Sahir Ludhianvi

March 8, 2013

A commemorative postage stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi (Abdul Hayee), an Indian poet and film lyricist from Bollywood :

Issued by India

Issued on Mar 8, 2013

Issued for : Department of Posts is happy to release a Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC/Cancellation : Nenu Gupta

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 0.31 Million

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Abdul Hayee

Born on Mar 8, 1921 at Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Died on Oct 25, 1980 at Mumbai, India

About :

Sahir Ludhianvi was the pen name of Abdul Hayee. He was born on 8^th March, 1921 at Ludhiana. Sahir had his early education at Khalsa High School, Ludhiana and later joined the Government College, Ludhiana. While at college, Sahir started to write ‘nazams‘ and ‘ghazals‘ and became immensely popular at a very young age. His most well known and seminal work, ‘Talkhiyan‘, published from Lahore in 1944 brought him instant recognition. Later, he edited Urdu magazines like ‘Preet Lari‘ and ‘Shahrah‘.
Sahir‘s poems conveyed rare sensitivity coupled with maturity. His portrayal of emotional dilemmas faced by the poor and the anguished often led people to identify him with the leftists. He was a crusader against society’s false and hollow values and developed a style, the hallmark of which was heightened realism. Sahir‘s poems addressed the fundamental problems of life.
Sahir could not resist the magnetic pull of the film world and shifted to the then Bombay in 1949 to write lyrics for films. One of his first film songs in the 1950 film ‘Naujawan‘; “Thandi Hawayen Lehra Ke Aaye“, sung by Lata Manageshkar, an upcoming singer those days, retains its popularity even today. With the success of his songs in the 1951 film ‘Baazi‘, he became a household name. It was, however, left to Guru Dutt, to fully exploit and portray the range and potential of Sahir in “Pyasaa“, in 1957. The famous song from the film ‘Naya Daur’, “Yeh Desh hai veer Jawano ka….“ continues to evoke patriotic fervour even today. Sahir‘s contribution to the world of literature and arts has been well recognized. He was awarded the Filmfare awards for his lyrics in “Taj Mahal“ in 1964 and “Kabhie Kabhie“ in 1977. He was also conferred Padmashri.
One of Sahir‘s last compositions, “Main pal do pal ka shayar hun …. Masruf zamana mere liye kyon waqt apna barbad kare“ from the film ‘Kabhie Kabhie‘ pretty much summed up his approach to life. Identified as a people’s poet, his down to earth approach and his use of common man’s perspective in the fine arts of ‘ghazal’ and ‘nazm’, remains irreplaceable.
Sahir Ludhianvi passed away on 25^thOctober, 1980 at the age of fifty nine.
Text : Provided by the proponent, Dr. K.K. Paul.