

to

Naazireen,

The following poem was composed by the late Akhtar Sheerani.
His father, Haafiz Mehmood Sheeraani, was a well-known Urdu
scholar. He had written a book on the origins of the Urdu
language ---> "Punjab Men Urdu". IIRC, he had put forward
a theory in the said book that Urdu had its origins in the
Punjab. Right now, however, we are not concerned with that
theory.

****************

Akhtar Sheerani was Haafiz Mehmood Saheb's son. I believe he
had become an alcoholic and passed away around 1948 due to a
liver ailment --- much like actress Meena Kumari who died in
1972. Haafiz Saheb had died in 1946 and his son passed away
just two years later.

****************

Here is the poem I had been talking about. It may perhaps be
available on Rekhta --- but, usually, i write from other sources.

YaaRab, rahe salaamat Urdu zabaaN hamaari
Har lafz par hai jis ke qurbaan jaaN hamaari

Misri si tolt'ta hai, shakkar si ghol'ta hai
Jo koi bol'ta hai meeThi zabaaN hamaari

Hindu ho, Paarsi ho, Eesaii ho ke Muslim
Har ek ki zabaaN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari

Dun'ya ki boliyoN se matlab naheeN hameN kuchh
Urdu hai dil hamaara, Urdu hai jaaN hamaari

Dun'ya ki kul zabaaneN, booRhi si ho chuki haiN
Lekin abhi jawaaN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari

Apni zabaan se hai 'izzat jahaaN men apni
Gar ho zabaaN na apni, 'izzat kahaaN hamaari

Urdu ki god men hum pal kar baRe huwe haiN
Sau~jaaN se hum ko pyaari, Urdu zabaaN hamaari

Aazaad o Meer o Ghalib, aayeNge yaad barsoN
Karti hai naaz jin par Urdu zabaaN hamaari

Afreeqa ho, 'Arab ho, Amreeka ho ke Europe
PahuNchi kahaaN naheeN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari

MiT jaayeNge magar hum miTne na deNge is ko
Hai jaan-o-dil se pyaari, Urdu zabaaN hamaari

Afzal

B.G. M.

unread,

Feb 10, 2021, 4:17:45 PM2/10/21

to

“... Afreeqa ho, 'Arab ho, Amreeka ho ke Europe
PahuNchi kahaaN naheeN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari !

Waa...h! Kyaa Khuub sachchaa’ii hai is nazm meN!
Shukriya isay yahaaN chaspaan karne kaa.

Aap hamesha Khuub naGheeneN le aate haiN.
Allah SWT aap ki umr daraaz kare aur seHatmandii baKhshe, Aameen!
=========================================================🙏📿

Naseer

unread,

Feb 19, 2021, 12:50:19 PM2/19/21

to

On Wednesday, 10 February 2021 at 18:58:49 UTC, Afzal A. Khan wrote:
> Naazireen,

muHtaram Afzal SaaHib, aadaab.

Thank you very much indeed for posting this simple, yet both beautiful and meaningful poem on the subject of Urdu by Akhtar Sheerani. You will probably describe it as "succinct".

> Here is the poem I had been talking about. It may perhaps be
> available on Rekhta --- but, usually, i write from other sources.

Your source is as accurate as my sources!:-)

> Yaa Rab, rahe salaamat Urdu zabaaN hamaari

> Har lafz par hai jis ke qurbaan jaaN hamaari

aamiin. agar Akhtar Sheerani zindah hote to ham sab kahte, "aap ke muNh meN ghii shakkar"!

> Misri si tolt'ta hai, shakkar si ghol'ta hai
> Jo koi bol'ta hai meeThi zabaaN hamaari

yaad rahe kih janaab-i-shaa3ir farmaa rahe haiN kih "*jo ko'ii* hamaarii miiThii zabaan boltaa hai, vuh misrii sii toltaa hai aur shakkar sii gholtaa hai. is kaa matlab yih hu'aa kih ham jaise bhii Urdu bol kar misrii tol sakte haiN aur ras ghol sakte haiN!:-)

> Hindu ho, Paarsi ho, Eesaii ho ke Muslim
> Har ek ki zabaaN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari

bilaa shak. kisii bhii zabaan par kisii ek mazhab kaa ijaarah nahiiN hotaa.

>
> Dun'ya ki boliyoN se matlab naheeN hameN kuchh
> Urdu hai dil hamaara, Urdu hai jaaN hamaari

yih to Thiik hai lekin hameN dunyaa kii aur boliyaaN bhii siikhnii chaahiyeN! isii liye to maiN ne is posT kii ibtidaa aNgrezii meN kii hai!:-)

> Dun'ya ki kul zabaaneN, booRhi si ho chuki haiN
> Lekin abhi jawaaN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari

yih bhii durust hai bahut sii zabaanoN ke muqaabile meN Urdu abhii tak javaan hai.

