Sayyid Akhtar Hussein Rizvi, known as
Kaifi Azmi (
Hindustani: कैफ़ी आज़मी,
کیفی اعظمی; 14 January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian
Urdupoet. He will always be remembered who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.
[citation needed] Together with
Pirzada Qasim,
Jon Elia and others he participated in the most memorable mushairas of the twentieth century.
[1][2]
Early life[edit]
Azmi was born into a
Muslim family in the village of Mizwaa(n) in
Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Writings[edit]
At age eleven, Azmi wrote his first ghazal
Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade and somehow managed to get himself invited to a
mushaira and over there, he recited a ghazal, rather a couplet of the ghazal which was very much appreciated by the president of the mushaira,
Mani Jaisi, but most of the people, including his father, thought he recited his elder brother's ghazal. When his elder brother denied it, his father and his clerk decided to test his poetic talent. They gave him one of the lines of a couplet and asked him to write a ghazal in the same meter and rhyme. Azmi accepted the challenge and completed a ghazal. This particular ghazal was to become a rage in undivided India and it was immortalised as it was sung by legendary ghazal singer,
Begum Akhtar. Azmi abandoned his studies of Persian and Urdu during the
Quit Indiaagitations in 1942 and shortly thereafter became a full-time
Marxist when he accepted membership of the
Communist Party of India in 1943.
[3] During this period, the leading progressive writers of Lucknow noticed him. They were very impressed by his leadership qualities. They also saw in him a budding poet and extended all possible encouragement towards him. Consequently, Azmi started to win great acclaim as a poet and became a member of
Progressive Writers' Movement of India. At the age of twenty-four, he started activities in the textile mill areas of
Kanpur. As a full-time worker, he left his life of comfort, though he was the son of a zamindar. He was asked to shift his base to
Bombay, work amongst the workers and start party work with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm and at the same time would attend mushairas in different parts of India. In Bombay, he joined
Ali Sardar Jafri in writing for the party's paper,
Qaumi Jung. In 1947, he visited
Hyderabad to participate in a mushaira. There he met, fell in love with and married a woman named
Shaukat Azmi. She later became a renowned actress in theatre and films. They had two children together,
Shabana Azmi (b. 1950), a renowned actress of Indian cinema and
Baba Azmi, a noted cameraman.
Like most of the Urdu poets, Azmi began as a ghazal writer, cramming his poetry with the repeated themes of love and romance in a style that was replete with clichés and metaphors. However, his association with the
Progressive Writers' Movement and Communist Party made him embark on the path of socially conscious poetry. In his poetry, he highlights the exploitation of the subaltern masses and through them he conveys a message of the creation of a just social order by dismantling the existing one. Yet, his poetry cannot be called plain propaganda. It has its own merits; intensity of emotions, in particular, and the spirit of sympathy and compassion towards the disadvantaged section of society, are the hallmark of his poetry. His poems are also notable for their rich imagery and in this respect, his contribution to Urdu poetry can hardly be overstated.
[4]Azmi's first collection of poems,
Jhankar was published in 1943. His important works including anthologies of poetry, were
Aakhir-e-Shab,
Sarmaya,
Awaara Sajde,
Kaifiyaat,
Nai Gulistan, an anthology of articles he wrote for
Urdu Blitz,
Meri Awaaz Suno, a selection of his film lyrics, and the script of
Heer Ranjha in
Devanagari.
[5]
His best known poems are Aurat, Makaan,Daaera,Saanp, and Bahuroopni.
Kar chale hum fida jan-o-tan sathion
ab tumhare hawale watan sathio
zinda rahne ki mausam bahut hai magar
jan dene ki rut roz ati nahi
husn aur ishq dono ko ruswa kare
wo jawani jo khume nahati nahi
aaj dharti bani hai dulhan sathio
Kar Chale hum Fida Jano Tan Sathio
|
| Kaifi Azmi |
I sacrifice now, this life and body, o friends...
giving in your hands now, the country, o friends...
so many seasons are there to live, but...
doesn't come often, the season to die...
leaving behind both, the beauty & the love,
of what value is that youth, which doesn't bathe in blood...
today the earth has become my bride, o friends
I sacrifice now, this body and life, o friends...
