Kaifiyat, Kaifi Azmi - The Poet Extraordinaire Options

[swarapriya]

Kaifiyat

(I humbly dedicate this thread to the memory of Erum Hashmi who was instrumental in seeding this idea in my mind to start this thread on this extraordinary poet.)

(Note: These are excerpts from an article that appeared in the “Anmoal Fankaar” web site. The full text can be found at the following location …

http://www.anmolfankaar.com/specials/ek-fa...-extraordinaire

My many thanks to Aparna for her several suggestions to make the full essay cohesive and readable.)

Kaifi Azmi was an eminent poet with many progressive ideas. Throughout his life he championed causes that affect the under privileged, oppressed, and down-trodden. He crusaded tirelessly for secular values. He was the eloquent voice of the progressive movement. He was a poet at heart but a socialist in practice. Azmi left an indelible mark through his writings. He expressed through them views that were very intrepid in nature. He breathed fire into his literature campaigning and fighting vigorously for social justice. Azmi was a trendsetter who voiced the stark realities of life through the poems he authored. The intensity of emotions used in his words, the spirit of compassion for the down-trodden, stark but rich in imagery sprinkled throughout his writings, became hallmarks of his style. He once stated that his writings were born out of his engrained convictions. His daughter, actress Shabana Azmi, says about him that, “ … indomitable will and an extraordinary skill to organize people kept him dynamic throughout his life. ..”

Kaifi Azmi was born as Akhtar Hussain Rizvi in 1918 in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. His father was a landlord, but was an educated person and preferred to work for the government. He was very inclined to send his son to school so that his son could get a modern education, but because of the stiff opposition he faced from his relatives he had to call that idea off. Instead, Azmi was sent to school to study theology in Lucknow to keep his elders happy. Young Azmi was a nonconformist at an early age. He saw that students enjoyed few privileges at the school and organized a student union. When the union’s demands for fair treatment failed, he organized the students to go on a strike that lasted a very long time. The seminary got tired of him and finally expelled him from the school.

Azmi Saab studied from home and acquired a good knowledge of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. He passed several examinations at Lucknow University and Allahabad University in these languages.

Azmi’s stint at the seminary in Lucknow didn’t go unnoticed by leading progressive writers homed in that town. They befriended with him and encouraged him to start writing poetry. This encouragement and his command of several languages made it possible for him to quickly establish himself as a budding and acclaimed poet admired by his peers.

Kaifi Saab wrote his first ghazal when he was only 11 years old. He was invited to participate in a Mushaira where he recited his small verse. That same ghazal became very popular and the great ghazal singer Begum Akhtar made it even more famous by singing it.

The year 1942 saw India mounting pressure on the English rulers by organizing protests , marches, slogans, and other forms of resistance. These agitations rose like hot fever and eventually culminated in the Quit India movement. Azmi Saab abandoned his studies and became part of the movement. He joined the Communist Party in 1943.

He moved to Kanpur and started working for a textile mill. Seeing how the mill was ill-treating its workers, Azmi once again started organizing unions, protests and agitation. By seeing the results Kaifi Saab was getting in Kanpur, the leaders of the Communist Party asked him to shift to Bombay to accomplish similar goals there.

While in Bombay he became a trade union worker and continued the work he started in Kanpur. He also worked closely with two of the Party’s Urdu newspapers, “Quami Jung” and “Mazdoor Mohalla”. He became associated with the Progressive Writers Association (PWA) and Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association (IPTA). For the latter organization, he participated in some of their plays.

With so many activities he was involved in, Azmi Saab still found time to often write and also attended mushairas whenever he could. In 1947, one of his visits brought him to Hyderabad. In the mushaira he met Shaukat Ali, a film and stage actress, who was also equally free spirited as he was. He fell in love with her and later they married. Actress Shabana Azmi is their daughter. The noted cameraman Baba Azmi is their son.

While tirelessly working for the Party and being associated with their related activities, Azmi Saab needed some financial relief to provide for his family. This led him to meet Shaheed Latif of the Bombay film world, who was about to direct a film called “Buzdil (1951)”. Latif Saab offered Azmi an opportunity to write the lyrics for the movie, and thus Azmi’s stint with the Bombay cinema began.

