PROF. ALE AHMED SUROOR..

                                 

 

Prof Ale Ahmed Suroor(1911-2002)

A science graduate , son of a post master,  born at Badayun  UP ( a village on the banks of river Ganga),  brought up to study medicine by     father  but decides to go all out to study literature . Did MA english and another MA in urdu .A poet ,Critic and a scholar. Taught at various universities in the country. A lover of books, conversation and coffee House Culture. As writer and critic ,he was closely associated with Tarraqi Pasand Tehreeq or Progressive Writers Movement of Urdu Language.

Awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India . A man of integrity and conceptual clarity.
                                         

                                   

 (Prof. Suroor with his wife.. Photos Source..Rakhshanda Jalil )

 " I am a Musalman and, in the words of Maulana Azad, “caretaker of the thirteen hundred years of the wealth that is Islam.” My deciphering of Islam is the key to the interpretation of my spirit. I am also an Indian and this Indianness is as much a part of my being. Islam does not deter me from believing in my Indian identity"


Kuchh  to  hai  vaisay hi rangeen lab o rukhsaar ki baat
Aur kuchh khoon e jigar hum bhi milaa detay hain..

(Ale Ahmed Suroor)

Chand deewane jo mil jaate hain gaahe maahe
Kitni khwabeeda umangon ko hawaa milti hai
Jhaankta hai jo kabhi zinda-dili ka suraj
Kitni afsurda si kirnon ko ziya milti hai
 kitni benoor nigaahon mein chamak aati hai
Kitne veeranon mein jo phool se khil jaate hain
Dil jahaan toot-te hain dard to hota hai zaroor
Dard vaalon ko sahhare bhi to mil jaate hain
Koyee chaahe to gham e zeest ko neend aa jaaye
Vaise bant-ti hai yahaan daulat e bedaari bhi..
(From his poem on Cofee House Culture)

Na zulfon ke fidayeen hain na zanjeeron  Ke shaidaayi
Yeh duniya ab to deewanon se khaali hoti jaati hai.
Meri tashnaalabi meri suraahi mein jhalak aayi
Vo paiham bharte jaate hain ye khaali hoti jaati hai..

( Aale Ahmed Suroor)

Hamein to mai-kade ka ye nizam achchha  nahin lagtaa.
na ho sab ke liye gardish mein  jaam achchha nahin lagtaa
kabhi  tanhaai ki ḳhwaahish ye hoti  hai ki logon ka ,
payaamm achchha nahin lagta  salaam achchha nahin lagtaa..
(Ale Ahmed Suroor)

kar Diyaa barq-o-bukhaaraat ne mahashar Barpaa,
Apane daftar me litaafat ke sivaa kuchh bhi nahin.
Ghir gaye Waqt ki Berahm kashaakash me magar,
Paas tahazeeb ki Daulat ke siva kuchh bhi nahin.
( Ale Ahmed Surooor)

Hum na is Tolī mein  thay yaaron na oss  Tolī meiñ thay..
na  kisī  ki jeib mein  thay na kisī jholī mein  thay..
Aap ke naaron  mein  lalkaaron mein  kaisay Aayeingay,
zamzame jo an-kahi ikk  pyaar kī boli me iñ thay...
(Ale Ahmed Suroor)

In 2011, National Archives of India  New Delhi organized an Exhibition to honour his birth centenary . It was aimed at opening new  directions  of research and also acknowledge   the  multifaceted personality of  Prof. Suroor. The Exhibition was  inaugurated by Prof. Gopi Chand Narang, former President, Sahitya Academy ..

Having read him in prose and poetry, i say with firm conviction that his mind was free and unbiased, his intellect sharp and his observation keen and profound.
In urdu  , you rarely find literary giants who write prose using head but when they write poetry they move through Heart's passage.  Ale Ahmed Suroor  is one such  exception.

Rakshanda Jalil, his grand daughter , is equally talented  writer, critic , translator and literary historian.

(Avtar Mota)


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