Noon Meem Rashid

Noon Meem Rashed Nazar Mohammed Rashed
Born	Raja Nazar Muhmmad Janjua August 01, 1910 Alipur Chattha, Punjab, British India
Died	October 9, 1975 London, England
Occupation	Urdu poet
Nationality	Pakistani
Alma mater	Government College Lahore, Pakistan
Notable work(s)	Mavra
Influenced Urdu poetry

Nazar Mohammed Rashed (Urdu: نذر محمد راشد) (b. 1910 {1 August} – 9 October 1975) commonly known as Noon Meem Rashed (Urdu: ن۔ م۔ راشد) or N.M. Rashed, was born as Raja Nazar Muhmmad Janjua. He was an influential Pakistani poet of modern Urdu poetry.

Early years

Rashed was born in Village Kot Bhaaga, Akaal Garh ( Now Alipur Chatha), Tehsil Wazirabad, District, Gujranwala, Punjab, and earned a masters degree in economics from the Government College Lahore.^[1]

Career

Rashed served for the UN and worked in many countries. He is considered to be the father of Modernism in Urdu Literature. Along with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, he is one of the great progressive poet in Pakistani literature. His themes run from the struggle against oppression to the relationship between words and meanings, between language and awareness and the creative process that produces poetry and other arts. Though intellectually deep, he is often attacked for his unconventional views and life-style. In an age when Pakistani literature and culture acknowledge their Middle Eastern roots, Rashid highlighted the Persian element in the making of his nation's history and psyche. Rashed edited an anthology of modern Iranian poetry which contained not only his own translations of the selected works but also a detailed introductory essay. He rebelled against the traditional form of 'ghazal' and became the first major exponent of free verse in Urdu Literature. While his first book, Mavra, introduced free verse and is more technically accomplished and lyrical, his main intellectual and political ideals reach maturity in his last two books.

His readership is limited and recent social changes have further hurt his stature and there seems to be a concerted effort to not to promote his poetry. His first book of free verse, Mavra, was published in 1940 and established him as a pioneering figure in free form Urdu poetry.

He retired to England in 1973 and died in a London hospital in 1975. His body was cremated as requested in his will. This created an outcry in the conservative Pakistani circles and he was branded an infidel.Anyhow,he is considered a great figure in progressive Urdu literature.

Poetry

N M Rashed was often attacked for his unconventional views and life style. According to Zia Muhiyyuddin, a friend of Rashed, "In the time when everybody was in quest of learning English, which was must for getting some decent job, Rashed was busy in making paintings or poetry."

The themes of Rashed’s poetry run from the struggle against domination to the relationship between words and meanings, between language and awareness and the creative process that produces poetry and other arts.

Initially his poetry appeared to have influence of John Keats, Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold and wrote many sonnets on their pattern, but later on he managed to maintain his own style. It was his initial exercises of poetry, which could not last for longer period of time and ultimately he developed and maintained his own style.

He rebelled against the traditional form of ‘ghazal’ and became the first major exponent of free verse in Urdu Literature. While his first book, ‘Mavra’, introduced free verse and is more technically accomplished and lyrical.

Bollywood

His poem "Zindagi sey dartey ho" was set to music in the 2010 Bollywood movie, Peepli Live. It was performed by the Indian pop music band, Indian Ocean, and received critical appreciation as "hard-hitting" and "a gem of a track" that "everyone is meant to sing, and mean, at some point in life".^[2][3]

Bibliography

• Mavra
• Iran Main Ajnabi
• La Musawi Insan
• Guman ka Mumkin

References

• Zia Muhiyyuddin on Rashid
• Biography at urdu.net
• Translation of the poem Raqs
• Gilani Kamran (January 2002). "Pakistani Literature - Evolution & trends". the-south-asian.com. http://www.the-south-asian.com/Jan2002/Pakistani-Literature2-Poetry.htm. Retrieved 2005-02-28. 

1. ^ "Poets". Enyclopedia of Pakistan. Overseas Pakistanis Foundation. December 2006. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080922165044/http://www.opf.org.pk/almanac/P/poets.htm. Retrieved July 23, 2011. 
2. ^ Ruchika Kher (July 18, 2010), "Peepli Live: Music Review", Indiatimes, http://movies.indiatimes.com/Reviews/Music-Reviews/Peepli-Live-Music-Review/articleshow/6183088.cms, "... Then comes the dark and edgy "Zindagi se darte ho", which makes you sit up and take notice. The hard-hitting song has Indian Ocean behind the mike. The song is basically a poem by Noon Meem Rashed. The seven-minute-long song is soaked in rock flavour that makes it even more interesting ..." 
3. ^ Rachna N. (August 3, 2010), "Peepli Live: Music Review", Bollycurry, http://www.bollycurry.com/news/yo-mr-dj/15504-peeplilive-music-review.htm, "... Zindagi Se Darte Ho is another track of candid facts ... A gem of a track, and a song everyone is meant to sing, and mean, at some point in life ..." 

External links

• The political and ideological aspects of N.M. Rashid’s poetry
• Selected Poetry of N.M. Rashid Translated in English
• http://wikimapia.org/#lat=32.265632&lon=73.8185361&z=14&l=0&m=b
• http://wikimapia.org/#lat=32.265632&lon=73.8185361&z=14&l=0&m=b

Persondata
Name	Rashid, Noon Meem
Alternative names
Short description	Poet
Date of birth	1910
Place of birth	Alipur Chattha, Punjab, British India
Date of death	October 9, 1975
Place of death	London, England