Born
Abdul Hayee
8 March 1921
Ameenpur Bazar,
Lyallpur, Faisalabad,
Punjab
Died
25 October 1980 (aged
59)
Bombay (now
Mumbai)
Occupation
poet, lyricist
Sahir Ludhianvi (8
March 1921 25
October 1980) was a
popular Urdu poet and
Hindi lyricist, who
worked extensively in
Hindi films. Sahir
Ludhianvi is his
pseudonym. He won the
Filmfare Award twice,
in 1964 and 1977, and in
1971 was awarded the
Padma Shri.[1][2]
Early life
Sahir Ludhianvi was
born into the wealthy
Muslim family as Abdul
Hayee on 8 March 1921
in Ludhiana, Punjab in
India.[3] His mother's
name was Sardar
Begum. Sahir's parents
had a very loose and
estranged relationship.
In 1934, when he was
thirteen years old, his
father married for the
second time. At that
time, his mother
decided to take the bold
step of leaving her
husband, forfeiting all
claims to the financial
assets. Sahir's father
then sued his mother
for child custody but
lost. He threatened to
make sure Sahir did not
live with his mother
very long, even if that
meant taking the child's
life.[4] Sahir's mother
then found friends who
kept a close watch on
him and didn't let him
out of sight. Fear and
financial deprivation
surrounded the
formative years of this
young man. His parents'
divorce brought him and
his mother face to face
with poverty and
struggle in life.[5]
The house where Sahir
was born, a red sand-
stone haveli, stands in
Karimpura, a Muslim
neighbourhood of
Ludhiana, with a small
plaque announcing its
importance upon the
arched mughal
darwaaza the only
effort by the city to
remember him.
Sahir studied at and
graduated from Khalsa
High School in Ludhiana.
Upon matriculation, he
joined the Satish
Chander Dhawan
Government College For
Boys
, Ludhiana. He was quite
popular for his ghazals
and nazms in the
college. He was
famously expelled from
the college within the
year 'for sitting in the
Principal's lawn with a
female class-mate'.[6]
[7] About his expulsion,
some accounts
erroneously mention
Amrita Pritam as the
girl, but she never lived
in Ludhiana. They met
after the partition of
India, when she arrived
in Delhi from Lahore in
1949.
In 1943, after being
expelled from college,
Sahir settled in Lahore.
Here, he completed the
writing of his first Urdu
work, Talkhiyaan
(Bitterness). He then
began searching for a
publisher and, after two
years, he found one in
1945. After his work
was published, he
began editing four Urdu
magazines, Adab-e-
Lateef, Shahkaar,
Prithlari, and Savera;
these magazines
became very
successful.[5] He then
became a member of
the Progressive Writers'
Association
. However,
inflammatory writings
(communist views and
ideology) in Savera
resulted in the issuing
of a warrant for his
arrest by the
Government of
Pakistan . So, in 1949,
Sahir fled from Lahore
to Delhi. After a couple
of months in Delhi, he
moved to and settled in
Bombay. A friend of his
recalls Sahir telling him
Bombay needs me!.[5]
His most famous love
affair, however, was
with Amrita Pritam,
who became his most
ardent fan. She has
openly acknowledged
her love for Sahir in
interviews and her
books.[8] Apart from
Amrita, several other
women too came in his
life but he could never
decide on accepting any
of those as his life
partner. He remained a
bachelor all his life.[9]
In recent years there
have been many
attempts to chronicle
his life and times. Many
books about him were
published both in India
and Pakistan. In 2010
Danish Iqbal wrote a
Stage Play ' Sahir' about
his life which was
directed by NRI Director
Pramila Le Hunt. This
Play became a
commercial success and
had a dream run in Delhi.
For perhaps first time,
in the history of Indian
Theatre, songs were
used as narrative to
recreate the life and
struggles of Sahir. Many
of his misty eyed
contemporaries,
Ramesh Chand Charlie,
Kuldeep Nayyar and few
others, thronged the
performance with
nostalgic ache in their
heart.
According to writer
Niilesh A Raje, While in
college Sahir had
established his
reputation for being a
good writer, wrote fiery
speeches and was
equally popular for his
ghazals and nazms.
Sahir was a restless
person and could not sit
in one place for long. It
was evident he had the
literary talent but that
could not give him
stability so he decided
to contribute his work
for Bollywood in a way
to give him financial
stability. Attempts are
being made to convert
this Play into a film on
Sahir. Because the Play
Sahir had characters
like Guru Dutt, Yash
Chopra and Amrita
Pritam, it would be a
tough task for the
casting and depiction
but it would be a
nostalgic journey down
the memory lane both
for the public and his
friends and admirers.

