Nasir Raza Kazmi ( ur, was an

Urdu poet Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghali ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Kazmi was born on 8 December 1925 at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

, Punjab, (British India). Kazmi used simple words in his poetry, including "Chand", "Raat", "Baarish", "Mausam", "Yaad", "Tanhai", "Darya" and gave them life by his style of poetry. He was known for using ''chhotee beher'' or short verses in his poetry. His poetry continues to be used on

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

( PTV) TV shows as well as in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Early life and career

Kazmi emigrated from Ambala, India to

Lahore, Pakistan Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in August 1947. In Lahore, he worked as the editor of the literary magazines ''Auraq Nau'' and ''Khayal''. He also worked as a staff editor for

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...

, Lahore. He was frequently thought of as a melancholic poet, though most of his poetry is based on romantic happiness and hope.Biography of Nasir Kazmi on poemhunter.com website
Retrieved 21 January 2021 Nasir Kazmi was influenced by the romantic poetry of

Akhtar Sheerani Akhtar Shirani (born Muhammad Dawood Khan; 4 May 1905 – 9 September 1948; also spelled Sheerani or Sherani), was an Urdu poet. He is considered to be one of the leading romantic poets of Urdu language. Early life and career Akhtar Shairani ...

and also took guidance in his poetry from the poet Hafeez Hoshiarpuri. He also had great admiration for the poetry of

Mir Taqi Mir Mir Muhammad Taqi (February 1723 – 20 September 1810), known as Mir Taqi Mir (also spelled Meer Taqi Meer), was an Urdu poet of the 18th century Mughal era in the Subcontinent and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language it ...

. Some of his collection of poems were published as books, including ''Berg-i-Nai'' (1952), ''Deewaan'' (1972), ''Pehli Baarish'' (1975), ''Hijr Ki Raat Ka Sitara'' and ''Nishat-i-Khwab'' (1977).The works of Nasir Kazmi on Dawn (newspaper)
Published 11 July 2013, Retrieved 21 January 2021 A few days before his death, Kazmi said in a television interview:

"Horse riding, hunting, wandering in a village, walking along the river side, visiting mountains etc. were my favourite pastimes and probably this was the time when my mind got nourishment for loving nature and getting close to the expression of poetry. All my hobbies are related with fine arts, like singing, poetry, hunting, chess, love of birds, love of trees. ... I started writing poetry because I used to reflect that all the beautiful things, those I see and those in nature, are not in my hands, and they go away from me. Few moments of time which dies, cannot be made alive. I think can come alive in poetry, that is why I (Nasir) started writing poetry!"

Commemorative postage stamp

In 2013, Pakistan Post released a commemorative postage stamp of Rs 15 denomination in its 'Men of Letters' series to commemorate Kazmi's death.

Family

Kazmi's son, Basir Sultan Kazmi (born 1955, Pakistan), became a poet and dramatist. Writing in both Urdu and English, he earned an MBE for services to poetry. He has resided in England since 1990, where he was awarded the North West Playwrights Workshop Award in 1992 and published an abridged translation of his long play ''Bisaat'' (entitled "The Chess Board") along with several volumes of poetry both in Urdu and English. He is currently the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

Fellow at the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

Death

Nasir Kazmi died on 2 March 1972 at Lahore, Pakistan due to stomach cancer.

Bibliography

Some of his books include:Profile of Nasir Kazmi on WorldCat website
Retrieved 21 January 2021

Poetry

* ''Berg-i-Nai'' (1952) * ''Deewaan'' (1972) * ''Pehli Baarish'' (1975) * ''Hijr Ki Raat Ka Sitara'' * ''Nishat-i-Khwab'' (1977) * ''Woh Tera Shaair, Woh Tera Nasir''

Others

*''San sattāvan merī nazạr men̲''. On the

Sepoy Rebellion ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

of 1857. *''Sur kī chāyā : ek kathā''. Versified play. *''K̲h̲ushk cashme ke kināre''. Critical articles on Urdu literature. *''Nasir Kazmi ki dairy : chand pareshan kaghaz''. Memoirs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazmi, Nasir 1925 births 1972 deaths People from Ambala Poets from Lahore Punjabi people Pakistani poets Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Government College University, Lahore alumni 20th-century poets Burials at Mominpura Graveyard