Pakistan- many even feel terrified to hear the name, a country where fundamentalism and imperialism are having equal influence. After the formation of Pakistan, the Communist Party was banned there for a long time. Even then, in the early twentieth century, the Socialist literature movement in the subcontinent was spread to fundamentalist Pakistan. Very few Pakistani poets possessed socialist thought, Fayez Ahmed Fayez was being one of them. He is also regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive literary movement in the subcontinent.
He is not only a well-known Marxist poet, but was also a journalist, philosopher, filmmaker, and translator. At the same time, he is equally known as a true revolutionary.
Based upon youth, social and political philosophy emerges in poetry. The poet is that symbol of eternal youth. Love and resentment strongly evoke the youth. Reading his poems, one can understand how much belief he has in the immortal love for youth.
Speak, your lips are free.
Speak, it is your own tongue.
Speak, it is your own body.
Speak, your life is still yours.
Once, A Pakistani journalist asked Fayez Ahmed, 'Are you a communist?' He thought for a while, then replied, 'No, I am not communist. A Communist has a bigger identity, he is a comrade; A comrade carries a valid party identification card; At the same time, he also performs his revolutionary duties. Now the Communist Party (CPP) is banned in Pakistan, then how can I be a communist?
Faiz Ahmed Faiz was the poet for the masses.
He stood firmly for the oppressed and exploited. He had a deep love for people. Fayez Ahmad Fayez has become the poet of all the country and for the people of different geography. In the late fifties, his poems were translated into Russian and published in the Soviet Union newspaper. Later, his poems were translated and published in Soviet books.
Faiz's poems are still included in the syllabus of the Urdu Department at Moscow University. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was the first Asian poet who was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the former Soviet Union in 1963. After receiving the Lenin Prize, the Bengali and Urdu progressive cultural organizations jointly organized a large reception program in Dhaka in his honor. People of different classes and occupations, including poets, writers, journalists, teachers from the Bengali language attended the program. His long association with progressive Bengali poets-literary-filmmakers began to grow in life. Eminent Urdu-language poet Ahmed Ilias mentioned in his memoir, "Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Bangladesh", "Ahmed Faiz's close friends in East Pakistan were having a special circle like- Well known dramatist Munir Chowdhury, other prominent personalities; Journalist and writer Ranesh Dasgupta, social worker Laila Kabir, journalist Shahidullah Kaiser, Mortaza Bashir, Shawkat Osman, and professor Muzaffar Ahmed. Urdu poet Fayez Ahmed wrote poetry defying the Pakistani occupation force in 1971 in Bangladesh, recalling the genocide, he wrote in the poem "Hazar Karo Meray Tan Se” (Stay Away from Me) in March 1971 to condemn the Massacre by Pakistani Military.
Time when military rule was declared in Pakistan in the year 1958, Faiz entered the theatre world. His first film was Jago Hua Savera (The Day Shall Dawn).
The film was based on the socio-economic issues of East Pakistan. The film depicts the story of the life struggle of a poor fisherman in this country. The manuscript and song of that movie were composed by Faiz himself. "The film banned the fundamentalist government of Pakistan but later got the title of the Moscow Film Festival. It was also shown at the Paris Film Festival in 2007.
Faiz Ahmed's poetry possesses such tenderness of love, and also outcry; A metaphor of romance and revolution. And equally the manifestation of noticeable humanistic thinking. 'On the charge of Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case', he had to undergo the sentence in the trial of this case. In the year 1951, a case of sedition was filed against him for his poem.
ye daaġh daaġh ujālā ye shab-gazīda sahar
vo intizār thā jis kā ye vo sahar to nahīñ
ye vo sahar to nahīñ jis kī aarzū le kar
chale the yaar ki mil jā.egī kahīñ na kahīñ
falak ke dasht meñ tāroñ kī āḳhirī manzil
(This light, smeared and spotted, this night-bitten dawn
This isn’t surely the dawn we waited for so eagerly
Through the darkness,
Towards the last station of the night stars;
Hoping to find the end of our journey,)
His eloquent and effortless expressions capture the audience, his poetry against injustice is like a blazing fire of words. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in the year 1984. His birth centenary year was celebrated in different countries of the world. Despite his death, he is a symbol of courage for the progressive people of Pakistan. His philosophy, his poems taught people the language of resistance.
Good to know the story of a poet through ur writing. What are you writing next ??
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