Akhlaq Mohammad Khan (16 June 1936 – 13 February 2012), better known by his ''

takhallus In Persian language, Persian, Turkic languages, Turkic, Hindustani language, Hindustani and Punjabi language, Punjabi, the word ''takhallus'' (from Arabic , ; ; ; ; , ) means a pen name. Pen names were widely adopted by Persian, Turkic, Urdu and Pu ...

'' Shahryar'','' was an Indian

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, and a doyen of

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...

in India. As a

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

film lyricist, he is best known for his lyrics in ''

Gaman Gaman () is a Hindi film released in 1978, starring Farooq Sheikh and Smita Patil in the lead roles and introducing Nana Patekar in a supporting role. It is the directorial debut of Muzaffar Ali, who went on to make '' Umrao Jaan'' (1981). Th ...

'' (1978) and '' Umrao Jaan'' (1981) directed by

Muzaffar Ali Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker. Biography Raja Muzaffar was born in Lucknow of the erstwhile United Provinces, British India, in 1944. The elde ...

. He retired as the head of the Urdu Department at the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

, and thereafter he remained sought after name in ''

mushaira ''Mushaira'' () is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the Hyderabadi Muslim ...

s'' or poetic gatherings, and also co-edited the literary magazine ''Sher-o-Hikmat''. He was awarded the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in Urdu for ''Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai'' (1987), and in 2008 he won the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

, the highest literary award and only the fourth Urdu poet to win the award. He has been widely acknowledged as the finest exponent of modern Urdu poetry.

Early life and education

Shahryar was born at Aonla,

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

to a Muslim Rajput family. His father Abu Mohammad Khan was posted as a Police Officer, though the family hailed from village Chaundhera in

Bulandshahr District Bulandshahr district (also spelled Bulandshahar) is a district in the Meerut region in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), situated between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. It is a part of the National Capital Region of India, and Bulandsh ...

, Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education at Bulandshahr. In his childhood days, Shahryar wanted to be an athlete but his father wanted him to join the police force. It is then that he ran away from home and was guided by

Khaleel-Ur-Rehman Azmi Khaleel-Ur-Rehman Azmi (9 August 1927 – 1 June 1978), also known as Khalil al-Rehman Azmi, was an Urdu poet and literary critic who was born in the village Seedhan Sultanpur in the district of Azamgarh. Azmi's father Muhammad Shafi was a deep ...

, the eminent Urdu critic and poet. He then studied at

and passed his BA in psychology in 1958. He joined MA in psychology but quit it after a year and got admission to the Urdu department of AMU. In 1961 he passed his MA in Urdu. He also completed his Ph.D. in Aligarh.

Career

Shahryar started his career as a writer at ''Hamari Zubaan'', the weekly magazine of the '' Anjuman Tarraqqi-e-Urdu'' in 1961 and worked there until 1966. After that in 1966 he joined Aligarh Muslim University as a lecturer in Urdu. He was appointed professor in 1986 and in 1996, he retired as chairman of the Urdu Department. He co-edited the literary magazine ''Sher-o-Hikmat'' (Poetry and Philosophy).

Literary career

His first poetry collection ''Ism-e-azam'' was published in 1965, the second collection, ''Satvan dar'' (''Satva yet'' in English), appeared in 1969, and the third collection titled ''Hijr Ke Mausam'' was released in 1978. His most celebrated work, ''Khwab Ke dar band hain'', arrived in 1987, which also won him the

in Urdu for that year. In addition, he published five collections of his poetry in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

script. In 2008, he became the fourth Urdu writer to win the

, after Firaq,

Ali Sardar Jafri Ali Sardar Jafri (29 November 1913 – 1 August 2000) was an Indian writer of Urdu language. He was also a poet, critic and film lyricist. Biography Early life and education Ali Sardar Jafri was born in Balrampur (in present-day Uttar Prad ...

, and

Qurratulain Hyder Qurratulain Hyder (20 January 1927 – 21 August 2007) was an Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, academic, and journalist. One of the most outstanding and influential literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for her m ...

Lyricist

Shahryar wrote lyrics for select films, from Aligarh where he was approached by filmmakers. Muzaffar Ali and Shahryar were friends from their student days, and Shahryar had shared some of the ghazals with him. Later when Ali made his directorial debut with ''

'' in 1978, he used two of his ghazals ''Seene Mein Jalan Ankhon Mein Toofan Sa Kyun Hai'' and ''Ajeeb Saneha Mujhpar Guzar Gaya Yaaron'' in the film, and they are still considered classic. All his

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

s from '' Umrao Jaan'', 'Dil Cheez Kya Hai Aap Meri Jaan Lijiye', 'Ye Ka Jagah Hai Doston', ' In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke' etc. are among the finest lyrical works in Bollywood. He also wrote for

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the reci ...

's '' Faasle'' (1985), thereafter Chopra offered him three more films to write for, but he refused as he didn't want to become a "song shop". Though he wrote for Muzaffar Ali's '' Anjuman'' (1986). He also left behind unfinished contributions to Ali's '' Zooni'' and ''Daaman''.

Personal life

Shahryar married Najma Mahmood, a teacher in the English department in the Women’s College at Aligarh in 1968. They had three children, Humayun Shahryar, Saima Shahryar, and Faridoon Shahryar who is an entertainment journalist. He died on 13 February 2012 in

Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

, after a prolonged illness due to lung cancer.

Awards

* Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for his poetry collection, ''Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai'' (1987). * The fourth Urdu writer to win the

– 2008. * Firaaq Samman * Bahadur Shah Zafar Award. Four theses have been written on Shahryar's works.

Selected bibliography

* ''Ism-e-azam'', 1965. * ''Satvan dar'', 1969. * ''Hijr Ke Mausam'', 1978. * ''Khwab Ke dar band Hain'', 1987. * ''Neend ki Kirchen'' – (English: ''Shards of Shattered Sleep''). * ''Through the Closed Doorway: A Collection of Nazms by Shahryar'', tr. Rakhshanda Jalil. 2004, Rupa & Co., . * Shahryar, Akhlaq Mohmmad Khan: ''Influence of the western criticism on the Urdu criticism'', Aligarh. * Dhund ki Roshni (English: ''The Light of Dusk''): Selected Poems of Shahryar, 2003,

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, .

References

Cited sources

External links

*
The poet who gave Umrao Jaan her voice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Akhlaq Mohammed 1936 births 2012 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu Recipients of the Gangadhar National Award Urdu-language poets from India People from Bareilly district Indian lyricists Academic staff of Aligarh Muslim University Recipients of the Jnanpith Award Deaths from lung cancer in India Indian magazine editors Poets from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian poets Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Aligarh Muslim University alumni Urdu-language writers from India