A Riddle, Who I Called Sahir: Amrita Pritam

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 4 March 2024 Ek Mu'amma Jise Main Sahir Kahti Thi Amrita Pritam Hazaar Barq Gire, Laakh Aandhiyaan Utthein/Vo Phool Khil Ke Rahenge Jo Khilne Wale Hain (Let a number of blitzkriegs strike and tempests rage/ The flowers, destined to bloom, will finally bloom). (Sahir Ludhianvi, Amrita Pritam/ File Photo) -------- Sahir Ludhianvi's famous couplet never loses its power and potential to boost up the drooping morale of demoralised souls. Sahir's own life and his rise as the foremost poet-lyricist in the history of Hindi film music will vindicate this couplet. Setbacks and an unloving draconian father couldn't dampen Sahir's resolve and determination and he achieved what he was destined to achieve. Sahir wrote at the age of 21, "Manzil Mil Hi Jaati Hai Uss Shakhs Ko/ Justajoo-e-Manzil Mein Paaon Jis Ke Thakte Nahin" (He eventually reaches his destination whose steps are never tired and ponderous). Life is all about taking the bull by the horns. Setbacks in life serve as facilitators and catalysts to march on. Every individual has a specific destiny and he or she eventually realizes it against all odds. We're not puppets in the hands of destiny but puppeteers who can operate and decide the course of destiny. The indomitable human spirit ultimately triumphs. Sahir once told an interviewer that Talkhiyan (Bitterness, 1945), his first published work in Urdu, was his way to tell the destiny that, 'Tu Laakh Sitam Dhaa Mujh Par / Roshnai Qalam Ki Kabhi Sookhegi Nahin ' (You can heap lakhs of torments and setbacks upon me / The ink of my pen will not dry up). Sahir was an enigma. He invited sorrows, loved their company and hobnobbed with them. It was like, Khushi Bhi Aati Hai Toh Aansoo Ban Ke Aati Hai (Even if joy comes, it comes in the form of tears). A very private person, Sahir was almost a recluse, if not an outright misanthrope. He loved his own company. Composer Ravi Shankar Sharma, with whom he teamed up for many movies, once told me that Sahir would often ask him smiling wryly, "Kya Khud Se Zyada Kabhi Kisi Ko Chaha Maine" (Have I loved anyone more than I've loved myself?). That's why, despite many women crowding his life, Sahir couldn't live permanently with anyone. A Pakistani scholar told me that Sahir's life was a case study in solitude. A chain-smoker, Sahir wrote, "Dhuein Ki Maanind Hai Hayaat Meri/ Be-Nuqoosh Ghul Jaaye Jo Fiza Mein" (My life is like smoke/ It gets absorbed into the air, leaving no traces behind). This couplet birthed the immortal 'Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya/ Har Fikra Ko Dhuein Mein Udata Chala Gaya,' Film: Hum Dono, Rafi, composer, Jaidev Verma, 1961). By the way, I didn't get this couplet in any of his collections. The editor of a Pakistani Urdu daily sent this to me in 2009. If anyone has come across the preceding couplet to Main Zindagi Ka Saath, do let me know. Fifty-nine is no age to go but, Sahir was getting disillusioned with life and his own poetry in films. The overall standard of music and lyrics also began to decline in the 70s. The demise of his friend Rafi on July 31, 1980 proved to be the final nail in the coffin and he too followed suit on October 25, 1980. Amrita Pritam summed up the life and persona of Sahir when he breathed his last: Ek Mu'amma Jise Main Sahir Kahti Thi (A riddle, who I called Sahir). Sahir indeed was a conundrum. Sahir Ludhianvi's birth anniversary falls on March 8. ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/riddle-sahir-ludhianavi-amrita-pritam/d/131849 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism