He was a Pakistani poet considered to be one of the most famous modern Urdu poets.
Date of Birth: February 13th, 1911
Place: Sialkot (Punjab), Pakistan
Faiz's mother was Sultan Fatima. Faiz's father died in Sialkot in 1913. Faiz's father was a learned man and enjoyed the company of well-known literary persons. Wrote the biography of Amir Abdur Rehman. Faiz was therefore, born in a respectable and literary environment and was a very promising student with a religious background.
Primary Education:
Started memorizing the Holy Quran at the age of four and in 1916 started his formal education in the famous school of Moulvi Ibrahim Sialkoti, and learnt Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Was admitted to the Scotch Mission High School in 1921 in Class IV. Passed his Matriculation Examination in the 1st Division from Murray College, Sialkot and during this period learnt Persian and Arabic from Allama Iqbal's teacher, Shamsul Ullama Moulvi Syed Meer Hasan.
College Education: Passed his B.A. (Honours) in Arabic from the Government College, Lahore and then M.A. in English from the same College in 1932. Passed his M.A. in Arabic in the 1st Division, from Oriental College, Lahore.
Employment:
Lecturer in English at M. A. O. College, Amritsar in 1935 and then at Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore. Joined the Army as Captain in 1942 and worked in the department of Public Relations in Delhi. Was promoted to the rank of Major in 1943, and Lieut. Colonel in 1944. Resigned from The Army in 1947 and returned to Lahore, where, in 1959 appointed as Secretary, Pakistan Arts Council and worked in that capacity till 1962.
Returning from London in 1964 he settled down in Karachi and was appointed as Principal, Abdullah Haroon College , Karachi. Editorship of the monthly magazine Adabe-Latif from 1947 to 1958. Worked as Editor under the Progressive Papers Ltd, of the Pakistan Times, the Urdu newspaper Imroze and the weekly Lailo-Nihar. In the 1965 war between India & Pakistan he worked in an honorary capacity in the Department of Information. Acted as Editor of the magazine Lotus in Moscow, London and Beirut.Faiz wrote poems that opposed the bloodshed occurring in what became Bangladesh during the conflict with Pakistan.
Political Affialations
In a certain period of his life, Faiz was a communist and was associated with the Communist Party of Pakistan. Faiz spent much of the 1950s and 1960s promoting the cause of communism in Pakistan. During the time when Faiz was editor of The Pakistan Times, one of the leading newspapers of 50s, he lent editorial support to CP. He was also involved in the circle lending support to military personnel (e.g. Major General Akbar Khan. This involvement with CP and Major General Akbar Khan's coup plan lead to his imprisonment later.
Imprisonment
Faiz was charged with complicity in a failed coup attempt known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 1951. The jail term gave him a first-hand experience of the harsh realities of life, and provided him with the much-needed solitude to think and write poetry. Two of his greatest works Dast-e-Saba and Zindan-Nama were products of this period of imprisonment.
Publications
Naqsh-e-Faryadi, 1941
Dast-e-Saba, 1953
Zindan Nama, 1956
Mizan, a collection of literary articles, 1956
Dast Tah-e-Sang, 1965
Sar-e-Wadi-e-Seena, 1971
Sham-e-Shehr-e-Yaran, 1979
Merey Dil Merey Musafar, 1981
Nuskha-Hai-Wafa, 1984 (A collective work)
Pakistani Culture, (Urdu and English)
Achievements:
Faiz was the first Asian poet to be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize, the Soviet Union's equivalent to the Nobel Prize in 1963.
Other notable recipients include Pablo Neruda, Nelson Mandela, W. E. B. Du Bois, Bertolt Brecht, Fidel Castro and Nobel Prize winning Chemist Linus Pauling.
The real award for a poet is the love and appreciation of his fans and Faiz enjoyed both for most of his life.
He recorded for the Library of Congress in 1977 which has fifty two works by him.
Before his death in 1984 he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize.
Death:
He was died in 1984.
Some MasterPieces:
Donon jahaan teri mohabbat mein haar ke
Woh jaa raha hai koi shab-e-gham guzaar ke
Viraan hai maikada khum-o-saaghar udaas hain
Tum kya gaye ke ruth gaye din bahaar ke
Ek fursat-e-gunah mili woh bhi chaar din
Dekhe hain hum ne hausle parwardigaar ke
Duniya ne teri yaad se begaana kar diya
Tujh se bhi dilfreb hain gham rozgaar ke
Bhule se muskra ke diye woh aaj Faiz
Mat puchh walwale dil-e-nakarda kaar ke
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Jo dil pe guzarti hai raqam karte rahenge
Asbaab-e-gham-e-ishq baham karte rahenge
Viraani-e-dauraan pe karam karte rahenge
Haan talkhi-e-ayyaam abhi aur barhe gi
Haan ahl-e-sitam mashq-e-sitam karte rahenge
Manzur yeh talkhi yeh sitam hum ko gawaara
Dam hai to madaawa-e-alam karte rahenge
Maikhana salaamat hai to hum surkhi-e-mai se
Tazzain-e-dar-o-baam-e-haram karte rahenge
Baqi hai lahu dil mein to har ashk se paida
Rang-e-lab-o-rukhsar-e-sanam karte rahenge
Ek tarz-e-taghaaful hai so woh unko mubaarak
Ek arz-e-tamanna hai so hum karte rahenge
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Du'aa (Prayer) -- A nazm for Pakistan's Independence Day, 1967
aayeh hath uthein hum bhi
hum jinhein rusm-e du'aa yaad nahin
hum jinhein soz-e muhabat ke siwa
koi buth, koi khuda yaad nahin
aayeh urz guzarein keh nigar-e hustee
zehar-e imroz mein shirenya furda bhar de
wo jinhein taab-e garaan bary-a iyaam nahin
un ki pulkoon peh shaub-e roz ko hulka ker de
jin ki aankhoon ko roz-e subh ka yaara bhi nahin
un ki raatoon mein koi shuma munawar ker de
jin ke kadumoon ko kisi reh ka sahara bhi nahin
un nazroon peh koi raah ujagar ker de
jin ka deeN pariw-e kizb-o riya hai un ko
himet-e kufr mile, jurat-e tehqiq mile
jin ke sir muntazar-e tegh-e jafa hein un ko
dust-e qatil ko jatuk deenay ki taufiq mile
ishq ka sir-e nihaaN jaan tapaaN hai jis se
aaj iqrar karein aur tapish mit jaa'e
hurf-e haq dil mein khatakta hai jo kante ki turhaaN
aaj izhar karein aur khalish mit jaa'e
Yaar Nice especially the poem "Donoun jahan teri mohabbat may har kay" Over all a good picture of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. But thirst remains after studying the whole blog. In my View Two things are missing.No doubt, A hero's personal life is important but the identity and appreciation of artists is its arts, its contributions and giving. so must add a supplements of his unique contributions.
ReplyDeleteand another thing also add some personal views and comments of these gems close friends and near one.