- Safi Lakhnavi
Syed Ali Naqi Zaidi or Safi Lakhnavi Audio|hi-Safi_Lakhnavi.ogg|pronunciation (
January 2 1862 - 1950) was a prominentUrdu poet. He was born inLucknow in a family of ZaidiSyeds who claimed direct descent from Hazrat Imam Husain.His father Syed Fazal Husain was appointed an "Ataliq" (tutor) to Prince Suleiman Qader Bahadur, son of Nawab Amjad Ali of
Awadh .He was educated at the Canning Collegiate at Lucknow and served in the Revenue Department of the Government. He began writing verse at the young age of 13 under the pseudonym of "Safi" without any guidance from an "
Ustad " (teacher), when having an "Ustad" was the norm.The poetry of Safi is characterised by the use of simple and sweet language of the people, making him very popular among the common folk. Some of his immortal couplets are :
"'" Ghazal usne chheri, mujhe saaz dena , Zara umre rafta ko Awaz dena " [cite web
url=http://urduindia.wordpress.com/2006/07/08/ghazal-usne-chheri-mujhse-saaz-denazara-umr-e-rafta-ko-aawaaz-denasafis-ghazal/
title=The World of Urdu Poetry
publisher=
accessdate=2006-09-26]" Too bhi mayuse tamana mire andaz mein hai, jab hi to yeh dard papihay teri awaz mein hai ""
" Janaza rok kar mera voh is andaaz mein bole ; gali ham ne kahi thi , tum to duniya chhore jaate ho"
Safi Laknavi was a poet of the people and his poetry was innovative and reformist in tone. He was honoured by being called "Lassan-ul-Qaum" (outstanding spokesman of the people.)
His considerable literary works include "Aghosh-i-Madar", "Tanzim-ul-Hayat", and "Diwan-i-Safi". His poetry craft is taught in graduate and post-graduate Urdu programmes.
Amarnath Jha , the great educationist and the former Vice Chancellor ofAllahabad University , was among his many admirers.References
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