Ali Sikandar (6 April 1890 – 9 September 1960), known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

as Jigar Moradabadi, was an Indian Urdu poet and ''

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

'' writer. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his poetry collection "Atish-e-Gul", and was the second poet (after Mohammad Iqbal) to be awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Biography

He received oriental education in Arabic, Persian and Urdu in

Moradabad Moradabad () is an industrial city, commissionerate, and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Del ...

, and started to work as a travelling salesman. Jigar moved to Gonda, near

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, where he befriended Asghar Gondvi. He died on 9 September 1960 in Gonda.

Legacy

His Sufi poem ''Yeh Hai Maikada'' was sung by many Sufi singers like

Sabri Brothers The Sabri Brothers (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) were a musical band from Pakistan who were performers of Sufi qawwali music and were closely connected to the Chishti Order. They are considered one of the greatest Sufi qawwali singers of all ti ...

, Aziz Mian, Munni Begum & Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi.

Acclaim

Jigar Moradabadi belonged to the classical school of

writing and was a mentor to Majrooh Sultanpuri, who became a prominent lyricist in the

Indian film industry The cinema of India, consisting of Film, motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various #Cinema by language, film indus ...

and penned many popular songs in Urdu. Jigar was only the second poet in the history of

to be awarded an honorary D.Litt., the first was

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his ...

, the distinguished Urdu poet and academic, regarded Jigar Moradabadi as a master craftsman in his field.

Jigar Fest - 2018

Progressive Foundation organized three days Jigar Fest at Moradabad in 2018, to celebrate Jigar's Birthday. Day 1 - Mushayra by Rahat Indori, Wasim Barelvi etc.
Day 2 - Kawwali Nights by Chand Qadri
Day 3 - Musical Night by Sheeba Alam

References

External links