Jnaab Madan Maholvi (1936 - 2005), was my ustaad (teacher). I learnt the taste of Urdu Shayri from him . An accomplished painter , sculptor and poet, Madan Maholvi was at ease, and a regular practitioner of multiple art forms. A graduate of Simla Fine Arts college , he practiced and taught these art forms to high schoolers , under grads and teachers through his life.
A masters in history and an analyst of religion, he also has published work on Jain Dharma in Haryana. This online publication Maholvi-nama is a collection of some of his works. Mostly poems for now, but we are striving to get all his work in one place.
In late eighties, Haryana Urdu Academy published his Shayri in three covers. Two in Urdu script and one in Devnagri script.
Publishing Urdu poetry in Hindi (Devnagri) script was a bold move for that time. It made his work accessible to Hindi natives (like me). It introduced me to a new and distinct style of poetry. Following the tradition, I have tried to provide Hinglish transliteration wherever possible to make this work accessible to those who have difficulty reading Devnagri script. The transliteration and translation is a work in progress.
फ़िक्र के परिंदे (Birds of thought)
Published in 1989 in Devnagri script, this books is a collection of his chosen poems from two previous urdu titles. Recognizing the effort to bring Urdu Shayri to Hindi, the book was forwarded by famous Hindi poet Shri Khushi Ram Sharma Vashisht, then Rajya Kavi of Haryana - India. Book received critical acclaim in the local circles of Hindi & Urdu poetry.
In the words of Shri Krishna chandra Paagal , a local Hindi writer and a member of Adbi Sangam Kurukshetra
जगह जगह जिंदगी की सच्चाइयों, सुख-दुःख, कलह, उग्रवाद, मानवीय मूल्यों का बिखराव तथा वर्तमान की भयानक चुनौतियों के सजीव चित्र घंटों अपनी ओर देखने को मज़बूर करते हैं । सिद्धहस्त चित्रकार के सजीव रंग तथा कवि की कोमल अनुभूतियों का अनूठा सम्मिश्रण दिल की गहराइयों में अनायास ही उतरता चला जाता है
रास्ता तो मिले (In search of Path)
This is a collection of 43 unpublished poems, written in a specific style of Urdu Poetry called Nazm. A Nazm is a free flowing text that explores one specific feeling or emotion. It can be topical and imbibe certain flow, but the writer is free to choose or ignore the rhythm. Nazm represents freedom from the rule based poetry. The idea is to have the writer as much leeway as he needs to express a thought. That is the reason Nazm was proclaimed to be the voice of progressive Tarakki Yafta poets. It was embraced by likes of Kaifi Azmi in his early days as an expression of the progressive movement.
The book is about self discovery. Poet seeks himself amidst the chaotic eighties of India - a struggle between hope and failures , the growing pains of the society as much as within.
In a way the poetical format - Nazm is a very apt choice for the topic at hand "Show me the path" . He is judicious with words without compromising the freedom of the medium.