LAHORE: Sahir Ludhianvi never compromised on his ideology despite the Indian cinema compromising with him.

This was stated by journalist Raza Rumi in a conference held in connection with the birth centenary celebrations of the famous Urdu poet and lyricist organised by the Progressive Writers Association (PWA) at the Research and Publication Centre in Lahore on Saturday.

The conference was hosted by Javed Aftab, the central secretary of the PWA.

Rumi said though Sahir wrote for films but all his songs assumed high standards of poetry and his political consciousness was apparent in his songs.

“Sahir’s film songs are neither political slogans nor parts of a speech from some rally, they are eternal part of the cinema and social consciousness of millions of fans associated with it,” he added,

Writer and publisher Rauf Malik, who, at 94, is the oldest contemporary of Sahir now alive, shared his memories of meeting Sahir in Lahore as well as their mutual friends, Hameed Akhtar, Ahmad Rahi and Saadat Hasan Manto.

He said fear of the CID, which eventually forced Sahir to leave Lahore, was exaggerated and there were poets who were much more important in the CID’s eyes than Sahir.

He added that Sahir’s like-minded comrades also played a role in his departure from Lahore.

Renowned dancer and choreographer Zareen Panna reminisced about her meetings with Sahir. She said she first met Sahir at the Moscow Film Festival in 1978 in the company of Shashi Kapoor and Gulzar where he seemed aloof and didn’t talk much. However, when she met him in Bombay they became friends because she knew well one of his closest friends, Hameed Akhtar. She said whenever she visited Bombay (Mumbai) she would meet Sahir and he would ask her about Lahore and its sites like Anarkali, Nisbet Road, etc.

Writer Neelum Ahmad Bashir said Sahir was a creative person and love was intrinsic to creativity. If Sahir did not marry, it did not matter as love and marriage were opposite things, she added.

Raza Naeem, a translator and the president of the PWA in Lahore, talked about Sahir and his days in Lahore from 1943 to 1949. Naeem, who is about to complete a book on Sahir’s life in Lahore, said Lahore had a crucial role in his making. His maiden poetry collectionTalkhiyanwas published in Lahore and he met Amrita Pritam here. Naeem recited two poems which were set in Lahore, ‘Nur Jahan ke Mazaar Par’ and ‘Awaz-i-Adam’.

Poet Farhat Parveen, Tariq Shahzad, Ishtiaq Chaudhry advocate, film director Parvez Kaleem, Amar Laal and Comrade Tanvir Ahmed Khan also spoke. A musical programme as well as a dance performance based on Sahir’s poetry were held. The conference concluded with a mushaira and a cake-cutting ceremony.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2021