Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984)
does not need an introduction. Urdu speaking masses knows him very well. He is
remembered for his courage, ethics, and Urdu poetry. The truth is that the
masses can never value people like him enough. However, the name of Faiz Ahmed
Faiz is immortal in the annals of history now due to his contributions to the
Urdu language and the society in general .
Faiz Ahmed Faiz remains a towering figure in Urdu poetry and Pakistan's cultural
and political history. As one observer notes: "poetry and politics preoccupied
Faiz more than anything else. For writing poetry that always antagonizes the
ruling elite and challenges colonial and feudal values, like such rebellious
writers as Ngugi of Kenya and Darwish of Palestine, Faiz had to go to jail
repeatedly during both colonial and postcolonial times in Pakistan.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz spent a lot of time in prison too in different eras of different
rulers. In total, Faiz Ahmed Faiz spent 9 years in prison. In the times of
prison, Faiz produced some excellent poetry. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was a great man.
People like him are born in centuries . He will be always remembered for
standing up against tyrant rulers, and for his contributions to the Urdu
language.
Dr. Taqi Abedi in his book “Faiz fahmi” has brought forward Faiz as a man, but
we have hardly studied his poetry, his personality and poetry are both equally
important to know. But his poetry is so layered that we can attain a PhD degree
in his Poems ”. Although some writers have said that he almost never used
Persian words, this is wrong. Faiz probably used the most Persian words, but
despite this, his allegories and his imagery was far easier to understand than
was “Allama Iqbal's". He pointed out '’Javednama'’ by Iqbal, where the poetry
style is highly complex. "Faiz also wrote some splendid verses for the Iranians
in Persian but they know nothing of it, until the author of "Faiz Fahmi"
introduced these in Tehran some time back. We should bring forth our heroes so
that others also know of them and their magnificence."
In a lecture on his book "Faiz Fahmi" launch ceremony held at the Alhamra Arts
Council , organised in 2011 by Lahore Arts Council , Dr. Taqi Abedi said that
today about 1,800 books have been written on Faiz, but if he was a Persian, some
4,000 books would have been written. It was unfortunate that we ourselves never
studied and learnt about our own writers. Recently his new book "Faiz Shanasi –
(knowing Faiz)" has been published.
Inspired by the Marxist ideology, Faiz's poetry exhibits a strong sense of
commitment to lower-class people, yet it
always maintains a unique beauty nourished by the long, rich tradition of Urdu
literature. Nearly all of his great romantic and revolutionary poems have been
sung by legendary singers like Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hassan and Iqbal Bano through
which he lives in the hearts and minds of all. Critics of literature place him
next to Ghalib and Iqbal.
Notable Works:
Naqsh-e-Faryadi (1943)
Dast-e-Saba (1952)
Zindan-Nama (1956)
Dast-e-Tah-e-Sung (1965)
Mere Dil Mere Musafir
Sar-e-Wadi-e-Sina
Awards & Recognitions:
MBE (1946)
Nigar Awards (1953
Lenin Peace Prize (1963)
HRC Peace Prize
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1990)
Avicenna Prize (2006)