During his distinguished career, Kaifi Azmi was showered with many worthy honors. Some of these include Padma Shree, Sahitya Academy Award, Sahitya Academy Fellowship Award, and a host of others.

He also won Filmfare Awards for Best Story, Best Screenplay, and Best Dialogue for his work in “Garam Hawa (1973)”. He received the National Film Award for Best lyrics for his songs in K.A. Abaas’ “Saat Hindustani (1970)” which introduced Amitabh Bachchan as an actor.

He received several governmental honors. The government of Uttar Pradesh naming the road leading to the town he was born in as “Kaifi Azmi Road” and the highway as “Kaifi Azmi Highway”. The train from Delhi to Azamgarh, near his village, was named by the government of India as “Kaifiyat”.

In addition, the Purvanchal University now has a “Kaifi Azmi Media Centre” in Janpur. There is a Kaifi Azmi
Academy in Lucknow, In Juhu, Mumbai, a park was named as “Kaifi Azmi Park”. There is another park by the same name in Phoolpur. In Hyderabad, where Kaifi Azmi met his wife Shaukat, there are plans to build his statue.

Kaifi Azmi was awarded many honorary doctorates by various universities including Vishwa Bharati University, Puruvanchal University, and Agra University.

Kaifi passed away on May 10, 2002.

"I was born in ghulam Hindustan, am living in an Azad Hindustan and will die in a socialist Hindustan." These were the words Kaifi Azmi spoke in an interview.

Kaifi Azmi. A great poet and leader. An even a better human being.

Kaifi Azmi's filmography follows ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jul 27 2010, 07:28 PM

[swarapriya]

Rivaaj (1971)

Here are the songs from this album...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Aug 14 2011, 02:04 PM

[ShankarJaikishanFan]

Rivaaj (1971)

Here are the songs from this album...

Thanks! Even though this wasn't a hit album there's some really great songs here!

[swarapriya]

Rivaaj (1971)

Here are the songs from this album...

Thanks! Even though this wasn't a hit album there's some really great songs here!

You're very welcome. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

Shaayar-E-Kashmir Mahjoor (1972)

This movie was about Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad, better known as Mahjoor, a great poet from Kashmir. I am uploading most of the songs from this film, all thanks to a great friend and member of this Forum, Erum Rashmi, who is no longer with us. May God bless your soul, Erum. I am still missing a couple of songs sown in the table below in red italics. If you can, please kindly share. Thanks.

Here are the songs from this album...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Aug 22 2011, 04:19 AM

[capricornn]

please share the following songs again:

bahu beti=dil tod bhi diya
sakhi hatim=ye aankhen
kagaz ke phool=hum tum jise kehta hai shadi
apna hath jagannath=ghanshyam ghamshyam (part2)
apna hath jagannath=dhole too aaj apne dil ke
ek ke baad ek=nazar milaaayi to duniya se
saat phere=sata ke mujhko

This post has been edited by capricornn: Aug 27 2011, 05:31 AM

[swarapriya]

please share the following songs again:

bahu beti=dil tod bhi diya
sakhi hatim=ye aankhen
kagaz ke phool=hum tum jise kehta hai shadi
apna hath jagannath=ghanshyam ghamshyam (part2)
apna hath jagannath=dhole too aaj apne dil ke
ek ke baad ek=nazar milaaayi to duniya se
saat phere=sata ke mujhko

Here you go (some of them are due to the courtesy of the Forum members)...

[swarapriya]

Sultana Daku (1972)

In 1956, Azmi Saab wrote lyrics for a song for a film of the same name, "Sultana Daku". Here he is, after 16 years, writing all the lyrics for a movie with the same title. I am uploading these songs, all thanks to the courtesy of the Forum members...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Sep 8 2011, 08:43 PM

[capricornn]

please share the following songs again:

bahu beti=dil tod bhi diya
sakhi hatim=ye aankhen
kagaz ke phool=hum tum jise kehta hai shadi
apna hath jagannath=ghanshyam ghamshyam (part2)
apna hath jagannath=dhole too aaj apne dil ke
ek ke baad ek=nazar milaaayi to duniya se
saat phere=sata ke mujhko

Here you go (some of them are due to the courtesy of the Forum members)...

