“Raat bhar gaanv dil ka sulagataa rahaa
Zindagi Aasaron mein sisakti rahi.
Chaand baithaa munderon pe galtaa rahaa
Chaandini chhaparon se tapakti rahi…..
Ek viyogan ne kuttiya ki dehleez par
Pass tulsi ke jaltaa diyaa rakh diya,
Koyee Chanchal hawaa Aa ke gul kar gayi,
Bujhtay bujhtay bhi baati mehakti rahi”
(Bekal Utsaahi)
His real name was Mohd Shafi Khan. Born in 1928 , he was from Balraampur ( U P ) . Once, during a visit to a Ziarat , his Murshid named him Bekal. And after listening to his poetry , Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru Called him Utsaahi Kavi. This is how Mohd Shafi Khan became Bekal Utsaahi. He was a poet of GAZAL and NAZM . National Integration , Ganga Jamuna culture and Nationalism were also his subjects . He also wrote Geets in fantastic Bhojpuri mixed with Awadhi.
Well known Hindi Poet Harivansh Rai Bachan ( Father of Amitabh Bachan ) was an admirer of Awadhi / Bhojpuri Geets composed by Bekal Utsaahi .
Utsaahi was a parliament member ( Rajya sabha ) and has been awarded PadamShri .He made liberal use of Hindi words in his Gazals and Nazms. Bekal has Beautifully conveyed the effect of intense hot Summer and a wait for Rains or Monsoon in this Geet titled ‘Kab Barsegaa Paani’.
(1)
Pehley tum waqt ke maathe ki lakeeron se milo
jao footpath ke bikhre hue heeron se milo
ishrat-e-husn mein masroof to rehtay ho magar
waqt mil jaaye to ham jaise faqeeron se milo”
(2)
“ Tera dam hai to bahaaron ko sukoon hai Bekal
fir tere baad kahaan baagh bageeche honge.”
(3)
“Dharam mera Islam he, Bharat janam sthaan,
Wazu karoon Ajmer mein, Kaashi mein Ashnaan”
(4)
“Aaj jo lamha mile pyaar ki baatein kar lo,
waqt be-rehem he, kal tera na mera hoga”
(5) ‘Teri dharti ko jhuk jhuk ke choome gagan
Zindabad aeY watan, Zindabad ae watan’
(6)
‘Jis ki shaakhaaon pe Radhaayein naachati hongi
Dekhna Krishna ussi peid ke neeche honge’
(7)
Khet ka mukhdaa Badraa taakay
Roop dulhan ka achraa taakay
Saanjh ki chhaiyaan takkay savera
Gaanv takkay veerani..
Ram jaane re……. kab baresegaa paani
Saawan bhaadon sadhu ho gaye
Baadal sab sanyaasi
Pachhuvaa choos gayyi purvaa ko
Dharti reh gayyi pyaasi
Faslon ne bairaag le liyaa
Jogiyaa ho gayi dhaani
Ram Jaane re ..kab barsegaa paani.
Tal talyeiya Maati chaate
Nadiyaa reit chabaaye
Kuvein mein makdi jaala taane
Nahrein cheel udaayein
*Ubhahan se Gagri roothi hai
Panghat se Bahuraani
Ram Jaane re … Kab barsegaa paani..
Chhappar paar dopehariyaa baithi
Dhoop tangii aanganaayi
Dwaar ka bargadh thoonth ho gayaa
Ujarr Gayi Amaraayi
Chaupaalon se khalihaanon tak
Suraj ki manmaani
Ram jaane re….Kab barsegaa paani..
Adds AdarshAzad Arora son of well known Urdu poet and scholar Prof. Jagan Nath Azad ,
“The last times I met him were during his younger days and my boyhood. He was close to our family. I would address him as uncle. His ghazal in the Republic Day mushaira was a hit,
“Teri parchayeen se tamir karun taj mahal,
aa tujhe geet ka andaz e tarannum de dun,
Aey meri jane ghazal….”
Another was,
“Amar jawan sipahiyo, watan tumhare sath hai….”
A line in it went, “Dulhan tumhare sath hai…”
When Bekal sahib came home, my mother told him, much to his happiness, that my little sister always asked, “Dulhan tumhare sath hai wale uncle kab Aayen ge”.
For his contribution to National Integration ,Bekal Utsaahi has been awarded Yash Bharti award that carries a cash prize of 11 lakhs .
Autar Mota is a Blogger,Translator and writes in English , Urdu , Kashmiri and Hindi. His write-ups have appeared in many national magazines and journals.
