The Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 4 Episode 5--Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, a leading figure in modern Urdu literature, was born in 1916 near  Sargodha. After earning his master's degree, he worked in the Reform Commissioner’s office in Lahore in 1936.  During the 1940s, his friendship with Manto inspired him to write scripts for films, but none of those films came to fruition. Following the Partition, he worked briefly as a scriptwriter for Radio Pakistan in Peshawar. Soon after, he joined the editorial board of the reputed journal ‘Savera’ and was elected Secretary General of the Progressive Writers Association, Pakistan. Because of his anti-establishment attitude, he was arrested and imprisoned for seven months. In 1963, he launched his journal, ‘Funoon,’ which remained one of the most prestigious literary journals until the end.  Qasmi achieved great success as a poet and a short story writer. He published nearly 50 books of short fiction, poetry, and literary criticism. The government of Pakistan conferred on him the highest civilian honors. Qasmi passed away in July 2006.

Gulzar had a close personal relationship with Qasmi and affectionately called him ‘Baba.’ He dedicated a short opening poem to ‘Baba’ in his poetry collection ‘Raat Pashmiine Ki.’

jis tarah tan jhulasti garmi mein

thande dariya mein dubkiyaan le kar

dil ko raahat naseeb hoti hai

aisa hi itminaan hota hai

ek achhi si nazm ko padh kar!

lagta hai zindagi ke dariya mein

ek taari laga ke nikle hain

ruuh kaisi nihaal hoti hai!!

Just as the body finds comfort 

from the scorching heat, 

by plunging into a cold river, 

so does the heart find solace  

in reading a well-crafted poem!

It feels as though we have come out 

after the absorption in the river of life.

How joyful the soul becomes!!

[Trans. by Surinder Deol]