Popular poet who got the pseudonym Utsahi from Jawahar Lal Nehru, India’s first prime Minister. Known for extensively using words of Awadhi language. Famous for his Nazm ‘Ai Meri Jan-e-ghazal….’
Andalib /AMN
FOLLOW US ON TWITTERRenowned Urdu Poet and former rajya sabha MP, Bekal Utsahi passes away today. He was admitted in Ram Manhoar Lohia the hospital on December 1 following brain haemmorhage. He was 88.
He was a congress man close to Indira Gandhi. He received several national awards, including the Padma Shri and Yash Bharti.
Bekal Utsahi was a popular poet who made extensive use of Awadhi language in his shayari. He was born Mohd. Shafi Khan in Balrampur of district Gonda on June 1, 1928. His father’s name was Lodhi Mohammad Jafar Khan. Betal was given the pseudonym Utsahi by Jawahar Lal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. This happened during an election programme of the Congress party in Gonda, in which Bekal Warsi welcomed Pandit Nehru by narrating the poetry “Kisan Bharat Ka”.
Nehru was awestruck and said,”Yeh hamara utsahi shayar hai”. Since that day, he came to be known as Bekal Utsahi in the literary world. His most famous nazm is ‘Ai Meri Jan-e-ghazal….’. Bekal was a member of Rajya Sabha at one point of time. In 1976, he was awarded the Padmashree in the field of literature.
fasl-e-gul kab luTī nahīñ mālūm
kab bahār aa.ī thī nahīñ mālūm
ham bhaTakte rahe andhere meñ
raushnī kab huī nahīñ mālūm
kab vo guzre qarīb se dil ke
niind kab aa ga.ī nahīñ mālūm
dard jab jab uThā huā mahsūs
choT kab kab lagī nahīñ mālūm
bebasī jis kī ziist ho us ko
ziist kī bebasī nahīñ mālūm
naaz sajdoñ pe hai hameñ lekin
nāzish-e-bandagī nahīñ mālūm
apnī hālat pe tere vahshī ko
kyuuñ hañsī aa ga.ī nahīñ mālūm
hosh aayā to mai-kada na rahā
haa.e kis vaqt pī nahīñ mālūm
merī jānib vo dekh kar bole
hai koī ajnabī nahīñ mālūm
daur-e-hāzir kī bazm meñ ‘bekal’
kaun hai aadmī nahīñ mālūm