Sheikh Mohammed Irfan alias Shaukat Pardesi (Urdu: شوکت پردیسی, April 1924 – October 1995) was a poet, journalist and lyricist born in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, where his father Sheikh Sahib Ali had migrated from Maroofpur village in

Jaunpur district Jaunpur district is a Districts of Uttar Pradesh, district in the Varanasi Division of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district headquarters is the city of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, Jaunpur which is situated on the banks of the Gomti River ...

of India. During 1950's Pardesi was associated with

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 ...

Daily ''Inquilab'' for some-time and also acted as the editor of ''Film Times Weekly'' magazine. He published and edited an acclaimed monthly Urdu magazine titled ''Munna'' for children. The writings of eminent writers like

Niaz Fatehpuri Niaz Fatehpuri (1884–1966) was the pen name of Niyaz Muhammed Khan, a Pakistani Urdu poet, writer, and polemicist. He was also the founder and editor of ''Nigar''. In 1962, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India for "Litera ...

, Ale Ahmad Suroor,

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his works and ideas r ...

, etc. had supported ''Munna'' magazine during that time. 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 and

nazms ''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ghazal. is significantly written ...

were published in almost all known Urdu journals and were recorded by

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

in the melodious voices of various famous singers of his time viz.

Talat Mahmood Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered as one of the greatest and most popular Indian male film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a g ...

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. He had a classical music background, being part of the Bhendibazaar gharana, Bhendibazaar Gh ...

C. H. Atma C.H. Atma was a playback singer in Hindi language films, ghazal singer and film actor. He was born in 1923 in Hyderabad (Sind), now in Pakistan. His real name was Atma Hashmatrai Chainani. He was the first singer from India to tour and sing outs ...

Early life

Pardesi was born in 1924 in Malaysia where he spent his childhood in material comfort and attained his primary education. In 1936, he came to India with his parents. Later on, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, travel between India and Malaysia discontinued. Consequently, Pardesi and his parents could not return to Malaysia. His father enrolled him in

Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (translated as, House of Knowledge and Assembly of Scholars University) is an Islamic seminary in Lucknow, India. It was established by the Nadwatul Ulama, a council of Muslim scholars, on 26 September 1898. This ed ...

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

for the continuation of his studies but subsequently he was shifted to Mission School (now Raja Shri Krishna Dutt Inter College) in Jaunpur from where he completed his middle school education. Although Pardesi's father Sheikh Sahib Ali built his new home in Jaunpur and settled there permanently but he did not succeed in arranging any regular source of income for the family. Reserved money started depleting and financial hardships became the new reality of life for the family. In January 1943, Shaukat Pardesi married Husnaara Begum. From 1944, his elders started leaving this mortal world. First of all mother, followed by his father and lastly the elder sister died in a span of three to four years. The changed circumstances of life without any concrete source of income along with the responsibility of an unmarried sister, two orphaned nieces, a wife and a son were too harsh for a 23/24-year young man who had lived his childhood and adolescence in luxuries. He tried many things for living that included even homeopathic practice too as a medic but did not succeed in any. Consequently, the necessities of life prevailed over self-respect and eventually he landed up at his father-in-law Hafiz Akhtar Ali's place, who was a well- known farmer of village Jamdahan in Jaunpur district. Hafiz Akhtar was also a Mukhtar in Jaunpur court. He had only two daughters. The elder daughter was reasonably well settled with her lawyer husband. Thus, Hafiz Akhtar Ali's own circumstances were such that warranted a supporting hand to look after his farming and wealth. The mutual needs of both made their match perfect but for some reason it did not lost long. As a result, in 1950, Pardesi left Jamdahan and went to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. In Mumbai, he stayed for almost 8 years and by the time he grounded his feet in this city of hopes, he had a serious attack of heart palpitation (Ikhtelaj-e-Qalb) that made him virtually bed ridden and consequently he was left with no option but constrainedly to come back to his father-in-law's house in Jamdahan. After 1958, Pardesi spent rest of his life in Jamdahan in the companionship of his wife and heart palpitation. He died in October 1995 in Jaunpur out of Cancer.

