Akhtar Shīrānī (; born Muhammad Dawood Khan; 4 May 1905 – 9 September 1948), also spelled Sheerani or Sherani, was an

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 ...

romance poet.

Early life and career

He was born on 4 May 1905 as Muhammad Dawood Khan, into a family belonging to the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

Shirani tribe which migrated to India with Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni and later settled in Tonk, Rajasthan. He was the son of Hafiz Mahmood Shirani, a scholar and teacher who began teaching at Islamia College, Lahore in 1921 before moving to Oriental College, Lahore, in 1928. Dawood moved to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

at a young age and spent most of his life there. He completed his Munshi Fazil (منشی فاضل) in 1921 and Adeeb Fazil (ادیب فاضل) in 1922, earning degrees in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

from Oriental College. He decided to pursue poetry full-time after graduating. His

ustad Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ''ustād'') is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, incl ...

(mentor) was Maulana Tajwar Najibabadi, who had been published in literary magazines. Since his birth name was relatively common, he adopted Akhtar Shirani as his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Personal life

Shirani's son, Javed Mahmood, died at an unknown time. He had another son, Dr. Mazhar Mahmood Shirani, a professor at Government College University who died in 2020.

Works

Akhtar wrote columns for the daily newspapers ''Hamdard'' and ''

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

,'' published by Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, respectively. He also published his magazine ''Romaan'', which introduced many emerging writers, including Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi and Qudratullah Shahab. He became known as شاعرِ رومان (''The Poet of Romance'') because of his philosophical and inspiring poems. His best-known poetry collections include ''Akhtaristan'', ''Nigarshat-e-Akhtar'', ''Lala-e-Toor'', ''Tayyur-e-Aawara'', ''Naghma-e-Haram'', ''Subh-e-Bahaar'', and ''Shahnaz''. From 1923 to 1939, he served as the editor of several literary magazines, including '' Intikhab'', ''Bahaaristan'', ''Khyaalistan'', and ''Romaan''.

Style and influence on Urdu poetry

Much of Akhtar's poetry focuses on youth. Additionally, he wrote romantic poetry that described both the physical beauty of women and the beauty of being a lover, wife, mother, and sister. His famous poems include: * "Ae ishq kahin le chal" * "O des se aane wale bata" * "Ae ishq humein barbad na kar", a poem sung by Nayyara Noor * "Main aarzoo-e-jaan likhoon ya jaan-e-aarzu"Ghazals of poet Akhtar Sheerani
Rekhta.org website. Retrieved 23 August 2021 * "Kuch to tanhai ki raaton ka sahara hota" * "Barsaat" * "Tumhein sitaron ne be ikhtiar dekha hai" * "Woh kehtain hain ranjish ki baatain bhula dein", a

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 ...

sung by Malika Pukhraj * "Woh kabhi mil jayen to kya kijiye", a

sung by Ghulam Ali

Death and legacy

Agha Shorish Kashmiri, a literary, political, and social figure in

at the time, commented that seeing Shirani would leave one deeply saddened, regarding his physical and mental state. He was admitted to Mayo Hospital, Lahore, on 3 September 1948, and died in Lahore on 9 September 1948, while visiting a friend, Hakeem Nayyar Wasty, in Masti Gate, two days before the death of

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

. Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in 2005 in its ' Poets of Pakistan' series.

References

Bibliography

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External links

'Ae Ishq Hamein Barbad Na Kar' poem by Akhtar Sheerani sung by Nayyara Noor on YouTubePoem of Akhtar Sheerani sung by Malika Pukhraj on YouTubeAkhtar Sheerani: Urdu Description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheerani, Akhtar 1905 births 1948 deaths Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Pashtun people Poets from Lahore Poets from British India 20th-century Urdu-language writers People from Tonk district Sonneteers Muhajir people