Faiz Sahib ki Yaad Main

[Joseph K.]

Read by Zia Mohi ud Din, a selection of Faiz Ahamad Faiz's nazams. Absolutely beautiful. Zia Mohi ud Din is one of the most sophisticated people I have ever seen. The clarity of his voice, his taste in literature (specially Noon Meem Rashid) he must be one of the last very sophisticated and artistic Pakistanis alive. Listen and enjoy (Real Player required):

Zia Mohi ud Din reading selection from Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poetry

 

[robosapien]

zia is a legend and so is faiz. although a poet friend of mine rate tallat hussain hussain higher than zia. i wonder if there will be any more ppl like these in future.

by the way, what a name for a city, ashk-a-baad!

 

[Joseph K.]

Tallat Hussain is an excellent actor but as a reader, no one can come even close to Zia Mohi ud Din. The clarity of voice is absolutely amazing. If you ever hear him reciting Noon Meem Rashid's nazam's you will be amazed. I rate Rashid as the greatest Urdu poet, even greater than Faiz and only Zia can do justice to Rashid's poetry.

 

[robosapien]

Tallat Hussain is an excellent actor but as a reader, no one can come even close to Zia Mohi ud Din. The clarity of voice is absolutely amazing. If you ever hear him reciting Noon Meem Rashid's nazam's you will be amazed. I rate Rashid as the greatest Urdu poet, even greater than Faiz and only Zia can do justice to Rashid's poetry.

to be honest, i never listened tallat's literary readings. although i had seen him reading "qissa chahar dervesh" on tv and it was amazing. he's a better actor than zia, in my opinion and has background of radio so anything he utters, sounds like drama and thats his quality. but this is a personal opinion.
zia has a very profound taste of literature and as u mentioned rashid, "hassan koozagar" and "andha bekhari" are immortal and zia has cast a spell there.

a collector's item!

as far as the best poet thing is concerned, rashid definitely is the best in "azad nazm". he was the one who gave new dimensions to this art. although, i consider majeed amjad as one of the best.

 

[MIG]

I met Talat once when he was a cashier at Wimpies !!

As for Zia, he is a legend - his readings of poetry are a thing of legends and he is a good family friend as well.

 

[robosapien]

I met Talat once when he was a cashier at Wimpies !!

As for Zia, he is a legend - his readings of poetry are a thing of legends and he is a good family friend as well.

so what does zia do these days? no more shows?

 

[MIG]

No idea - my aunt is a friend of his - will check with her.

 

[Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar]

Zia Mohiuddin sahib runs NAPA with Arshad Mehmood (the legendary composer and fine actor) these days. he probably has other engagements too. but I do know that he was responsible for setting up and running NAPA in Karachi along with Arshad Mehmood.

 

[robosapien]

what is napa? some independant production company?
a person of his calibre should be running ptv.

 

[Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar]

National Academy of Performing Arts. google it and check out the website.

they have some pretty cool people involved. Amir Zaki is teaching music there. Marina and Talat Hussein been involved with the drama side of things. of course, Arshad Mehmood and Zia as well as I mentioned.

 

[Joseph K.]

I sort of grew up with Zia Mohi ud Din's voice reading Rashid. One of my earliest memories is of Rashid smoking that massive pipe on Zia Mohi ud Din Show and Zia reading 'zindagi say dartay ho'. My dad, a traditionalist, hates Rashid, my late brother thought that that Rashid was insane but I have been reading Rashid regularly for last 15 years (since my Lahore years) and I love reciting Hassan Koozagar. I am a student of English Literature but Zia Mohi ud Din brought me back to Urdu Literature, my very first love and something that I grew up with.

I remember that performance of Tallat Hussain where he was the central character (the narrator) in Kissa i Chahar Dervaish. Absolutely glorious acting. My next mission is to re-collect all the Zia Mohi ud Din CDs (I once had all of them but they are left somewhere thousands of miles away!) When I left Pakistan, I had only one Urdu book with me and it is Kulliyat i Rashid (The Complete Works of Rashid) and I studied literature here as well. The more I read, the more I become convinced of Rashid's great stature as a major poet not only in Urdu but in any language.

 

[Joseph K.]

Some more readings by Zia Mohi ud Din:

Link

 

[12thMan]

long time ago there was also a recording made of Nayarra Noor singing some of his poems (very little music) and there was some one narrating here and there. it was great

 

[insaan]

Want to know how is Faiz Ahmed Faiz seen among Pakistanis. Is he the second most popular poet after Allama Iqbal?

I am impressed by his poems, my favourite being 'Hum dekheingay'.

Hum dekhenge
Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge
Wo din ke jis ka wada hai
Jo lauh-e-azl mein likha hai

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garan
Rooi ki tarah ur jaenge
Hum mehkoomon ke paaon tale
Ye dharti dhar dhar dharkegi
Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar oopar
Jab bijli kar kar karkegi

Jab arz-e-Khuda ke kaabe se
Sab but uthwae jaenge
Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-harm
Masnad pe bethae jaenge
Sab taaj uchale jaenge
Sab takht girae jaenge

Bas naam rahega Allah ka
Jo ghayab bhi hai hazir bhi
Jo manzar bhi hai nazir bhi
Utthega an-al-haq ka nara
Jo mai bhi hoon tum bhi ho
Aur raaj karegi Khalq-e-Khuda
Jo mai bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho

 

[WebGuru]

IIT Kanpur panel to decide if Faiz poem is anti-Hindu

The IIT Kanpur has set up a panel to decide whether the poem ‘Hum dekhenge lazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge’, penned by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, is anti-Hindu.

