Rendezvous with renowned poet Nusrat Zaidi

Rawalpindi

Syed Nusrat Zaidi, 94-year old renowned poet, shared with ‘The News’ his life, poetry, literary circles and preferences.

He says, “I was born in Memon Sadaat, District Bijnor, UP, India, in 1923. My grandfather was Syed Mohammad Imam Saheb and my family was among those who settled in Memon Sadaat. The population of Memon Saddat at the time of the 1947 partition was 2,500, majority of whom were Syeds. The name of Memon was actually ‘Ma man’ which over a period of time was pronounced as ‘Memon.’ Being mostly Syeds in District Bijnor these settlers followed the religious and traditional ceremonies with much fanfare. Miladun Nabi and Imameen’s birth and death anniversaries were observed with much religious fervour. Poetry, Qaseeda, Manqabat, Naat recitals etc were the norms of the society making Memon a model town in and out of the Bijnor district.

“My father had married twice. My mother was his first wife. I had two sisters from the second marriage of my father. Memon Sadaat had a very literate environment and because of this I developed an interest in poetry.

“I started poetry when I was 15-year old. Mohammad Ameer Gaindu used to encourage me to go to every Mushaira that was held in vicinity of our town. He used to correct my verses and always encouraged me.

“I left education and joined Military Accounts in 1943. Pakistan was formed after four years. I got a chance to meet Quaid-i-Azam and shook hands with him twice. I also participated in the voting that led to the establishment of Pakistan. I was an eye-witness and enthusiastic participant of the Pakistan Movement struggle. From 1943 till 1958 I remained in Lahore. I used to go to Hazrat Ehsan Danish house for literary sittings after work. I consider him as my teacher and learned a lot from him.

“In 1945-46 I used to work in daily ‘Pratab’, and was responsible for making a literary page. The editor Maha Shri Krishn asked me to meet Abul Kalam Azad, who was a scholar and the senior Muslim leader of National Congress. When I along with some friends met Abul Kalam Azad, he prepared white jasmine tea for us and appreciated my affiliation with the Muslim League.”

While sharing his memories of 1958 Nusrat Zaidi says, “When I was transferred to Dera Ismail Khan my salary was Rs 120. The then Director Information used to invite four articles monthly at Rs 25 each which I wrote regularly and added to my income. After martial law was imposed, I was asked to write against an editor but I did not oblige. I was arrested and sent to jail but released the next day.”

Nusrat Zaidi says, “I am greatly inspired by three renowned personalities. One is Mustafa Zaidi, who is a shining star of poetry. He carved his niche in the literary circle with his classic poetry. His famous verse ‘Inhi patharon pe chal ke agar aa sako to aao, Mere ghar ke raaste main koi kahkashan nahin hai’ still holds its powerful essence till date. Many people like Firaq, Ali Sardar Jaffery, Sajjad Zaheer, Josh Malihabadi and Faiz have highly appreciated the work of Mustafa Zaidi. My technique of modern poetry is inspired by Mustafa Zaidi. Second personality is Abul Kazim Qaiser Zaidi used to teach Urdu in Jamia Millia in New Delhi. He was the editor of the monthly magazine ‘Asia.’ After his death his collection ‘Angbeen’ was printed. And third personality that impressed me very much was of Syed Zameer Hasan Sharq who had a command over Persian, Arabic and Urdu languages.”

Nusrat Zaidi’s friends among literary fraternity include Allama Talib Juhri, Iftikhar Arif, Mashkoor Hussain Yaad, Hilal Naqvi, Masood Ashar, Dr Shabihul Hasan, Mahfood Zafar who composed Harf-o-Sada, Tariq Naeem and Ghazanfar Hashmi.

In 2002 Nusrat Zaidi was invited to Washington D.C. to participate in World Media Peace Conference in which the literary circle sat together to discuss the role of intellectuals, poets, and media after 9/11 scenario. Then he was invited as chief guest at a Mushaira held at California Los Angeles where the participants exceeded 1000. In 2005 he was awarded for his book ‘Tabsara-o-Tajziya’ in Canada and invited to receive the award. Nusrat Zaidi has participated in many Mushairas held in USA, Canada, Iran and Dubai.

Nusrat Zaidi’s publications include Azarkada in 1959, Tabsara-o-Tajziya, Hurf-e-Qudz, Intikhab-e-kalam-e-Mustafa Zaidi in 2009, Harf-o-Sada in 2011, Yad kare gi Duniya in 2017, Kuliyat-e-Mustafa Zaidi.

Nusrat Zaidi has a strong affiliation with books that can be judged by the fact that his personal library includes more than 4,500 books in 35 shelves neatly kept in every room of his house.

Talking about the new poets, he said that those poets who have written only 5 to 10 poems are so anxious to get their books printed. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and determination to carve a niche for oneself in any field. Nusrat Zaidi is still very active in every literary conference, Mushaira etc.

Nusrat Zaidi married Syeda Mumtaz Fatima in 1963 in Khairpur. His wife died two years back. The couple had one daughter Dr Najamus Sadaf Zaidi who currently teaches at NUST as head of a department.

Nusrat Zaidi is a poet of high caliber who through his poetry has literally changed the reader’s thinking. He has full command over language as well as his poetry. His ghazals get in touch with the inner feelings about the emotions of loving and being loved. His poetry truly reflects the essence of diversity.

According to Nusrat Zaidi poetry is a dialogue of thoughts and Ghazal has a special place in poetry. A ghazal of Nusrat Zaidi from the book ‘Harf-o-Sada’ is being shared here with the readers:

Kis baat pe tum Tarke mulaqat karo ho

Hum darte hain jis baat se wo baat karo ho

Maqtool tumhara tumhain kahte hain maseeha

Tum qatl karo ho ke karamat karo ho

Lahroa ho zulfon ko jo rah rah ke jabeen par

Karte ho kabhi din to kabhi raat karo ho

Ashufta Surv kon hai woh ghairat e Naheed

Jis ke liye raton ko manajat karo ho

Tum kohkanon Qais ke azkaar mai zimnun

Kia kia na bayaan hum se hikayat karo ho

Ye dor-e-purashob hai aur shahr-e-Nigaran

Nusrat kaho kese basr auqat karo ho