Tributes to Shakeel Badayuni, the great poet-lyricist on his 109th
Birth anniversary (August 3)
‘’Main Shakeel Dil Ka Hoon Tarjuman
Keh Mohabbaton Ka Hoon Raazdaan
Mujhe Fakhr Hai Meri Shayari
Meri Zindagi Se Juda Nahin”
‘’mere ham-nafas mere ham-navā mujhe dost ban ke daġhā na de
maiñ huuñ dard-e-ishq se jāñ-ba-lab mujhe zindagī kī duā na de’’;
‘’Ai mohabbat tere a.njaam pe ronaa aayaa
jaane kyuu.N aaj tere naam pe ronaa aayaa
yuu.N to har shaam umiido.n me.n guzar jaatii thii
aaj kuchh baat hai jo shaam pe ronaa aayaa
kabhii taqadiir kaa maatam kabhii duniyaa kaa gilaa
ma.nzil-e-ishq me.n har gaam pe ronaa aayaa
jab hu_aa zikr zamaane me.n mohabbat kaa ‘shakiil’
mujhako apane dil-e-naakaam pe ronaa aayaa’’;
‘’Bana bana ke tamanna mita-ee jati hai
Terah terah se wafa aazma-ee jati hai
Jub unko meri mohabbat ka aitbar nahi
To jhuka jhuka ke nazar kyon mila-e jati hai’’;
‘’Gham-e-aashiqii se kah do raah-e-aam tak na pahu.Nche
mujhe Khauf hai ye tohamat mere naam tak na pahu.Nche
mai.n nazar se pee rahaa thaa to ye dil ne bad-duaa dii
teraa haath zindagii bhar kabhii jaam tak na pahu.Nche’’!
Shakeel Badayuni was an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter in Hindi films.
He can be easily ranked among the top five lyricists of Hindi cinema along with Sahir, Shailendra, Majrooh and Hasrat.
Shakeel Badayuni was born in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Mohammed Jamaal Ahmed Sokhta Qadiri, wanted him to have a good career, thus he arranged Arabic, Urdu, Persian, and Hindi tuition for Shakeel at home. When he joined Aligarh Muslim University in 1936, he started participating in inter-college, inter-university mushairas and won frequently. In 1940, he married Salma, who was his distant relative and had been living in a common house with him since childhood, however, the purdah system was vogue in their family and they were not close.
After completing his B.A, he moved to Delhi as a supply officer, but continued participating in mushairas, earning fame nationwide. Those were the days of shayars who wrote about the downtrodden sections of society, their upliftment, the betterment of society and all. But Shakeel had an altogether different taste – his poetry was romantic and close to the heart.
During his Aligarh days, Badauni also started learning Urdu poetry formally from Hakim Abdul Waheed ‘Ashk’ Bijnori.
Shakeel moved to Bombay in 1944, to write songs for films. He met film producer, A.R. Kardar and music composer, Naushad Ali, who asked him to sum up his poetic skills in one line. Shakeel wrote, Hum Dard Ka Afsana Duniya Ko Suna Denge, Har Dil Main Mohabbat Ki Ek Aag Laga Dengey. Naushad immediately retained him for Kardar’s film, Dard (1947). The songs of Dard proved to be very successful, especially Uma Devi (Tun Tun)’s Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon. Only a few are so lucky that they attain success in their first film, but Shakeel deserved success which started with Dard and continued on over the years.
Together, he and Naushad became one of the most sought-after composer/lyricist duos in the industry.
Among the scores they churned out together, are those of Deedar (1951), Baiju Bawra (1952), Mother India (1957), and Mughal-e-Azam (1960), that stand out. Other films they scored together include Dulari (1949), Shabab (1954), Ganga Jamuna (1961), and Mere Mehboob (1963).
Although Shakeel Badayuni worked most extensively with Naushad, he also collaborated with Ravi and Hemant Kumar as well. His lyrics for the song Husnwale Tera Jawab Nahin and Ravi’s music score both won Filmfare Awards for the hit film Gharana. His other notable film with Ravi is Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), while Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) is his biggest hit with Hemant Kumar. The title song from Chaudhvin Ka Chand, rendered by Mohammed Rafi, won Badayuni the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist in 1961.
Shakeel penned numbers for around 89 films.
In addition, he wrote many popular ghazals sung by Begum Akhtar, and which are still sung by vocalists like Pankaj Udhas and others.
The Indian government had honoured him with the title Geet Kar-e-Azam.
Shakeel Badayuni succumbed to diabetes complications at the age of fifty-three, on 20 April 1970, at Bombay Hospital leaving behind his wife, two sons and two daughters. One daughter, Najma, died soon afterwards, while still a college student. His elder son Javed works in the travel and tourism industry. His other son’s name is Tariq. Shakeel’s friends Ahmed Zakaria and Rangoonwala formed a trust called Yaad-e-Shakeel after his death and this trust became the source of some income to his bereaved family.
A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released by India Post to honour him on 3 May 2013.
Some of his super hit songs are:
1.Chaudhavin ka chaand ho ya aftab ho (Chaudhvin Ka Chaand)
2. Na jao sayyiyan chhuda ke bayyiyan (Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulaam)
3. Hamein Kaash tum se mohabbat na hoti (Mughal-E-Azam)
4.Aaj ki raat merey dil ki salami le ley (Ram Aur Shyam)
5. Aaj merey man mein sakhi bansuri bajaye (Aan)
6. Aaj purani rahon se koi mujhe awaz na de (Aadmi)
7. Koi saghar Dil ko bahlata nahin (Dil Diya Dard Liya)
8. Beqarar kar ke hamain you na jayiye (Bees Saal Baad)
9. Husn wale tera jawab nahi (Gharana)
10. Maan mera ehsaan arey nadaan (Aan)
11. Mere mehboob mujhe Teri mohabbat ki qasam (Mere Mehboob)
12. Dhundo dhundo re sajana morey kaan ka bala (Ganga Jamna)
13.Bachpan ke din bhula ne dena aaj hanse kal rula na dena (Udan Khatola )
14.O door ke musafir hamko bhi sath le ley (Udan Khatola)
15 Yaad mein teri jaag ke ham raat bhar karvaten badaltey hain (Mere Mehboob)
16.Tu Ganga ki mauj main Jamuna ka dhara (Baiju Bawra)
17.Suhani raat dhal chuki na jane tum kab aao ge (Dulaari)
18.O duniya key rakhwale sun dard bhare mere nale/ Man tadpat Hari Darshan Ko
(Baiju Bawra)
19.Nain lad jai hai to manwa ma kasak hoi way kari (Ganga Jamna)
20. Ye zindagi key mele duniya mein kam na honge (Mela)
And many many more…
Hasnain Naqvi is a former member of the history faculty at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
