Mahjoor

Mahjoor
Native name مہجور
Born (1887-08-11)11 August 1887
Mitrigam, Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Died 9 April 1952(1952-04-09) (aged 66)
Mitrigam, pulwama
Occupation Regional Administrator, Poet
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity Kashmiri
Citizenship Indian
Notable works Poshe-mati - Janano,[1] Bage Nishat Ke Gulo[1]
Spouse Sayeeda Begum
Children Ameen Ahmad Mahjoor
Relatives Peerzada Abdullah Shah (Father)[1]

Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad (Kashmiri: ग़ुलाम अहमद (Devanagari), غلام احمد (Nastaleeq)); 3 September 1885 − 9 April 1952),[2] better known by the pen name Mahjoor (Kashmiri: महजूर (Devanagari), مہجور (Nastaleeq)), was a renowned poet of the Kashmir Valley, along with contemporaries, Zinda Kaul, Abdul Ahad Azad, Dinanath Nadim.[3][4][5] He is especially noted for introducing a new style into Kashmiri poetry and for expanding Kashmiri poetry into previously unexplored thematic realms.[6] In addition to his poems in Kashmiri, Mahjoor is also noted for his poetic compositions in Persian and Urdu.

Early life

Mahjoor was born in the village of Mitrigam, Pulwama, 38 km from Srinagar and 5 km from Pulwama. Mahjoor got his pen name MAHJOOR when he visited Punjab and starting writing poetry under the influence of great urdu poet, Shibli Namani . Mahjoor followed in the academic footsteps of his father, who was a scholar of Persian language.[7] He received the primary education from the Maktab of Aashiq Trali (a renowned poet) in Tral. After passing the middle school examination from Nusrat-ul-Islam School, Srinagar, he went to Punjab where he came in contact with Urdu poets like Bismil Amritsari and Moulana Shibi Nomani. He returned to Srinagar in 1908 and started writing in Persian and then in Urdu. Determined to write in his native language, Mahjoor used the simple diction of traditional folk storytellers in his writing.

Mahjoor worked as a patwari (regional administrator) in Kashmir. Along with his official duties, he spent his free time writing poetry, and his first Kashmiri poem 'Vanta hay vesy' was published in 1918.

Poetic legacy

Many of the themes of the poetry of Mahjoor involved freedom and progress in Kashmir, and his poems awakened latent nationalism among Kashmiris. His popular verses engaged such topics as love, communal harmony, social reform, and the plight of the Kashmiris. He also wrote on such timeless themes as youth, the flowers of Nishat Garden, peasant girls, gardeners, and the golden oriole. At that time, such songs were unknown in formal Kashmiri poetry.

Mahjoor is also recognized as a poet who revolutionized the traditional forms of nazm and ghazal.[8]

In 1972, a bilingual film named Shayar-e-Kashmir Mahjoor was released with the Hindi version starring Balraj Sahni. A square in Srinagar is named after him.[9] He is buried near the poetess Habba Khatoon at a site near Athwajan on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.[10]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wordsworth of Kashmir". Merinews. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  2. ↑ Some sources give 1888 as his year of birth
  3. ↑ Poetry and renaissance: Kumaran Asan birth centenary volume. Sameeksha. Retrieved 2007-03-25. It is at this stage that the poet Mahjoor swam into the poetical firmament to redeem Kashmiri poetry from this plight. His contribution and that of other major poets of the modern era like Zinda Kaul, Abdul Ahad Azad, Dina Nath Nadim
  4. ↑ Kashmir panorama. Raj Publications. Retrieved 2007-03-25. Famous writers of this era were: Pirzada Ghulam Ahmad 'Mahjoor' (Poet), Abdul Ahad Azad and Master Zinda Koul.
  5. ↑ A History of Indian Literature 1911-1956. Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 2007-03-25. The literary figures who dominated Kashmiri in this period are Zinda Kaul (1884-1965), the universally respected poet of the Bhakti tradition; AA. Azad (1903-68), Dinanath Nadim (1916-88) and of course Mahjoor (1885-1952), who broke the long monotony of mystic poets with a distinctly new personal voice and at the same time created a body of poetry of public protest.
  6. ↑ "Selections from Mahjoor's Kashmiri Poems". Kashmiri Overseas Association U.S.A. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  7. ↑ "Kashmiri Language and Literature". Project ZAAN. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  8. ↑ Koul, Omkar N. (2000). "Kashmiri Language, Linguistics, and Culture" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  9. ↑ "Pantha Chowk is Now Mehjoor Chowk". Kashmir Observer. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  10. ↑ Bhargava, Kavita (3 June 2000). "A grave mistake". Tribune India. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
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