famous poet Saghar Siddiqui

Saghar Siddiqui (1928-1974) was an Urdu famous poet from Pakistan.  In spite of his ruined and homeless alone life, he remained famous and successful till his death among the masses. Saghar is also known as a saintand when he died, he left nothing but a pet, his dog, who also died on the same foot path where Saghar died a few days earlier.

Biography

Saghar was born in 1928 in Ambala as Muhammad Akhtar. History has no record of Saghar’s personal life and very less is known as he never spoke to anyone in this regard.

Saghar started poetry at very young age. At age 16, he would regularly attend mushairas.At aged 19, he migrated toPakistan in 1947 and settled in Lahore. At the time of partition, he was only 19 years old. In those days with his slim appearance, wearing pants and boski (yellow silky cloth) shirts, with curly hair, and reciting beautiful ghazals in a melodious voice, he became a huge success. He had some tragic turns in his life. He continued to write poetry for the film industry and moved on to publish a literary magazine. The magazine was acritical success but a commercial flop. Disappointed, Saghar shut down the magazine. In his later life, he fell into depression, financially ruined and addicted to drugs.

Sometimes he would have to sell his poetry to other poets for a few rupees. He would use the waste paper spread around to light fires to stay warm during winter nights.

Death

On 19 July 1974, he was found dead on a roadside in Lahore at the age of 46. His dead body was found one early morning outside one of the shops. He was buried at the Miani Sahib graveyard. His dog also died there after a few days of Saghar’s death. Despite his shattered life, some of his verses (ash’aar) are among the best in Urdu poetry. It is unbelievable that he kept his inner self so pure and so transcending. He will always be shining like a star in Urdu poetry.

حادثے  کیا  کیا  تمہاری  بے  رخی  سے  ہوگیۓ

ساری  دنیا  کے  لیۓ  ہم  اجنبی  سے  ہوگیۓ

کچھ  تمہرے  گیسوؤں  کی  برہمی  سے  ہوگیۓ

کچھ  اندھیرے  میرے  گھر  میں  روشنی  سے  ہوگیۓ

بندہ پرور  کھل  گیا  ہے  آستانوں  کا  بھرم

آشنا  کچھ  لوگ  راز  بندگی  سے  ہوگیۓ

گردش دوراں  زمانے  کی  نظر  آنکھوں  کی  نیند

کتنے  دشمن  ایک  رسم  دوستی  سے  ہوگیۓ

زندگی  آگاہ  تھی  صیاد  کی  تدبیر  سے

ہم  اسیر  دام  گل  اپنی  خوشی  سے  ہوگیۓ

اب  کہاں  اے  دوست  چشم  منتظر  کی  آبرو

اب  تو  ان  کے  عہد و پیماں  ہر  کسی  سے  ہوگیۓ