> Apni zabaan se hai 'izzat jahaaN men apni
> Gar ho zabaaN na apni, 'izzat kahaaN hamaari

is baat se bhii kisii ko i3tiraaz nahiiN honaa chaahiye.

> Urdu ki god men hum pal kar baRe huwe haiN
> Sau~jaaN se hum ko pyaari, Urdu zabaaN hamaari

yahaaN bhii yahii Haal hai. jab se hosh saNbhaalaa hai, alif anaar, be bakrii hii kahe jaa rahe haiN!

> Aazaad o Meer o Ghalib, aayeNge yaad barsoN
> Karti hai naaz jin par Urdu zabaaN hamaari

be-shak

> Afreeqa ho, 'Arab ho, Amreeka ho ke Europe
> PahuNchi kahaaN naheeN hai Urdu zabaaN hamaari

inheN kaise ma3luum hu'aa kih aap log Amriikaa meN, Jamil SaaHib Afriikaa meN, Vijay SaaHib Europe meN aur kitne gum-naam log 3arab mamaalik meN jaate vaqt apne saath Urdu bhii le jaa'eN ge? kamaal hai!

> MiT jaayeNge magar hum miTne na deNge is ko
> Hai jaan-o-dil se pyaari, Urdu zabaaN hamaari

Afzal A. Khan

unread,

Feb 20, 2021, 12:47:22 PM2/20/21

to

B.G.M. Saheb,

Meri is pesh'kash pasaNd farmaane ka shukriya.

Aap GHaaliban "nageene" likhna chaah rahe the.
Must be a typo.

Aap ki du'aaoN ka bhi bahut bahut shukriya.

Afzal

Afzal A. Khan

unread,

Feb 20, 2021, 10:39:56 PM2/20/21

to

MuHibbee,

You have sent so many links. It will take me some time to go
through all of them.

I propose to send three responses --- two in respect of certain
persons mentioned in your post; and one in regard to your query.

****************

1. Actress Veena (aka Veena Kumari)

I am sure you are aware that she was a Mulsim lady, born in
Quetta, which is in Balochistan. Since the 1947 Partition,
that province has been part of Pakistan.

****************

Here are a few details about Veena, for the benefit of those
who may not be familiar with her.......

****************

Her original name was Tajwar Sultana. Born on the 4th July
1926, she passed away in Bombay on the 14th November 2004,
after a protracted illness.

After her birth, her family shifted to Lahore and started
living in an area known as "Choona Mandi', which is in the
northern part of the walled city of Lahore. It contains quite
a few old "havelis".

Veena's first film was "GHareeb" --- which was in Urdu. At
the time, she was just around 16 years of age.

Around the same time, she also acted in a Punjabi film
"GawaaNdhi". I don't know what the name means.
Maybe, one of our Punjabi-knowing friends can enlighten us.
It could perhaps be the name of the main character.

Her hero in this Punjabi film was the late actor Shyam. He
died a few years later after falling from a horse.

I believe that incident (i.e. Shyam's death) happened in a film
where he appeared opposite Naseem Banu (mother of Saira Banu).
IIRC, this film's name was "Shabistaan", a 1951 film.

****************

Incidentally, Naseem Banu was also born on the same date as
Veena, viz. 4th July --- but ten years earlier, in 1916.

Naseem was a beauteous lady in her own right and passed on her
"genes" to her daughte Saira.

Naseem used to be called "pari~chehra" --- i.e having the
countenance of a Fairy. In course of time, it had become a
part of her name. Advertisements of her films always referred
to her as "Pari~chehra Naseem".

****************

Coming back to Veena.........

I believe her first Urdu film was "Najma", made in 1943. It was
followed by "Phool" in 1945. In the same year, an iconic film
of hers was released --- "HumayuN". It starred the late actor
Ashok Kumar, in the role of the Mughal Emperor.

****************

A very young Nargis also played an important role in the film
"Humayun" --- that of Hameeda Banu, who becomes the mother of
Emperor Akbar.

This might have been the second film of Nargis.

I think Nargis's first film was "Taqdeer", where her hero was
Motilal. I recall seeing the film, but memories are quite hazy
now. But I do remember that, in the film, Motilal happens to
see Nargis acting in a film. And gets so enamoured that he buys
all tickets of the cinema hall and sits alone in the theatre,
watching her, in solitary splendour.

****************

The music in the above film {"Humayun"} was provided by Maestro
Ghulam Haidar.

His tunes usually had a specific trait --- these flowed in a
sort of cadence --- that is, with brief pauses in between.

In the above film, I recall a well-known song :

Husn kehta jaa raha hai

Baad ~ shaahi kuchh naheeN

'Ishq yooN KHaamosh hai, jai ~ se suna hi kuchh naheeN

Ai mohabbat ki nazar, teri adaaoN ke nisaar

Dard woh baKHsha gaya hai, jis ki dawa hi kuchh naheeN

Lo, KHuda Haafiz, sidhaaro, yaad kar lena kabhi

Hai yeh qismat ki KHata, mujh ko gila hi kuchh naheeN

Husn kehta ja raha hai, baad ~ shaahi kuchh naheeN

****************

I have deliberately provided two blank spaces after each word
in the above song, in order to indicate what I meant by
"cadences".