Lyrics and Bollywood
Sahir lived on the first
floor of the main
building of an Andheri
outhouse. His famous
neighbours included the
poet, Gulzar and Urdu
litterateur, Krishan
Chander. In the 1970s,
he constructed
Parchaiyaan (Shadows),
a posh bungalow, and
lived there till his death.
Journalist Ali Peter John,
who knew the poet
personally, says real-
estate sharks have
been eyeing Sahir's
abode after the death
of his sister. His
belongings and trophies
are in a state of ruin,
according to the
journalist.[citation
needed]
Sahir Ludhianvi made his
debut in films writing
lyrics for the film
Aazadi Ki Raah Par
(1949). The film had
four songs written by
him and his first song
was Badal Rahi Hai
Zindagi... Both the film
and its songs went
unnoticed. However,
with Naujawaan (1951),
he gained recognition.
S.D. Burman composed
the music for
Naujawaan. Even today,
the film's lilting song,

..., remains popular.
His first major success
came the same year
with Guru Dutt's
directorial debut, Baazi
(1951), again pairing him
with Burman. Thus he
became part of the
Guru Dutt team, and
after the success of
Naujawaan and Baazi,
the combination of Sahir
Ludhianvi and S.D.
Burman came out with
many more everlasting
songs.
Sahir worked with
many music composers,
including Ravi, S.D.
Burman, Roshan and
Khayyam, and has left
behind many
unforgettable songs for
fans of the Indian film
industry and its music.
Pyaasa marked an end
to his successful
partnership with S.D.
Burman over what is
reported to be S.D.
Burman's displeasure at
Sahir receiving more
admiration (and thus
credit for the success)
from audiences for the
words of the lyrics than
S.D. Burman did for his
memorable tunes.
[citation needed] Later,
Sahir Ludhianvi teamed
up with composer
Datta Naik in several
films. Datta, a Goan,
was a great admirer of
Sahir's revolutionary
poetry. They had
already worked
together to produce the
music for Milaap (1955).
Sahir wrote many
unforgettable gems for
Datta.
From the time B.R.
Chopra started
producing and directing
films under his banner
'B.R.Films' around 1950,
Sahir Ludhiyanvi
remained the preferred
songwriter for his films.
This association
continued till Sahir
Ludhiyanvi died, with his
last composition for
B.R.Films being for
Insaaf Ka Tarazu. It
was only after Sahir
died that B.R. Chopra
decided to use a new
lyricist Hassan Kamaal
for his films, starting
with films like Nikaah.
The association
between Sahir and B.R.
Chopra's family
continued for so long
that despite B.R. Chopra
using different music
directors in his movies,
Sahir always remained
the lyricist for his
movies. Not just this,
but even Yash Chopra,
who broke away from
B.R. Chopra's films and
became an independent
director and then
producer of Hindi films,
also used only Sahir
Ludhiyanvi as the lyricist
in all his movies, again
an association which
lasted till Sahir's death.
In 1958, Sahir wrote the
lyrics for Ramesh
Saigal's film Phir Subah
Hogi, which was based
on Fyodor Dostoevsky's
novel Crime and
Punishment. The male
lead was Raj Kapoor and
it was presumed that
Shankar-Jaikishan would
be the music
composers. However,
Sahir insisted that only
someone who had read
the novel could provide
the right score. Thus,
Khayyam ended up as
the music composer for
the film, and the song
Woh Subah Kabhi Toh
Aayegi with minimal
background music
remains an all-time hit.
Khayyam went on to
work with Sahir in many
films including Kabhie
Kabhie and Trishul.
Admirers and critics
rate Sahir's work inGuru
Dutt's Pyaasa as his
finest. Pyaasa, some
say, bears resemblance
to Sahir's early years as
a poet. The onscreen
poet, Vijay played by
Guru Dutt, bears a
strong likeness to the
man whose poetry
gave the film its soul.
With success, Sahir
started displaying
arrogance. He insisted
on writing the lyrics
first and then having
them set to music
unlike his other
contemporaries who
would be happy penning
their verses to the
tunes. His other
insistence of being paid
1 Rupee more than Lata
Mangeshkar created a
rift between him and S
D Burman and Lata. His
attempt at promoting a
new singer Sudha
Malhotra who was also
his love interest was
another example.[10]
Sahir Ludhianvi's work in
the 1970s was
restricted to films
mainly directed by Yash
Chopra. Though his
output in terms of
number of films had
thinned out, the quality
of his writing
commanded immense
respect. Kabhie Kabhie
(1976) saw him return
to sparkling form.
These songs won him
his second Filmfare
Award for Best Lyricist,
the first being for Taj
Mahal (1963).
Last days
On 25 October 1980, at
the age of fifty-nine,
Sahir Ludhianvi suffered
a massive heart attack
and died in the arms of
his friend Dr R.P. Kapoor.
He was buried at the
Juhu Muslim cemetery.
His tomb was
demolished in 2010 to
make space for new
bodies.[11]
Sahir's final works were
released for the Hindi
film Lakshmi (1982). He
will always be
remembered along with
Kaifi Azmi as the poet
who brought Urdu
literature to Indian
motion pictures. Over
twenty-five years after
Sahir Ludhianvi's death,
his poetry and lyrics
remain an inspiration for
lyricists of the day.
Composers and singers
of Sahir's time swear
by the depth, intensity
and purity in his poetry.
As singer, Mahendra
Kapoor said in a Vividh
Bharati interview, I
don't think a writer like
Sahir Ludhianvi will be
born again.
Sahir also wrote songs
for Laila Majnoon and
Daag
Jump back a section
The person
Personality
It was ironically
appropriate; while the
poet's heart bled for
others, he never paid
enough attention to his
own life.
His friend, Prakash
Pandit once recalled
how, after the Partition
of India, Sahir was
unhappy without the
company of his Hindu
and Sikh friends (they
had all fled to India). A
secular India was
Sahir's preference to an
Islamic Pakistan.[12]
Sahir Ludhianvi was
known to be very
egotistic[citation
needed], perhaps as a
result of his zamindar
background; he fought
for, and became the
first lyricist or
songwriter, to get
royalties from music
companies. Sahir
insisted on writing the
songs before the song
was composed, against
the Bollywood norm.
However, some of his
songs were written
after the tunes were
ready. For example,
( Naya
Daur 1957 music by
O.P. Nayyar). At the
height of his popularity,
Sahir is known to have
demanded a rupee more
than what was paid to
Lata Mangeshkar for
singing it. It was on
Sahir's insistence that
All India Radio started
crediting lyricists along
with singers and music
composers for songs it
aired.

A colossus amongst
film lyricists, Sahir
Ludhianvi was slightly
different from his
contemporaries. A poet
unable to praise Khuda
(God), Husn (Beauty) or
Jaam (Wine), his pen
was, at its best,
pouring out bitter but
sensitive lyrics over the
declining values of
society, the
senselessness of war
and politics, and the
domination of
materialism over love.
Whenever he wrote any
love songs, they were
tinged with sorrow, due
to realisation that there
were other, starker
concepts more
important than love. He
could be called the
underdog's bard; close
to his heart were the
farmer crushed by debt,
the soldier gone to fight
someone else's war,
the woman forced to
sell her body, the youth
frustrated by
unemployment, the
family living on the
street and other
victims of society. His
lyric from Pyaasa when
lead actor Guru Dutt
(Vijay) was passing
through a red light area
by singing this song,
moved even Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru,
Honourable Prime
minister of India that
time.
,
,

,

?

, ?
Sahir Ludhianvi's poetry
had a Faizian quality.
Like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, he
too gave Urdu poetry an
intellectual element
that caught the
imagination of the
youth of the 1940s,
1950s and 1960s. He
helped them discover
their spine. Sahir asked
questions and was not
afraid of calling a spade,
a spade; he roused
people from an
independence-induced
smugness. He would
pick on the self-
appointed custodian of
religion, the self-serving
politician, the
exploitative capitalist,
and the war-mongering
super-powers.
Sahir's poetry reflected
the mood of the age.
Whether it was the
arrest of progressive
writers in Pakistan, the
launch of the satellite
Sputnik or the discovery
of Ghalib by a
government l*sting
after minority votes,
Sahir reacted with a
verve not seen in many
writers' work. Kahat-e-
Bangal (The Famine of
Bengal), written by a
25-year-old Sahir,
bespeaks maturity that
came early. His Subah-e-
Navroz (Dawn of a
New Day), mocks the
concept of celebration
when the poor exist in
squalor.
Perhaps Sahir is the
first renowned Urdu
poet, who, could
express his view
towards The Tajmahal
in a complete different
way. He wrote

, - -

.



?-
The poet asks his lover
to meet him anywhere
else but Tajmahal. A
tomb which has been a
symbol of luxurious
monarchy for years,
there is no need to
make journey of love by
two beautiful but not
famous hearts there.
[13]
Sahir will always be
remembered as a poet
who made his creation
a lesson for all ages of
Urdu poetry to come. In
this way he contradicts
his own creation: kal
aur aayenge naghmo ki
khilti kalian chunnewale,
mujhse behtar
kehnewale, tumse
behtar sunne wale; kal
koi mujhko yaad kare,
kyun koi mujhko yaad
kare, masroof zamana
mere liye kyun waqt
apna barbad kare?
Translation: Tomorrow
there will be more who
will narrate the love
poems. May be
someone narrating
better than me. May be
someone listening
better than you. Why
should anyone
remember me? Why
should anyone
remember me? Why
should the busy age
waste its time for me?
Jump back a section
Personal life
Sahir Ludhianvi remained
a bachelor all his life, he
had two failed love
affairs with journalist
Amrita Pritam and
singer/actress Sudha
Malhotra.[14] These
relationships had left
him an embittered man.
He took to drinking
heavily and drank
himself deep into
alcoholism. The
tragedies and pathos of
his personal life most
truly reflected in his
poignant poetry.
His relationship with
Amrita Pritam was so
passionate that at one
time, while attending a
press conference,
Amrita wrote his name
hundreds of times on a
sheet of paper. The
two of them would
meet without saying a
word and Sahir would
puff away with his
cigarettes, and after he
left, Amrita would
smoke the cigarette
butts left by him. After
his death, she hoped
the smoke from her
cigarettes would meet
him in the other world.
[13]
It is said that when
Sahir was courting
Amrita Pritam, he built
a taller house in front of
Amrita Pritam's
residence in Ludhiana to
show her father that
he could afford a house.
This statement is a
fallacy derived from the
Hindi film Tere Ghar Ke
Samne. Sahir's economic
position at the time
was pitiful, so 'building a
house' would be out of
the question; and
secondly, Amrita Pritam
did not belong to
Ludhiana but to
Gujranwala; and the
love of her life was
another Urdu shayar,
Imroz, as detailed
extensively in her
autobiography, written
in Punjabi for which she
got a Sahitya Academy
Award.
Jump back a section

Famous works
English translations
of Sahir's poetry:
LUDHIANVI, Sahir
(19211980)
SHADOWS SPEAK tr.
with intro. Khwaja
Ahmad Abbas
Abbas, Khwaja
Ahmad pref. Sajjad
Zaheer Zaheer,
Sajjad English text
only. P.P.H. Bookstall
(Bombay) 129pp
(intro. 712) 1958
paper only.
THE BITTER
HARVEST tr. Rifat
Hassan Hassan,
Rifat Urdu & English
texts. Aziz
Publishers (Lahore)
169pp (pref. iiii)
1977 cloth only.
SORCERY/ (Sahir) tr.
with pref. Sain Sucha
Sucha, Sain Urdu &
English texts. Vudya
Kitaban Forlag
(Sollentuna, Sweden)
114pp (pref. 16,
essay in Urdu 106
114) 1989 paper only.
Gaata jaye Banjara
A Collection of film
lyrics
Bollywood songs
Sahir Ludhianvi penned
some of the finest
Bollywood songs.
(Naya
Daur 1957),
composed by O.P.
Nayyar, sung by
Mohammed Rafi.
Jane Kya tune kahi(
Pyaasa 1957),
composed by S.D.
Burman, sung by
Geeta Dutt.
Jane Woh Kaise(
Pyaasa 1957),
composed by S.D.
Burman, sung by
Hemant Kumar.


( Pyaasa 1957),
composed by S.D.
Burman, sung by
Mohammed Rafi.


( Dhool Ka Phool
1959), composed by
Datta Naik, sung by
Mohammed Rafi.

( Barsaat Ki Raat
1960), music by
Roshan, sung by
Mohammed Rafi,
Manna De.

( Barsaat Ki
Raat 1960), music by
Roshan, sung by
Mohammed Rafi,
Manna De, Asha
Bhonsle and Sudha
Malhotra.

(Hum
Dono 1961),
composed by Jaidev
sung by Lata
Mangeshkar)


( Gumrah 1963)
, composed by Ravi
(Sung by Mahendra
Kapoor)

? ( Chitralekha
1964), composed by
Roshan, sung by
Mohammed Rafi.

,

( Chitralekha 1964),
composed by
Roshan, sung by Lata
Mangeshkar.

( Naya Raasta 1970),
composed by Datta
Naik, sung by
Mohammed Rafi.

( Kabhi Kabhi 1976),
composed by
Khayyam (Sung by
Mukesh)
(Kabhi
Kabhi 1976), music
by Khayyam (Sung
by Mukesh, Lata
Mangeshkar)
aye meri zoharjabin
(waqt) by Manna
Dey Music: Ravi
aagey bhi jane na tu
(waqt) by Asha
Bhonsle Music: Ravi
Saathi haath
badhana-naya daur
by Mohammed Rafi
and Asha Bhonsle
Na tu zameen ke liye
hai na aasman ke liye
(Music Ravi )by
Mohammed Rafi
Mere dil mein aaj kya
hai tu kahe to main
bata doon ( Daagh )
by Kishore Kumar
Music: Laxmikant
Pyarelal
Main zindagi ka sath
nibhata chala gaya
(

Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar
Kijiye!
Sahir Ludhianvi
Poetry
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye!
Koi suhana iqrar kijiye,
O sharmaana kesa,
ghabrana kesa,
Jeene se pehle mar jaana
kesa,
Aanchlon ki chaaon mein,
Ras bhari fizaon mein,
Is zindagi ko gulzar kijiye,
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye,
Aati baharain, jaati baharain!
Kab se khari hain bandhey
qatarain,
Chaa rahi hai bekhudi,
Keh rahi hai zindagi,
Jee ki umangain beidaar
kijiye,
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye!
Dil se bhula ke ruswaayion
ko,
Jannat bana le tanhayion ko,
Aarzuu jawan hai,
Waqt meherbaan hai,
Dil ko na jane hosheyaar
kihjiye,
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye!

Sangay mar-mar se
tarasha hua ye
shukh badan
Sahir Ludhianvi
Poetry
Sangay mar-mar se tarasha
hua ye shukh badan
Itna dil kash hai ke apnanay
ko ji chahta hai
surkh honton mein terkti hai
ye rangeen sharaab
jisay pe kar bhahak janay
ko ji chahta hai
naram seenay mein darktay
hain woh nazuk tufaan
jin ki lahroon mein utar janay
ko ji chahta hai
Tum se kya rishta hai, kab
se hai, yeh maloom nahin,
Lekin is hussn pe mar janey
ko jee chahta hai,
Rakh ley kal ke liye yeh
doosri pazeb dil,
Kal is bazzm mein phir aney
ko jee chahta hai,
Be-khabar soye hain woh
loot ke neendain meri,
Jazba-e-dil pe tarss khaney
ko jee chahta hai,
Kab se khamosh ho aye jane
jahan kuch to bolo,
Kya abhi bhi sitam aur
dhaney ko jee chahta hai,
Chorr kar tum ko kahan
chain miley ga hum ko,
Yahin jeeney yahin mar
janey ko jee chahta hai,
Apne hathon se sanwara hai
tumhein qudrat ne,
Dekh ker dekhte reh jane ko
jee chahta hai,
Noor hi noor jhalakta hai
haseen chehre se,
Bas yahin sajde mein gir
janey ko jee chahta hai,
Mere daman ko koi aur na
chuu paye ga,
Tum ko chuu kar kasam yeh
khaney ko jee chahta hai,
Chand chehra hai tera aur
nazar hai bijli,
Aik ik jalwe pe mar janey ko
jee chahta hai,
Chand ki hasti hi kya samne
jab suraj ho,
Aap ke kadmon mein mitt
janey ko jee chahta hai

Gham is kadar
barhey ke mein
ghabra ke pee gaya
Sahir Ludhianvi
Poetry
Gham is kadar barhey ke
mein ghabra ke pee gaya,
Is dil ki be-basi pe tarss kha
ke pee gaya,
Thukra raha tha mujh ko
bari der se jahan,
Main aaj sab jahan ko
thukraa ke pee gaya..

Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye!
Koi suhana iqrar kijiye,
O sharmaana kesa, ghabrana kesa,
Jeene se pehle mar jaana kesa,
Aanchlon ki chaaon mein,
Ras bhari fizaon mein,
Is zindagi ko gulzar kijiye,
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye,
Aati baharain, jaati baharain!
Kab se khari hain bandhey qatarain,
Chaa rahi hai bekhudi,
Keh rahi hai zindagi,
Jee ki umangain beidaar kijiye,
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye!
Dil se bhula ke ruswaayion ko,
Jannat bana le tanhayion ko,
Aarzuu jawan hai,
Waqt meherbaan hai,
Dil ko na jane hosheyaar kihjiye,
Dil Se Mila Ke Dil Pyar Kijiye!

Sangay mar-mar se tarasha hua ye shukh badan
Itna dil kash hai ke apnanay ko ji chahta hai
surkh honton mein terkti hai ye rangeen sharaab
jisay pe kar bhahak janay ko ji chahta hai
naram seenay mein darktay hain woh nazuk tufaan
jin ki lahroon mein utar janay ko ji chahta hai
Tum se kya rishta hai, kab se hai, yeh maloom nahin,
Lekin is hussn pe mar janey ko jee chahta hai,
Rakh ley kal ke liye yeh doosri pazeb dil,
Kal is bazzm mein phir aney ko jee chahta hai,
Be-khabar soye hain woh loot ke neendain meri,
Jazba-e-dil pe tarss khaney ko jee chahta hai,
Kab se khamosh ho aye jane jahan kuch to bolo,
Kya abhi bhi sitam aur dhaney ko jee chahta hai,
Chorr kar tum ko kahan chain miley ga hum ko,
Yahin jeeney yahin mar janey ko jee chahta hai,
Apne hathon se sanwara hai tumhein qudrat ne,
Dekh ker dekhte reh jane ko jee chahta hai,
Noor hi noor jhalakta hai haseen chehre se,
Bas yahin sajde mein gir janey ko jee chahta hai,
Mere daman ko koi aur na chuu paye ga,
Tum ko chuu kar kasam yeh khaney ko jee chahta hai,
Chand chehra hai tera aur nazar hai bijli,
Aik ik jalwe pe mar janey ko jee chahta hai,
Chand ki hasti hi kya samne jab suraj ho,
Aap ke kadmon mein mitt janey ko jee chahta hai

Gham is kadar barhey ke mein ghabra ke pee gaya,
Is dil ki be-basi pe tarss kha ke pee gaya,
Thukra raha tha mujh ko bari der se jahan,
Main aaj sab jahan ko thukraa ke pee gaya..