{"id":138,"date":"2013-10-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-25T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/on-this-day\/25th-october-1980-sahir-ludhianvi-poet-and-lyricist-died\/"},"modified":"2013-10-25T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-25T10:00:00","slug":"25th-october-1980-sahir-ludhianvi-poet-and-lyricist-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/on-this-day\/25th-october-1980-sahir-ludhianvi-poet-and-lyricist-died","title":{"rendered":"25th October 1980: Sahir Ludhianvi, poet and lyricist, died"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Ye mahlon ye takhton ye taajon ki duniya \/ Ye insaan ke dushman samaajon ki duniya \/ Ye daulat ke bhooke rivaajon ki duniya \/ Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai\u2019 <\/em>[\u2018This world of palaces, thrones and crowns \/ This world of societies that hate humanity \/ This world that hungers for nothing but wealth \/ Even if one obtains this world, so what?\u2019]<\/span><\/p>\n

When we hear this haunting song from Pyaasa<\/em>, the man that immediately comes to mind is Guru Dutt, the director and tragic legend. But Sahir Ludhianvi, the man who wrote these beautiful lyrics, was an equally big legend. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sahir, an Urdu poet and lyricist who wrote songs that mesmerised the post-Independence generation, passed away on October 25, 1980. He was born as Abdul Hayee on March 10, 1921 in Karimpura, a Muslim neighbourhood of Ludhiana in Punjab. Because of family problems and his parents’ separation, his growing-up days were marked by anxiety and financial problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

After matriculation, he joined Ludhiana\u2019s Satish Chander Dhawan Government College For Boys. The young Sahir displayed an early taste for ghazals and songs. According to rumours, he was expelled from college for sitting on the principal\u2019s lawn with a female student! In 1943, he moved to Lahore and joined Dayal Singh College. Here, he was elected president of the student body and published his first book of poems, Talkhiyaan<\/em> (Bitterness). Hinting both at his politics and the creative origins of his poetry, he wrote in the book: \u2018Duniya ne tajrubaat o hawaadis ki shakl mein \/ Jo kuch mujhe diya hai, wo lauta rahaa hoon main\u2019 (\u2018What the world, in the form of experiences and accidents b<\/span>estowed upon me, I am returning\u2019).<\/span><\/p>\n

He later worked as an editor for several Urdu magazines, and became a member of the Left-leaning Progressive Writers\u2019 Association. He fled to Delhi after the Pakistan government issued an arrest warrant against him for so-called inflammatory, pro-communist and anti-Pakistan writings. <\/span><\/p>\n

About Pakistan he wrote, the words dripping with irony: \u00a0“Chalo us kufr ke ghar se salaamat aa gaye lekin khuda ki mamlekat mein sokhta khaanon pe kya guzri”<\/em> (Thank God we arrived safe from the land of infidels; but in God\u2019s own kingdom, what happened to the brokenhearted?)<\/span><\/p>\n

From Delhi he moved to Bombay. He made his debut as a Hindi film lyricist with the film Azadi Ki Raah Par<\/em> in 1948, writing four songs in it. It was, however, in 1951, with the release of two films, Naujawan<\/em> and Baazi<\/em>, that the legend of Sahir Ludhianvi was born. He worked with most major music directors of the fifties and sixties, such as Roshan, Madan Mohan, Khaiyyam, and S. D. Burman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many consider his lyrics in the 1957 film Pyaasa<\/em> as his finest work as song-writer. \u2018Jinhen Naaz Hai Hind Par Woh Kahaan Hain\u2019, ‘Jaane Kya Maine Suni\u2019, \u2018Sar Jo Tera Chakraaye\u2019, \u2018Jaane Woh Kaise Log The Jin Ke Pyaar Ko Pyaar Mila\u2019, \u2018Hum Aapki Aankhon Mein Is Dil Ko Basa Dein Toh\u2019, and \u2018Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye Toh Kya Hai\u2019 are in the list of all-time favourite numbers even today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing about Sahir, journalist and writer Khushwant Singh said in The Tribune<\/em>: \u201cUnlike other men of letters who never miss an opportunity to praise themselves, Sahir modestly conceded that he was no more than a writer of songs designed to fit into a film plot. He rebelled against authority and hated the rich. In his celebrated poem on the Taj Mahal, he execrated emperor Shah Jahan, who ordered its construction and praised stone masons who gave it shape and beauty. In another poem Chaklay (brothels), he wrote sympathetically of prostitutes while castigating their rich clients. His forte was sarcasm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Sahir was much more than a \u201cwriter of songs\u201d, and he was himself aware, perhaps painfully at times, of how he was perceived in certain literary circles: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Mere sarkash taraane sun ke duniya ye samajhti hai \/ ke shaayad mere dil ko ishq ke naghmon se nafrat hai \/ mujhe hangaama e jang o jadal se kaif milta hai \/ meri fitrat ko khoonrezi ke afsaanon se raghbat hai<\/em> . . .\u2019 [\u2018When the world hears my angry songs, it assumes \/ That perhaps my heart abhors love songs \/ That I derive pleasure from the turmoil of war and conflict \/ That by nature, I love stories of bloodshed . . .\u2019]<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1970s he mainly worked for director Yash Chopra\u2019s films, and wrote memorable songs for films like Kabhie Kabhie<\/em> (1976). He died after suffering a heart attack on October 25, 1980. <\/span><\/p>\n

On his death, the Punjabi poet and writer Amrita Pritam, who was very close to Sahir, wrote poignantly: \u201cThe beginning of this story was silent, and the end too, all through the age, has remained silent. Forty years back, when Sahir used to visit me in Lahore, he would come and quietly smoke cigarettes. When the ashtray was filled to the brim with cigarette-stubs, he would go away. After he had gone, I would light and smoke those cigarettes alone. The smoke from me and his cigarettes would mingle in the air, the breaths too mingled in the air, and words from poems as well, in the air . . .\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sahir Ludhianvi is no more, but his songs remain, and millions of people still find solace in them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also on this day:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1945 \u2014 Aparna Sen, Bengali filmmaker and actress, was born\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1962 \u2014 Soni Razdan, film actress, was born\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

2012 \u2014 Jaspal Bhatti, television personality and humorist, died<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Ye mahlon ye takhton ye taajon ki duniya \/ Ye insaan ke dushman samaajon ki duniya \/ Ye daulat ke bhooke rivaajon ki duniya \/ Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai\u2019 [\u2018This world of palaces, thrones and crowns \/ This world of societies that hate humanity \/ This world that hungers for nothing but wealth \/ Even… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history"],"yoast_head":"\n25th October 1980: Sahir Ludhianvi, poet and lyricist, died -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"- 25th October 1980: Sahir Ludhianvi, poet and lyricist, died\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/on-this-day\/25th-october-1980-sahir-ludhianvi-poet-and-lyricist-died\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"25th October 1980: Sahir Ludhianvi, poet and lyricist, died -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"- 25th October 1980: Sahir Ludhianvi, poet and lyricist, died\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/on-this-day\/25th-october-1980-sahir-ludhianvi-poet-and-lyricist-died\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"What Happened on This Day in History - 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