One more instance of this particular musical trait can be
found in another 1946 film "Bairam Khan". In one song, sung
by Shamshaad Begum, the first line is :

Ash ~ koN pe huwa KHatm mire, GHam ka fasaana

Here too, the music was by Ghulam Haidar.

***************

It may be added here that Bairam Khan was a very capable
military general who served Emperor Babur, his son Humayun
and, after the latter's death, his son Emperor Akbar too for
a few years.

****************

The film "Humayun" was made by Mehboob Khan. Apart from noted
thespian Ashok Kumar (as the Emperor Humayun), the film also
starred a well-known character actor, Chandramohan, in the
role of Mewar's ruler. Veena played the role of his wife.

****************

In 1946, Veena appeared in a supporting role in the film
"Rajputani".

Her subsequent films include "Halaku" released in 1956; a
very brief cameo in "Chalti Ka Naam GaaRi (1958),
"KaaGHaz Ke Phool" (1959) and "Taj Mahal" released in 1963.
In this last mentioned film, she played Empress Noor JahaaN,
a role which fetched her a Filmfare Award as Best Supporting
Actress.

She also acted in "Do Raaste" (1969) and in "Pakeezah" (1972),
as Nawaab'jaan. This was actress Meena Kumari's last film.

Next came "Razia Sultan" in 1983, where she played the role of
Shah Turkaan, wife of Emperor Iltutmish.

Another brief role came her way in the 1963 film "Phir Wohi
Dil Laya HooN". She played the role of hero Joy Mukherjee's
mother. Her husband's role (i.e Joy's father) was played by
a noted actor Waasti. He appeared in many films during the
forties. More about him some ther time.

It may not be necessary to add that I have seen all the films
mentioned above.

****************

"Halaku" (1969) starred Ajit opposite Meena Kumari, with some
memorable music by Shankar Jaikishan. The film was notable
for a bravura perfrmance by Pran who played Halaku. It ranks
as one of his best performances ever.

As an aside, Pran richly deserved an Award for this film ---
in the Best Supporting Actor category. But, in those days,
Filmfare Awards followed a very strange and irrational policy,
whereunder actors playing the film's title role could not be
considered under the Best Supporting Actor category.

Due to the same "rule", noted film-maker and actor Sohrab Modi
was denied an Award for the film "Yahudi" released in 1958.

****************

K. Asif's "MuGhal-e-Azam" had been planned as early as 1945.
I think its shooting had also commenced --- but, somehow,
the film remained incomplete. In this earlier attempt, the
role of Bahaar was supposed to have been played by Veena.

When K. Asif eventually made and released the film in August
1960, this role was played by his (second) wife Nigar Sultana.

Veena's earlier film "Phool" was also made by K. Asif.

****************

Sohrab Modi had earlier made a memorable film "Pukar" in 1939,
where this role (Emperor JahaaNgir's wife Noor JahaaN) was
played by Naseem Banu.

****************

Veena and Ashok Kumar had appeared together in a few films
like "Najma" in 1943, "Humayun" in 1946 and "Afsaana" in
1951 --- incidentally, this last film was the first made by
producer/director B. R. Chopra.

****************

In 1950, B.R. Chopra made his first film "Daastaan" where
Veena appeared opposite Ashok Kumar. I think this film was
"inspired" by a Hollywood film "Enchantment" (1948) made by
MGM.

****************

In 1948, Producer/Director A. R. Kardar made a film with the
title "Daastaan". In this film Veena played a memorable role
--- as a stern, stubborn and domineering elder sister named
Rani. The film also starred Suraiyya. I think music for this
film was provided by Maestro Naushad Ali Saheb.

Veena's younger brothers in the above film included actor
Al Naasir and Raj Kapoor. A very competent Bengali actor
S. N. Banerjee also played a role. Banerjee was a highly
educated gentleman (probably having two Master's Degrees).
And, his spoken Urdu was impeccable. Those who have seen
"Chaudhvin Ka ChaaNd" (1960) would definitely remember that
role. He had played Johnny Walker's father in that film.

In the film "Daastaan" (1950), a very young Shakeela played the
role of the young Veena.

Veena's role as the eldest sister in "Daastaan" can be called
as a hallmark of her acting abilities.

****************

Incidentally, Al Naasir was Veena's husband in real life. Film
-goers would perhaps remember Al Naasir from the film "Mr. &
Mrs. 55". I think they got married around 1947; they had two
children.

****************

In a span of nearly 40 years, Veena acted in more than 70
films.

She passed away in Bombay on the 14th November 2004.

May her soul rest in peace. Aameen.

****************

My second response (to be posted separately) would be in
regard to the radio announcer Shakeel Ahmed......

Afzal