Arif Mahmood (Urdu writer)

Arif Mahmood (Urdu:عارف محمود, Hindi:आरिफ महमूद)
Arif Mahmood at the book release of Mein bhi hazir tha wahan (Urdu: ﻣﯿﮟ ﺑﮭﯽ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﺗﮭﺎ وﮨﺎں).
Born	4 June 1936 Rudauli, Barabanki District, United Province, British India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Urdu Writer, Vice-President in public limited company
Known for	Mein bhi hazir tha wahan (Urdu: ﻣﯿﮟ ﺑﮭﯽ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﺗﮭﺎ وﮨﺎں).
Spouse(s)	Anjum Arif (Late)

Arif Mahmood (centre) stood with Irshad Mirza (left), and Professor F Kareem (right).

Arif Mahmood (Urdu:عارف محمود, Hindi:आरिफ महमूद), born on 4 June 1936 in Rudauli, Barabanki District, Uttar Pradesh, is an Indian Urdu language author and poet based in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, most notable for his book Mein bhi hazir tha wahan (Urdu: ﻣﯿﮟ ﺑﮭﯽ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﺗﮭﺎ وﮨﺎں).

Early life

Mahmood was born in Rudauli, Barabanki District, Uttar Pradesh, (then United Province, British India) to Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Tahira Khatoon. Following the Partition of India in 1947, Mahmood's family decided to remain in India. At an early age, Mahmood developed an interest in contemporary poetry, and was inspired by many notable poets of the era, particularly in the Urdu genres. He then moved to Kanpur due to its more central location. He also briefly lived in Noida, close to the capital New Delhi, but returned to Kanpur soon after. Living in Uttar Pradesh, where Urdu is considered to be an official language, influenced his interest in the language and he became fluent early on in life. He graduated from Agra University, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Arif Mahmood talking to the press at his Hindi book release.

Career

After graduating from the Agra University, Mahmood worked in a private limited company for approximately 30 years as Accounts and Factory Manager. Following this, he joined a public limited company in 1991 as General Manager. From 1994 to 1995, he served as Nominated Director. After his retirement, Mahmood serves as the vice president in this company. His hobbies and interests include Urdu literature, prose and poetry. He has also been an active member of the 'Progressive Writers' Association' since 1960, and during the early 1980s, he was nominated general secretary of Progressive Writers' Association. He is a freelance journalist and fiction writer, and has published several short stories such as satires on controversial topics and political comments and articles in local Urdu weekly and daily newspapers. He became most notable after the recent release of his Urdu book named Mein bhi hazir tha wahan (Urdu: ﻣﯿﮟ ﺑﮭﯽ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﺗﮭﺎ وﮨﺎں), published in 2013. The Hindi version of this book has now also been published. He is also a member of the Urdu Press Club. In addition, he is also a prominent social worker within the community, having been part of an initiative to provide 60 local school children with sweaters for the winter.

The front cover of 'Mein bhi hazir tha wahan', by Arif Mahmood.

Dedication to Arif Mahmood's work by Professor Sharib Rudaulvi

Poetry

Some examples of his work in poetry include:

    Sirf apni hee fikr mein rahna meri fitrat mera usool  
    Nahin...
    Jo ho tanha mere liye arif, mujhko aisee khushi    
    Qubool nahin...

    Allah-Allah woh aariz-e-rangeenn ek shagufta gulab  
    Ho jaise...
    Nargis-e-neembaz ka aalam kaif-aawar sharab ho 
    Jaise...

    Maujon ki adaon ka talatum jaise...
    Jangal ki hawao ka tarannum jaise...
    Masoom hae kis darja khayalat ki rao
    Deehat ki larki ka tabassum jaise...

Ghazal
Sukhe samandaron ka talabgar mein hi tha
Pyason mein aek sahib-e-kirdar mein hi tha

Woh dhoop thi ki saye thay meri talash mein
Sahra mein ek khima-e-ashjaar mein hi tha

Har nakhl sirbureeda tha, har gul jala huwa
Mein zakhm see raha tha ki, hushiyar mein hi tha

Mere badan pey likhe the haalat shahar kay
Sab mujhko padh rahay they ki akhbar mein hi tha

Manzar tamam meray lahoo sey lahoo lahoo
Manzar sey hat ke barsaray paikar mein hi tha

Mein hi pada tha bikhra huwa har taraf magar
Ilzam yeh laga hai ki talwar mein hi tha

Family

Arif Mahmood, stood with his daughter and granddaughter at an event; three generations in one photograph.

Arif Mahmood has five children and nine grandchildren, Asif Mahmood (son), Afshan Mahmood (daughter), Ayaz Mahmood (son), Atiyaa Ahmed (daughter), Ashraf Mahmood (son), Aiman Mahmood (granddaughter), Ahmed Suboor (grandson), Ahmad Shuja (grandson), Ashar Mahmood (grandson), Arifa Mahmood (granddaughter), Faraaz Ahmed (grandson), Waqar Ahmed (grandson), Aquib Mahmood (grandson), Anjuman Mahmood (granddaughter).

Arif Mahmood being congratulated by Saras Bajpayi, president of Kanpur Press Club following the success of his book.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.