Thanks, Swarapriya for sharing these gems.

[capricornn]

please share the following songs again:

bahu beti=dil tod bhi diya
sakhi hatim=ye aankhen
kagaz ke phool=hum tum jise kehta hai shadi
apna hath jagannath=ghanshyam ghamshyam (part2)
apna hath jagannath=dhole too aaj apne dil ke
ek ke baad ek=nazar milaaayi to duniya se
saat phere=sata ke mujhko

Here you go (some of them are due to the courtesy of the Forum members)...

Thanks, Swarapriya for sharing these gems.

[swarapriya]

Alam Ara (1973)

"Alam Ara" of 1931 was the first ever Indian Talkie released. It became a sensational hit mainly because it was the first Indian film with sound. Nanubhai Vakil remade it in 1956 and later in 1973. The 1973 version had all the songs written by Kaifi Azmi Saab and they are absolutely great. Rafi Saab and Suman Kalyanpur lent their voices to the superb songs composed by Iqbal Qureshi Saab.

Here are these beautiful songs...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Sep 7 2011, 09:56 AM

[Sangeet]

Alam Ara (1973)

There are 3-4 songs missing I believe.

[capricornn]

Alam Ara (1973)

"Alam Ara" of 1931 was the first ever Indian Talkie released. It became a sensational hit mainly because it was the first Indian film with sound. Nanubhai Vakil remade it in 1956 and later in 1973. The 1973 version had all the songs written by Kaifi Azmi Saab and they are absolutely great. Rafi Saab and Suman Kalyanpur lent their voices to the superb songs composed by Iqbal Qureshi Saab.

Here are these beautiful songs...

Thanks for sharing these songs, Swarapriyaji.
Bigdi Hui Bana De is from old Aalam Aara and not Kaifi..

This post has been edited by capricornn: Sep 6 2011, 02:34 PM

[swarapriya]

Alam Ara (1973)

"Alam Ara" of 1931 was the first ever Indian Talkie released. It became a sensational hit mainly because it was the first Indian film with sound. Nanubhai Vakil remade it in 1956 and later in 1973. The 1973 version had all the songs written by Kaifi Azmi Saab and they are absolutely great. Rafi Saab and Suman Kalyanpur lent their voices to the superb songs composed by Iqbal Qureshi Saab.

Here are these beautiful songs...

Thanks for sharing these songs, Swarapriyaji.
Bigdi Hui Bana De is from old Aalam Aara and not Kaifi..

Thank you very much Capricornn for pointing out the error. I modified the table indicating that this is the case and left the song intact because of the interest. By the way, do you have any other songs from this album that are not shared here? If so, please kindly do so. Thank you very much.

Cheers,
S

[capricornn]

Alam Ara (1973)

"Alam Ara" of 1931 was the first ever Indian Talkie released. It became a sensational hit mainly because it was the first Indian film with sound. Nanubhai Vakil remade it in 1956 and later in 1973. The 1973 version had all the songs written by Kaifi Azmi Saab and they are absolutely great. Rafi Saab and Suman Kalyanpur lent their voices to the superb songs composed by Iqbal Qureshi Saab.

Here are these beautiful songs...

Thanks for sharing these songs, Swarapriyaji.
Bigdi Hui Bana De is from old Aalam Aara and not Kaifi..

Thank you very much Capricornn for pointing out the error. I modified the table indicating that this is the case and left the song intact because of the interest. By the way, do you have any other songs from this album that are not shared here? If so, please kindly do so. Thank you very much.

Cheers,
S

I've one, but its by Hasrat Sahab....uploading it here for the sake of album:

[swarapriya]

I've one, but its by Hasrat Sahab....uploading it here for the sake of album:

Thank you very much for sharing the song, Capricornnji. In the past I uploaded all the songs from an album even though not all lyrics were written by Kaifi Azmi Saab. Same with other threads I have.

Thanks again.

Cheers,
S