The panel has been set up in response to a complaint filed by a faculty member who claimed that the students, during a protest, sang the poem, which is anti-Hindu.

The panel will also probe whether the students violated prohibitory orders clamped in the city on the day of the march, whether they posted objectionable content on the social media and whether the Faiz poem is anti-Hindu.

The poem reads—‘Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge. Jab arz-e-Khuda ke kaabe se. Sab but uthwaye jayenge, Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-harm. Masnad pe bithaye jayenge. Sab taaj uchale jaenge. Sab takht giraye jayenge. Bas naam rahega Allah ka. Hum dekhenge.’

It was the last line that has turned into a bone of contention. Translated into English, it means, ‘When thrones will vanish, only Allah’s name will remain’--implying the translation by the professor.

The poem had been written by Faiz in reference to military dictator Zia-ul-Haq in 1979 and was against the military rule in Pakistan.

The IIT-Kanpur students had taken out a peaceful march on the campus on December 17 in support of the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and during the march the students sang the Faiz poem.

According to IIT deputy director Manindra Agarwal: “In the video, the students are seen reciting the Faiz poem which can also be perceived as being anti-Hindu.”

The IIT faculty member, in his complaint, has alleged that the students made anti-India and communal statements during their demonstration in solidarity with the Jamia students.

The complaint was based on two lines of the poem, which have obviously been misinterpreted—“When all idols will be removed, only Allah’s name will remain.”

The faculty member has stated that “organisers and masterminds must be identified and expelled immediately”.

Fifteen other students have also signed the complaint filed by the professor against the protesting students.

Meanwhile, IIT students have said that the faculty member who lodged the complaint has been banned on a social networking site for posting communal content.

In an article published on the IIT-Kanpur student media portal, the students clarified what exactly happened on the day of protest and how their chant was given a “communal and misleading” turn. They stated that they had recited a few lines of the Faiz poem in reference to the police crackdown on the Jamia students. IANS


Source: https://m.tribuneindia.com/news/iit-kanpur-panel-to-decide-if-faiz-poem-is-anti-hindu-20077

 

[Nostalgic]

The poem uses the Islamic eschatological imagery of the Day of Judgement throughout, not just the last stanza. After all, what is Revolution if not a Judgement Day right here on Earth. Faiz, communism notwithstanding, was in many ways the quintessential urban Muslim of the northern subcontinent.

Someone quipped the other day that these Indian protestors have co-opted Kashmiri independence slogans and Pakistani protest poetry. Make what you will of that.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

The poem uses the Islamic eschatological imagery of the Day of Judgement throughout, not just the last stanza. After all, what is Revolution if not a Judgement Day right here on Earth. Faiz, communism notwithstanding, was in many ways the quintessential urban Muslim of the northern subcontinent.

Someone quipped the other day that these Indian protestors have co-opted Kashmiri independence slogans and Pakistani protest poetry. Make what you will of that.

There's irony and then there's this.

Faiz reminds me of the uni days when I first got introduced to him and then ended up using "Nuskha haaye wafa" as a pillow. Also, reading Faiz made me realize how terribly my own poetry was and the wise choice of letting it go was made.

Faiz was and is a genius - people can color him all they want but he continues to inspire and impress.

 

[Nostalgic]

There's irony and then there's this.

Faiz reminds me of the uni days when I first got introduced to him and then ended up using "Nuskha haaye wafa" as a pillow. Also, reading Faiz made me realize how terribly my own poetry was and the wise choice of letting it go was made.

Faiz was and is a genius - people can color him all they want but he continues to inspire and impress.

We really must read your poetry, irrespective of you giving it up.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

We really must read your poetry, irrespective of you giving it up.

Kind of sure that if I paste it here, it'd be deleted.

Sometimes ago, I spent a lot of time listening to Faiz in the voice of Zia Mohiyuddin, that stuff is almost therapeutic. I'm sure you do that too but if you don't just do it for a few hours at work and have a really surreal experience.

 

[Nostalgic]

Kind of sure that if I paste it here, it'd be deleted.

Sometimes ago, I spent a lot of time listening to Faiz in the voice of Zia Mohiyuddin, that stuff is almost therapeutic. I'm sure you do that too but if you don't just do it for a few hours at work and have a really surreal experience.

Ah, so it was poetry of the ribald variety? Excellent.

Its been a while since I heard Zia Mohyeddin read, but I've heard most of his spoken work. I remember being 15 years old and being dragged to an evening out with my parents where both Zia Mohyeddin and Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi were to read. It was an awkward evening, because I wasn't yet inclined towards literature and because Yousufi read one of his more risque works, and that made many of the parents who had brought their children along very uncomfortable.