Background
He was born in Agra, India in 1893. His father Bazm Afandi was himself a well-known poet of Bazm"s time. Najm Afandi was born in Agra, in the year 1893.
He was born in Agra, India in 1893. His father Bazm Afandi was himself a well-known poet of Bazm"s time. Najm Afandi was born in Agra, in the year 1893.
The following verses are from Bazm"s ghazal:
Ek shab arsh pe mahbuub ko bulvaa hi liyaa Hijr voh Gham hai Khuda se bhi uuthaaya na gayaa
Early He moved to Hyderabad, Deccan at some point in his life. He started writing poetry early in his life and continued to do so for 65 years. His nazm durr-e-yateem was immensely popular, which he wrote while he was only 15 or 16 years of age.
He experimented with various genres of Urdu poetry.
Najm had in the later part of his life dedicated himself to writing marsiya, salaam, manqabat and qasida. Although he wrote numerous ghazals and nazms, because of the religious nature of his poetry and the issues he dealt with, he was known as "Shair-e-Ahle-bait." An example of one of his religious verses is:
Sha"ir hoo jinka Najm woh hain wajah-e-kainaat
Mumkin hai ta-abad mera naam-o-nishaan rahe
Work and Long before Progressive Writers Movement came into existence his poetry dealt with the issues and themes which were the hallmark of the movement.
"Kisaan", "Mazdoor ki Awaz", "Hamari Id" are few poems of that era. He greatly influenced the coming generation of poets who adopted marsia, salam, qasida and other similar genres of poetry in Urdu.
Muntaqim Haideri Saithly consider him as his Ustad (teacher).
Most of his work in Urdu literature remained unpublished during his lifetime. After his death, many people compiled and published his work. Others performed them live in Majalis and Mushairas.
Allama Zameer Akhtar Naqvi has often quoted his poetry during his speeches along with the poems from Mir Anees and Mirza Dabeer.
He died naturally in 1975 in Karachi and is buried at the infamous Sakhi Hassan Graveyard, North Nazimabad.