Mujaddid IOS Centre for Arts & Literature remembers noted Urdu poet, Akhtarul Iman

Mujaddid IOS Centre for Arts & Literature remembers noted Urdu poet, Akhtarul Iman

New Delhi: Prof. Qazi Obaid-ur-Rahman Hashmi, founding member of the Mujaddid IOS Centre for Arts & Literature, presented his paper on the poetry of the famous Urdu poet, Akhtarul Iman at a function, organised by the Centre at the auditorium of the IOS on December 24, 2022.

In his paper, Prof. Hashmi said that Akhtarul Iman was a unique Urdu poet who set new standards of Urdu poetry. His Nazms (A form of descriptive poetry) formed a valuable part of Urdu literature. Instead of sticking to Ghazal (poetry of romantic love) writing which predominated among Urdu poets, he preferred Nazm writing and excelled in it. He was born in a small town, Qila Patthargarh in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh on November 12, 1915. His father, Hafiz Fateh Mohammad, was an Imam in a mosque where he also used to teach Islamic studies in a seminary attached to it. He held that Akhtarul Iman received early education in Bijnor and shifted to Delhi later.

Prof. Hashmi maintained that Akhtarul Iman did his graduation from Anglo-Arabic College in Delhi. Then he went to Aligarh Muslim University for pursuing master’s course. But he had to leave Aligarh without completing his post-graduation to earn a livelihood. He joined All India Radio as a staff artist. But, as the fate would have it, he went to Mumbai in 1945 to try his luck in film industry. He joined Filmistan as a dialogue writer. He was credited to have written dialogues for more than 50 films. Besides dialogues, he wrote verses and stories. In recognition of his contribution to Urdu literature, he was honoured with the prestigious Filmfare Award. Several other awards were also come his way. He passed away in Mumbai on March 9, 1966.

Convenor of the Mujaddid IOS Centre for Arts & Literature, Anjum Naim held that Akhtarul Iman was an eminent Urdu poet of his time. But the Urdu community did not do justice to him. Urdu lovers deprived him of the place he deserved. It was a tragedy that several such Urdu poets remained out of the pale of recognition, he said.

The function was presided over by the prominent public intellectual, Dr. Khwaja Iftekhar Shahid. A number of journalists including Ahmad Javed, Suhel Anjum, Safi Akhtar and Waseem Fahmi, etc. were present on the occasion. The function began with the recitation of a Qur’anic verse by Hafiz Athar Husain Nadwi.

A view of audience