Literary Journey

Pardesi was quite a visible Urdu poet through

magazines and periodicals, especially during late forties to seventies of last century. He wrote his first ghazal in late thirties/early forties of last century. In the beginning he wrote by his original name Mohammed Irfan. Subsequently, he changed his pen name to Shaukat Jaunpuri and when he reached Mumbai he again changed his pen name to Shaukat Pardesi. This new pen name became his final identity in the world of Urdu literature. Pardesi's pen touched almost all categories of Urdu poetry ranging from nazm and geet to ghazal, Qata and rubaaee. His poems were printed in the Urdu journals Shaaer Mumbai, Nerang-e-kheyal Lahore, Shamaa Delhi, Beesween Sadi Delhi, Bano Delhi, Khilauna Delhi, Gagan Mumbai, Naya Daur Lucknow, Pyam-e-Taleem Delhi, Tahreek Delhi, Aajkal Delhi, Jamalistaan Delhi, Shiraaz Karachi, Mashraqi Aanchal Delhi, Saaghar Lahore, Saboohi Lahore, Tabassum Hyderabad, Kahkashaan Mumbai, Shoa-ein Lahore, Mashhoor Delhi, Ittehaad Mumbai, Nikhat Allahabad, and many more.

Books

Pardesi could not publish any of his collection during his lifetime due to his personal circumstances. However, later on his son, Nadeem Ahmad tried to collect as many of his writings as he could and published them under the following four titles: # Tohfa-e-Itfal: Published in 2011 and contains Pardesi's poems which he wrote for children # Mizrab-e-Sukhan: Published in 2012 and comprises Pardesi's nazms and geets # Saaz-e-Naghmabaar: Published in 2015 and contains Pardesi's ghazals, qataats and rubaaees # Mazameen-e-Shaukat: Published in 2015 and consists of articles reflecting some aspects his personal life as well as literary relationships

Journalism

Sheikh Mohammed Irfan alias Shaukat Pardesi was a poet, lyricist and journalist. He was born in Malaysia where his father Sheikh Sahib Ali had migrated from Maroofpur village in Jaunpur district of India. In 1936, his father returned to India with his family and settled in Jaunpur. During 1950's, Pardesi was associated with Urdu Daily ''Inquilab'' for some-time . and also acted as Editor of ''Film Times Weekly'' for few years. He published and edited an acclaimed monthly Urdu magazine ''Munna ''for children. Eminent writers of that time like Niaz Fatehpuri, Ale Ahmad Suroor,

, Ehtesham Hussain, etc. had supported ''Munna'' with their writings.

Filmography

Pardesi's association with film industry was limited and relatively unnoticed. He wrote songs for three films namely ''

Khubsoorat ''Khubsoorat'' () is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film, directed and produced by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and written by Gulzar, Shanu Banerjee, Ashok Rawat, and D. N. Mukherjee. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Rekha, Rakesh Roshan and Di ...

'', '' Ghulam Begam Badshah'', and ''Shaheed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh'' that were sung by

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice ...

, and

Asha Bhosale Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

. In addition, he wrote dialogues for ''Ghulam Begam Badshah'' and ''Jhansi Ki Rani''.

Non-film Songs

A number of Pardesi's ghazals and nazms were recorded by

in the voices of some of the famous singers of his time like

, C. H. Atma,

Anup Jalota Anup Jalota, (born 29 July 1953) is an Indian singer, musician and actor, best known for his contributions to the bhajan and ghazal genre of Indian music. He is popularly known as the ''Bhajan Samraat'' ().Shailendra Singh, Shyam Lala and Mukesh. In particular, his ghazal "Hairan hoon aei sanam ki tujhe aur kya kahoon" in the voice of Manna Dey became especially popular.

Awards and recognition

* Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi Award (2014) to ''Tohfa-e-Atfal'' * Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi Award (2016) to ''Saaz-e-Naghmabaar'' * Research work on Suakat Pardesi by Habib Saifi in the form of Book titled as ''Shaukat Pardesi Fikr-O-Fan Ke Aiyene Mein'' published in 2017.

References

External links

Ghulam Begum Badshah 1956, Lyricist Shaukat Pardesi

Lyricist Shaukat Pardesi

Shaukat Pardesi non film lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardesi, Shaukat 1924 births 1995 deaths Urdu-language poets from India Indian lyricists Journalists from Uttar Pradesh Poets from Uttar Pradesh