|
Azmi's work in films includes working as a lyricist, writer and actor. Azmi wrote his first lyrics for the film
Buzdil, directed by
Shaheed Latifand music by SD Burman, released in 1951. His early work as a writer was mainly for
Nanubhai Vakil's films like
Yahudi Ki Beti (1956),
Parvin (1957),
Miss Punjab Mail (1958) and
Id Ka Chand (1958). While directors like
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and
Bimal Roy strove to create the "New Cinema", writers like
Sahir Ludhianvi,
Jan Nisar Akhtar,
Majrooh Sultanpuri, and Kaifi changed the tenor and vocabulary of the Hindi film song, creating a fresh new wave in Hindi film lyrics that lasted many years.
[1] His greatest feat as a writer was
Chetan Anand's
Heer Raanjha (1970) wherein the entire dialogue of the film was in verse. It was a tremendous achievement and one of the greatest feats of Hindi film writing. Azmi also won great critical accolades for the script, dialogues and lyrics of
M.S. Sathyu's
Garam Hawa (1973), based on a story by
Ismat Chughtai. Azmi also wrote the dialogues for
Shyam Benegal's
Manthan (1976) and Sathyu's
Kanneshwara Rama (1977). As a lyricist and songwriter, though he wrote for numerous films, he will always be remembered for
Guru Dutt's
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and
Chetan Anand's
Haqeeqat (1964), India's greatest war film. Some notables films for which he wrote lyrics include
Kohra (1964),
Anupama(1966),
Uski Kahani (1966),
Saat Hindustani (1969),
Shola Aur Shabnam,
Parwana (1971),
Bawarchi (1972),
Pakeezah(1972),
Hanste Zakhm (1973),
Arth (1982) and
Razia Sultan (1983). For
Naunihal (1967), he wrote the song "Meri Aawaz Suno Pyar ka Raaz Suno" (Hear my voice, hear the secret of love) sung by
Mohammad Rafi. The song is picturised over the funeral procession of Prime Minister of India,
Jawahar Lal Nehru. Years later, after Azmi's own death his daughter, Shabana Azmi mentioned finding comfort in verses from the song.
[6] He also played a memorable role of Naseem's grandfather in
Naseem (1995).
Azmi died on 10 May 2002 at around the age of eighty three. He was survived by his wife, daughter and son. His autobiography is included in a collection of his works,
Aaj Ke Prashid Shayar: Kaifi Azmi.
In media[edit]
Azmi was the subject of a documentary film called
Kaifi Azmi (1979), directed by
Raman Kumar. In 1997, he recited his own poems for
Kaifiyaat, an audio book on his collected works.
Kaifi Aur Mein, a play based on his life, his works and the memoir of his wife,
Shaukat Azmi –
Yadon Ki Rahguzar (Down Memory Lane), was written and performed by
Javed Akhtar and
Shabana Azmi, and performed in India as well as abroad in 2006.
[2] Another play, directed by Rani Balbir,
Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Hasin Sitam, based Kaifi Azmi's life and writings was staged in 2005, and received rave reviews.
[3]
Sahitya Akademi Award[edit]
National Film Awards[edit]
Filmfare Awards[edit]
Famous verses[edit]
- Aaj ki raat bahut garam hawa chalti hai
Aaj ki raat na neend aayegi
Hum sub uthen, main bhi uthun, tum bhi utho
Koi khidki isi deewar mein khul jayegi
- Makaan
- Tu jo bejaan khilonon se behel jaati hai
Tapti saanson ki haraarat se pighal jaati hai
Paaon jis raah mein rakhti hai fisal jaati hai
Banke seemaab har ik zarf mein dhal jaati hai
Zist ke aahni saanche main dhalna hai tujhe
uth meri jaan mere saath hi chalna hai tujhe...
– Aurat (Woman)
- Waqt Ni Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam
- Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho
Kya gum hai jisko Chupa rahe Ho.
- Film Arth (1982)
- Jhuki jhuki si nazar bekraar hai ke nahin,
dabaa dabaa sa sahi, dil mein pyaar hai ke nahin..
