Janisar Akhtar's ghazal: Ye zindagi to koi baddua lage hai mujhe...

Janisar Akhtar was the son of poet Muztar Khairabadi. He studied in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and later shifted to Mumbai.

One of the prominent names of progressive writers' movement, he wrote lyrics for Bollywood movies, which gave him even more fame.

Read his ghazal:

हर एक रूह में एक ग़म छुपा लगे है मुझे
ये ज़िंदगी तो कोई बद-दुआ लगे है मुझे

जो आंसुओं से कभी रात भीग जाती है
बोह'त क़रीब वह आवाज़-ए-पा लगे है मुझे

मैं जब भी उसके ख़यालों में खो सा जाता हूं
वह ख़ुद भी बात करे तो बुरा लगे है मुझे

दबा के आई है सीने में कौन सी आहें
कुछ आज रंग तेरा सांवला लगे है मुझे

न जाने वक़्त की रफ़्तार क्या दिखाती है
कभी कभी तो बड़ा ख़ौफ़ सा लगे है मुझे

बिखर गया है कुछ इस तरह आदमी का वुजूद
हर एक फ़र्द कोई सानेहा लगे है मुझे

अब एक आध क़दम का हिसाब क्या रखिए
अभी तलक तो वही फ़ासला लगे है मुझे

हिकायत-ए-ग़म-ए-दिल कुछ कशिश तो रखती है
ज़माना ग़ौर से सुनता हुआ लगे है मुझे

जांनिसार अख़्तर

Read the ghazal in Roman script:

har ek ruuH meN ek gham chhupaa lage hai mujhe
ye zindagi to ko'ii bad-duaa lage hai mujhe

jo aaNsuoN meN kabhii raat bhiig jaatii hai
boh't qariib vo aavaaz-e-paa lage hai mujhe

maiN so bhii jaauuN to kyaa merii band aaNkhoN meN
tamaam raat ko'ii jhaaNktaa lage hai mujhe

maiN jab bhii uske khayaaloN meN kho saa jaataa huuN
vo Khud bhii baat kare to buraa lage hai mujhe

dabaa ke aaii hai siine meN kaun sii aaheN
kuchh aaj rang teraa saaNvlaa lage hai mujhe

na jaane vaqt kii raftaar kyaa dikhaatii hai
kabhii kabhii to baRaa Khauf saa lage hai mujhe

bikhar gayaa hai kuchh is taraH aadmii kaa vujuud
har ek fard ko'ii saaneha lage hai mujhe

ab ek aadh qadam ka hisaab kyaa rakhiye
abhii talak to vahii faaslaa lage hai mujhe

hikaayat-e-gham-e-dil kuchh kashish to rakhtii hai
zamaana Ghaur se suntaa huaa lage hai mujhe

Janisar Akhtar

[Janisar Akhtar's father Muztar Khairabadi had penned the ghazal 'na kisi ki aankh ka noor huN' is often mistakenly attributed to Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Janisar married famous poet Majaz' Lucknavi's sister Safia. Thus Janisar's son Javed Akhtar inherited the legacy of these two families with tradition of Urdu poetry. Later he also married in a family with poetic tradition.

He married Shabana, the daughter of Kaifi Azmi. Jaanisar's son Javed is a lyricist and an Urdu poet of repute. Though films have kept Javed occupied, still some of his ghazals and nazms are remarkable.]