Jan Nisar Akhtar (1914 – 1976), father of poet Javed Akhtar, was a part of the Progressive Writers Movement and a famous lyricist for several Bollywood movies. He was the son of poet Muztar Khairabadi and great-grandson of freedom fighter Fazle-Haq Khairabadi. From his early days, he was sympathetic to progressive thinking. Although he wrote both ghazals and poems, we find the soul of his poetry in his ghazals. His poetry collection Khaake Dil (Ashes of the Heart) got him the Sahitya Akademi Award. Prime Minister Nehru asked him to collect the Hindustani poetry of the last three hundred years. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi later released the two-volume work called Hindustan Hamara. He married Safia Akhtar, the sister of poet Majaz and mother of Javed Akhtar in 1943, whom he left behind while trying his luck in the Bombay film industry. Unfortunately, she died of tuberculosis. Javed Akhter left the house when his father married another woman.
To read more about Urdu ghazal poetry, please refer to:
Gopi Chand Narang, Translation by Surinder Deol. The Urdu Ghazal: A Gift of India’s Composite Culture. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2020.
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