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We will end this series on poet-lyricist with a ghazal by Jan Nisar 
Akhtar.

Jan Nisar Akhtar was born in Gwalior in 1914. The atmosphere in which he 
was raised, fanned his poetic abilities right from childhood. He wrote 
his first ghazal at the age of 13. He was amply guided by his father 
Muztar Khairabadi, no mean poet in his own right.

Jan Nisar Akhtar completed his BA and MA in Urdu from Aligarh Muslim 
University in 1939. In 1943, he got married to Majaz Lucknavi's sister - 
Safia Siraj ul-Haque. The communal riots of 1947 saw Jan Nisar leave 
Gwalior for Bhopal where he joined Hamida College as a professor of 
Urdu. In 1949, Jan Nisar left for Bombay to embark on his journey 
towards fame and fortune. 

Jan Nisar struggled in Bombay. He stayed with Ismat Chugtai for some 
time. Slowly he started getting work and soon things were looking up on 
the professional front. On the personal front however, Jan Nisar 
suffered a major setback, when Safia died in 1952. He remarried four  
years later. Jan Nisar died of a heart attack on 18th August, 1976.


sau chaa.Nd bhii chamake.nge to kyaa baat banegii
tum aaye to is raat kii auqaat banegii

un se yahii kah aaye ki ham ab na mile.nge
aaKhir ko_ii taqariib-e-mulaaqaat banegii

ye ham se na hogaa ki kisii ek ko chaahe.n
ai ishq! hamaarii na tere saath banegii

hairat kadaa-e-husn kahaa.N hai abhii duniyaa
kuchh aur nikhar le to tilismaat banegii

ye kyaa ke ba.Date chalo ba.Date chalo aage
jab baiTh ke soche.nge to kuchh baat banegii