Urdu Academy of North Americs's tribute to Dilawar Figar
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The Urdu Academy of North America dedicated its January 19, 2019 literary session to the life and work of popular Urdu poet Dilawar Figar. The literary event was held at the Pakistani American Community Center, Milpitas CA.
The literary event was presided over by Retire Air Commodore Syed Tanweer Hussain.
Moiz Khan presented a well researched maqala on the life and work of Dilawar Figar who is known as Shehansha-e-Zarafat and Akbar-e-Sani for his satirical and rich humor writings.
An interesting feature of the literary event was presentation of a comedy skit "Shaer-e-Tahootee" by Muniba Zeeshan and Zeeshan Abbasi. The skit drew wide applause.
As usual a number of Urdu enthusiasts recited the poetry of Dilawar Figar: Tasadduq Hussain Attari, Prof Aftab Iqbal, Mehmoodul Hasan, Zeba Rizvi, Hatim Rani, Zeeshan Abbasi, Muniba Zeeshan.
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Muawiya of Karachi in his PhD thesis on Dilawar Figar writes: Dilawar Figar was very much impressed by Akbar Allahbadi and followed his humorous style. The title of Dr. Muawiya's thesis was "Dilawar Figar's status in the 20th Century Humor and Satire".
Dilawar Figar was born as Dilawar Hussain in Badayun, UP, on July 8, 1929. Zafar Yab Hussain Jam Nawai, Badayun’s well-known poet, lived in his neighbourhood and his sons, Aftab Zafar and Mehtab Zafar, were Figar’s close friends. Through his friends, Figar reached Jam Sahib and became his disciple in poetry. When Jam Sahib migrated to Pakistan, Figar sought guidance from Maulana Jami Badayuni, another famous poet and scholar of the town, as reported by Urdu lexicographer Rauf Parekh.
His father’s illness forced Dilawar Figar to seek a job at 19. He got a job at a post office but quit and pulled along by giving private tuitions. By nature, Figar was a sunny and witty person but life was difficult, his father had died and he had to support his mother and siblings. The first collection of his poetry Haadse is melancholic at times and reminiscent of those difficult days.
After graduating Figar began teaching at a college, obtained two masters’ degrees – in Economics and Urdu – and things started looking up. He got a better job at another college. During Badayun’s municipal elections, Dilawar Figar wrote an enormously long and humorous poem. Published in a booklet form, it became quite popular. He then took writing humour seriously and some of his poems such as ‘Radio Interview’, ‘Master Sahib’ and ‘Shaer-e-Azam’ earned him name and fame.
After independence, many of Figar’s relatives migrated to Pakistan but he had stayed back. Ultimately, in 1968, he too came to Pakistan. In the preface to his book Ungliyaan Figar Apni, he has described the circumstances that forced him to flee Badayun though by that time he had come to be known as a popular poet of the mushaeras throughout India due only to his hilarious poetry.
In Pakistan Figar remained jobless for some time. After a brief stint at Karachi’s Abdullah Haroon College, where Faiz Ahmed Faiz was the principal, Figar landed a job in now defunct Karachi Development Authority. But in 1972, he resigned from the post after some misunderstanding with the higher-ups.
In a mushaera telecast by PTV during the 1970s general elections, Dilawar Figar recited his poem ‘Main Apna Vote Kis Ko Doon?’ in his peculiar style. It was a smashing success and Dilawar Figar became a household name overnight. Other poems of his such as ‘KDA Se Shikwa’, ‘Karachi Ki Bus’, Karachi Ke Qabristan’, ‘Gadhe ka Qatl’ and ‘Ishq Ka Parcha’ enhanced his popularity and during the last years of his life, his participation in a mushaera was a sign of its success.
His other books include Sitam Zareefyan, Shamat-e-Aamal, Aadab Arz, and Matla Arz Hai. A selection of his poetry titled Az Sar-e-Nau was published from India in 1979. His collected humorous works have been published from Karachi a few years ago.
Khoob Tar Kahan is Figar’s translation into Urdu of Jimmy Carter’s biography. He rendered into Urdu 100 of the best poems in English and the anthology was titled Khushboo Ka Safar.