- Film Arth (1982)
- zindagi bhar mujhe nafrat si rahi asko se
Meri khwabo ko tum asko me dubote keu ho? Jo meri tarha jia karte hai kab marte hai Thak gaya hu mujhe solene do rote keu ho? Soke bhi jagte rahte hai janbaz suno.
kyoon sanvari hai ye chandan ki chita mere liey main koi jism nahi hoon ke jalao ge mujhe raakh ke saath bikhar jaunga mai.n dunia mei.n tum jaha.n khaogey thokar wahee.n paogey mujhe har kadam par hai naye mod ka aagaz suno meri aawaz suno pyar ka raag suno mainay ik phool jo sine pe sajaa rakha tha uske parde mei.n tumhe dil se laga rakha tha tha sab se juda mere dil ka andaz suno meri aawaz suno pyar ka raag suno
Select bibliography[edit]
- Kaifi Azmi- Fan Aur Shaqsiyat (Urdu), Mayar Publications, 2004.
- Kaifiyaat:Kulliyat-e-Kaifi Azmi(URDU)), Educational Publishing House,2003.ISBN 8187667788.
- Zehr-e-Ishq (Hindi), Vani Prakashan, 2003.
- Heer Ranjha (Hindi), Vani Prakshan 2003.
- Steel Man was Here, Penguin, 2002.
- Kaifi Azmi- Selected Poems and Life Sketch, Rajpal Publishers, 2002. ISBN 81-7028-395-7.
- Aaj Ke Prashid Shayar: Kaifi Azmi-Chuni Hui Shayari (Hindi), Rajpal & Sons, 2002.ISBN 8170285429.
- Meri Awaz Suno (Hindi), Rajkamal Prakashan, 2002.
- Nai Gulistan Vol.1 (Hindi), Rajkamal Prakashan, 2001.
- Nai Gulistan Vol.2 (Hindi), Rajkamal Prakashan, 2001.
- Doosra Banwas (Hindi), Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 81-288-0982-2.
- Awara Sajde (Hindi), Lokbharti Prakashan, 1995.
- Sarmaya (Urdu), Mayar Publications, 1994.
[5]
Articles on Kaifi Azmi[edit]
- Kaifi Azmi: Symbol of resistance – Ranjit Hoskote.The Hindu, Sunday, 19 May 2002.[6]
- Kaifi Azmi: A poet and a gentleman. The Times Of India, 10 May 2002.[7]
- Kaifi Azmi: the last comrade-poet – Tarique Omum. The Milli Gazette. [8]
References[edit]
- Jump up^ dnaindia. http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-shabana-azmi-launches-website-to-honour-father-kaifi-azmi-2002666, Retrieved 25 July 2014
- Jump up^ indiatoday.intoday. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/shabana-azmi-launches-website-to-honour-father-kaifi-azmi/1/372810.html, Retrieved 25 July 2014
- Jump up^ movies.ndtv. http://movies.ndtv.com/music/kaifi-azmi-s-10th-death-anniversary-today-208703, Retrieved 9 July 2014
- Jump up^ outlookindia. http://www.outlookindia.com/people/3/Kaifi-Azmi/7319, Retrieved 9 July 2014
- Jump up^ rediff. http://www.rediff.com/tags/kaifi-azmi, Retrieved 9 July 2014
- Jump up^ Avanti Maluste; Sudeep Doshi (9 January 2008). A Poem for Cry: Favourite Poems of Famous Indians. Penguin Books India. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-0-670-04998-1. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- Jump up^ "List of Fellows And Honorary Fellows Fellows". SNA Official website.
- Jump up^ Official list of awardees Sahitya Akademi.
External links[edit]
- Official website of Kaifi Azmi->
- BAZME-KAIFI In Remember of Kaifi Azmi-> ( In Sarai Mir Mushayaras and Neshists are Being Handled in remember of Kaifi Azmi.)
- Kaifi Azmi at Kavita Kosh (Hindi)
- Kaifi Azmi at the Internet Movie Database
- Recordings of Kaifi Azmi at Library of Congress
- [9] Kaifi Aur Main, a tribute site by IPTA.
- A collection of verses and mushaira recordings by Kaifi Azmi
- Poetry of Kaifi Azmi
- Songs by Kaifi Azmi
- Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi dead
- Yeh Nayan Dare Dare (Kohraa 1964 – Hemant Kumar – Kaifi Azmi)
- Now,Read Kaifi in Hindi on urdu.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment