Page 20 - Pakistan Link - May 17, 2019

P20 – PAKISTAN LINK – MAY 17, 2019 COMMENTARY
Faiz and Films Save the Deputies of God

n By Siraj Khan
Boston hen Jesus And rejected God
Peace and
few years ago, a dear fam- Wblessings be upon We have thereby
ily friend, a diehard fan and him Blocked our path
A Faiz admirer, Zaheer Kid- Announced To the mercy of God
vai produced a DVD on Faiz called Th e commandment to
Aaj ke Naam, “Love one another” Yet
which truly is a He never meant We recall
collector’s item. Only love On the cruel cross
It is this wonder- Black or white or brown peo- In intense agony
ful media work, ple Jesus sighed
which inspired Or Jews only Forgive them
me to try and For they know not
cover an aspect Th e prophet of Islam What they do
of Faiz, which is Peace and blessings be upon
relatively less discussed and even him And when Hind
less written. Was called “a mercy unto Committed acts of barbarity
Despite Faiz’s full-time com- Faiz Ahmad Faiz with Dilip Kumar mankind” To torture the Prophet
mitment to progressive writing, so- He was a mercy not for one He still forgave her
cialistic ideals and classical poetry, of Faiz’s masterpiece, Nisar main teri Anwar. Faiz was a year older and Or other And when the woman
as well as his journalistic career, he galiyon pe was sung by Munir Hus- their friendship developed during Race or religion Who threw garbage
still somehow found time to fl irt sain. college days, remaining close friends But for all mankind On him daily
with fi lms in some way, because of Munir Niazi’s Uss bewafa ka throughout their lives. In fact, in Fell ill
his strong belief in the power of the shehr hai, picturized on Masar- those days Khwaja Sb used to write And He visited her
cinema, which he felt could be used rat Nazir was also a big hit. In Riaz Urdu poetry so well that Faiz actu- As the Bible proclaimed With gift s and good wishes
to send a strong message across to Shahid’s Farangi, Mehdi Hasan’s fa- ally used to ask him to write love Man was made in God’s image Every life you take
a wider audience. He played an in- mous rendition of Gulon main rang letters and ghazals on his behalf, Th e Quran declared He warned
tegral role in two fi lms during the bharey was picturized on Alauddin, when he was in love with a girl in Man is the Is like killing the
early decades of Pakistan’s fi lm in- while another poem, written on an Lyallpur. Khwaja Sb produced some “Deputy of God” Entire Universe
dustry. American couple who were executed unforgettable fi lms like Intezar, A unique status
One of them was in A.J. Kardar’s in 1953 namely Hum jo tareek rahon Koel, Jhoomar, Zehr-e-Ishq, Haveli, For a unique creation Others too
direction, called Jago Hua Sawera, main marey gae sung by Mala, was Chingari, Ghunghat, Heer-Ranjha, On a unique planet Th e great
made in EP/Bangladesh and re- also included and fi lmed on a blind etc. Th ey truly used to enjoy each Men and women of God
leased in May 1959, and the second Pathan girl, played by Shamim Ara. other’s company, but it was perhaps How have we treated Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh
was Sukh ka Sapna, directed by that Ae roshniyon ke shehr and ab the sound of silence of each other’s Th e deputy of God? Preached love and compas-
brilliant cameraman and director, yahan koyi nahi koyi nahi ayega presence, the cigarette smoke-fi lled In Pittsburgh we have killed sion
Masood Parvez, which was released are other songs which come to my room, overfl owing ashtrays and the deputy
in January, 1962. In Sukh ka Sapna, mind, where his poetic lines became dozens of cups of tea, that provided in a synagogue
Noor Jahan’s numbers, Shaam hui the leading phrase of popular songs. the mahaul for their collective cre- In Christchurch in a mosque We can still remind God
ghar aaja and Hum tere paas aaey Apart from these, who can ever ativity. Mere pia ko dhoond ke lao And Th at we are part of God
sarey sitam bhula ke were penned by forget Noor Jahan’s classic rendition sakhi, which Faiz penned for KKA’s In Sri Lanka And God is part of us
Faiz. Th ere were other numbers too, of Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere fi lm Ghunghat, is considered to be In several churches Th at God has called Himself
but they did not become as popular. mehboob na maang, which was in- a shining star of their creative part- Jews, Muslims, Christians Th e Benefi cent
Th e movie ran for just six days. cluded in Najam Naqvi’s Qaidi, re- nership. No one was spared Th e Merciful
Later, due to his ideological leased in June 1962. It was, again, In his last days, Khwaja Sahib
stance, Faiz was unable to connect fabulously composed by Rasheed was very ill and had lost all hope of We have spared We can
himself too closely with the fi lm Attre and picturized on Shamim living. When Faiz went to see him in No one Pray that the light of God
industry, as he was time and again Ara. Much later, Faiz’s poetry found the hospital, he tried to console the Th at shines in the hearts
banned in the media and found its way into a fi lm, which high- patient by saying that as Faiz was a We have ignored Of the good and pious,
it hard to maintain the continuity lighted the conditions that led to the year senior, he will go fi rst and will Th e wise rabbis Will evoke
with his fi lm lyrics. However, fi lm- creation of Bangladesh. It was A.J. wait to receive him up there. How- Who said God’s compassion
makers continued to take his soul- Kardar’s Qasam Uss Waqt Ki, the ever, Khwaja Sb left for the Creator Tikkun ulam
stirring nazms and ghazals for their title song of which was penned by on 30th October 1984. Faiz joined Heal a fractured world
fi lms. His poetic lines have inspired Josh Malihabadi and sung by Habib his dear friend exactly 20 days later Akbar Ahmed
the leading phrases of numerous Wali Mohammad. Faiz’s free verse, on 20th November. We have mocked Washington, DC
memorable songs like Aaj kee raat Manzilain manzilain was composed If Faiz were alive at 100, he
saz-e-dil pur dard na cherr, which beautifully by Sohail Rana and sung would ask Muslims for that fountain
was sung by Noor Jahan for the In- equally well by Mehdi Hasan. Also of wisdom, from where they seem to
dian fi lm, Jugnu. Aft er partition, Faiz’s ghazal, Sab qatl hoke tere have learnt that the sword may have
the famous Indian fi lm, Mehel con- muqabil se aaey hain was sung by now become mightier than the pen.
tained Faiz’s Donon jahan teri mo- Farida Khanum for this fi lm. But https://www.youtube.com/
habbat main haar ke. perhaps the most endearing num- watch?v=Xs8gFa1Saj0
In Pakistan, when Khalil Qa- ber of the fi lm was by Mujeeb Alam, (Presented at the Baker Center,
iser and Riaz Shahid created that who sang Iss dhoop kinarey shaam Harvard University Literary Circle
hit fi lm, Shaheed, released in 1962, dhaley beautifully, which they still of the Pakistan American Demo-
composer Rasheed Attre made some play on the radio sometimes. cratic Forum. Co-sponsored by
exceptional tunes for the famous I cannot possibly end without Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Islamic
nazms and ghazals of Faiz and Mu- mention about Faiz’s friendship Studies Program in commemora-
nir Niazi. A slightly changed version with fi lm icon Khwaja Khurshid tion of Faiz’s Centennial)
Iqbal and Cambridge

n By Sir Oxon Imagine what it would have been of the Iqbal Academy, the college also in the West. the turnaround” on Iqbal’s death an-
Oxford, UK like for young Iqbal to arrive from La- placed a portrait of Iqbal in its Dining Having left Cambridge in 1907, niversary.
uring the year 1905, a hore and to join Trinity College, the Hall. Iqbal re-visited the city in the winter of Iqbal’s fi nal connection with
28-year-old South Asian college of Sir Isaac Newton, Lord By- Cambridge is renowned for its 1931 at the invitation of a student body, Cambridge is by way of the local Paki-
Dman arrived in Cambridge ron, Lord Tennyson, Sir Francis Bacon, Arabic and Persian scholars such as EG the International Muslim Association stani community. Th e Cambridge Pak-
for higher studies. Call him “Sir”, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Bertrand Brown, RA Nicholson and AJ Arberry. of Cambridge, of which Choudhary istani community has a fair represen-
“Dr”, or “Allama”, Muhammad Iqbal Russel. He certainly joined an illustri- Th ese scholars constitute another link Rahmat Ali was a prominent member. tation from Sialkot and Lahore. It may
(1877-1938) attained the popular ous list of alumni. Iqbal enjoyed with the University. Iqbal’s name continues to be as- be remembered that Iqbal was born in
status of the poet-philosopher of the While it is disappointing that Iqbal’s works have been translated by sociated with the University through Sialkot on November 9, 1877. His early
East. Pakistanis selfi shly claim him Trinity College does not have any Professor Nicholson and Professor Ar- the joint Cambridge-Pakistan Allama schooling, too, was in Sialkot.
as theirs, but he was far more than signifi cant collection of Iqbal studies, berry. Iqbal Fellowship. To date, the follow- He pursued higher studies in La-
that. it has paid tribute by putting a com- Nicholson, an authority on Is- ing Pakistani scholars have been the hore, where he also lived and worked
Iqbal’s works remain popular and memorative plaque at one of his stu- lamic literature and mysticism, trans- recipients of this award: M Muizud- till his death on April 21, 1938. Th ere
continue to inspire people in the East dent addresses. Th e plaque at 17 Portu- lated Iqbal’s Asrar-i-Khudi (1915, Th e din, Akbar S Ahmed, Tahir Amin, and is also an extra link with the Kashmiri
as well as the West. gal Place, reads: “Allama Muhammad Secrets of the Self). Arberry translated Dushka Saiyid. Th e latter, with the col- community since Iqbal was of Kash-
Iqbal had strong links with Cam- Iqbal/Born 1877 Died 1938/Poet-Phi- Iqbal’s Rumuz-i Bekhudi (1918, Th e laboration of Th e Institute of Strategic miri origin.
bridge: he was at the University from losopher of Pakistan/Lived here 1905- Mysteries of Selfl essness) and Zabur- Studies, Islamabad and Wolfson Col- Th ese brief points highlight the
1905-1907 for his BA degree in phi- 6 while at Trinity College”. i Ajam (1927, Persian Psalms). Th e lege, organized a two-day conference special bond between Allama Muham-
losophy. A few years ago, at the instance translations popularized Iqbal’s works in Cambridge on “Pakistan aft er 9/11: mad Iqbal and the city of Cambridge.
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