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]

[quote name='taiyab53' date='Feb 17 2011, 11:40 PM' post='687163']
[quote name='swarapriya' date='Feb 18 2011, 01:35 PM' post='687157'] Songs from "Main Suhagan Hoon (1964)" Continued...

Here are a couple of extended version songs from this album...


[/quote

Swarapriya

According to HFGK

there is one more song from MAIN SUHAGAN HOON sung by ashaji & sudha malhotra ji

HUM BHI ANJAAN SE TUM BHI THE ANJAAN SE-LYRICIST----AZIZ KASMIRI

aye dil machal machal ke yun--lata--lyricist----BUTA RAM SHARMA
here is the song

1964-main suhagan hoon-asha & sudha malhotra-lacchiram-hum bhi the anjaan se tum bhi-butaram sharma-3.02 mins-128 br
thanks

taiyab
[/quote]

Thank you very much for the song Taiyab. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

Do Dil (1965)

Here are all the songs from this beautiful album...

[swarapriya]

Faraar (1965)

Here are the songs from this album...

[swarapriya]

Aakhri Khat (1966)

Songs from this album were uploaded in the "Rajesh Khanna" thread in this directory. These are still available at the following location...

http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?show...8328&st=443

[swarapriya]

Anupama (1966)

This beautiful movie was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. He was a master of taking simple subjects and turning them into superb movies. There are several examples of this, like “Anari (1959)”, “Anand (1970)”, “Mili (1975)”, and host of others. This film, “Anupama”, is definitely belongs to such a group.

I will count this as one of Hrishida’s top movies. It is one of my favorites. The only way to describe this movie is to borrow its own title.

Sharmila Tagore, very sweet looking and stunningly beautiful, gave a smashing performance. From a father-fearing innocent woman to romance awakened lover to a rebellious spirited person, the whole gamut of spectrum of transformation was superbly performed by Sharmila.

Dharmendra gave one of his rare subdued performances. Not since Bimal Roy's "Bandini (1963)" that he displayed such a restrained performance. Too bad he did not act in more movies like this one. Instead he ended up as another he-man turned action hero with so many utterly forgettable movies.

Then there is Hemantda's superb music. There are only five songs in this movie. But each one of them sparkles like a gem. He is joined here with great lyrics penned by Kaifi Azmi. I have several favorites in this album, including Asha's lovely "Bheegi Bheegi Faza", Lata's sweet "Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha", and Hemantda's touching solo "Ya Dil Ki Suno".

Here are the details of the songs and the songs themselves...

[swarapriya]

Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966)

Songs from this beautiful album where Kaifi Saab wrote the title song were uploaded in the "Muse & Music" thread recently and are available starting at the following location...

http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?show...140&st=1688

[swarapriya]

Dak Ghar (1966)

Unfortunately I don't have any songs from this film. I am requesting members to come forward and share any songs they may have. Many thanks.

[swarapriya]

Uski Kahani (1966)

I have only one song from this film that I am uploading here. Requesting members to please share the missing songs. Thank you very much.

Here is the song, a beauty by Geetaji...

[Exon]

Uski Kahani (1966)

I have only one song from this film that I am uploading here. Requesting members to please share the missing songs. Thank you very much.

Here is the song, a beauty by Geetaji...

SP,

Here is one more song.

Hemant Kumar:
tera hai jahaan saara apna magar tu nahin hai (6:02 \ 128)


Exon

[swarapriya]

Uski Kahani (1966)

I have only one song from this film that I am uploading here. Requesting members to please share the missing songs. Thank you very much.

Here is the song, a beauty by Geetaji...

SP,

Here is one more song.

Hemant Kumar:
tera hai jahaan saara apna magar tu nahin hai (6:02 \ 128)


Exon

Thank you very much for the song, Exon. Cheers. -S

[smahesh]

Dak Ghar (1966)

Unfortunately I don't have any songs from this film. I am requesting members to come forward and share any songs they may have. Many thanks.

hi swarpriya,
daakghar songs are available on madanmohan's official website.here is the link-


http://www.madanmohan.in/html/tribute/events/daakghar.html


regards,
mahesh

[swarapriya]

Dak Ghar (1966)

Unfortunately I don't have any songs from this film. I am requesting members to come forward and share any songs they may have. Many thanks.

hi swarpriya,
daakghar songs are available on madanmohan's official website.here is the link-


http://www.madanmohan.in/html/tribute/events/daakghar.html


regards,
mahesh

This is great. Thank you very much Mahesh for the pointer. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

Ghar Ka Chiraag (1967)

Songs from this album were recently uploaded in the "Saat Saath" thread in this directory. They are available starting at the following location...

http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?show...4617&st=646

[meena]

Kitni Veeraan Hai Sunsaan Hai Duniya Meri


Film : Shamma
Singer : Mohd.Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur
Music : Ghulam Mohammad
Lyrics : Kaifi Aazmi
Bit Rate : 128 Kbps
Duration : 3.20 mins

[swarapriya]

Kitni Veeraan Hai Sunsaan Hai Duniya Meri


Film : Shamma
Singer : Mohd.Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur
Music : Ghulam Mohammad
Lyrics : Kaifi Aazmi
Bit Rate : 128 Kbps
Duration : 3.20 mins

Thanks for the song, Meena. This and other songs were posted recently in this thread and are available starting at the following location...

http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?show...89044&st=94