Best remembered for penning the renowned "Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein" song from the movie "Kabhie Kabhie", Sahir Ludhianvi etched a permanent mark on songs and ghazals in the Hindi film industry.
Background
Sahir Ludhianvi was born as Abdul Hayee into a rich Muslim Gujjar family in Ludhiana in Punjab. His father was a wealthy zamindar, while mother was Sardar Begum. Since birth, his parents were undergoing an estranged relationship and chose to separate when Sahir was just 13 years old. His father married for the second time and chose to take custody of Sahir, but lost due to his second marriage. As such, he threatened to snatch Sahir from his mother, no matter what step he had to take.
Career
While writing lyrics for Bollywood films were reaching skies at that time, his poetry was not left behind either. His poetry revealed a "Faizian" quality of writing. His works had that intellectual element that caught the attention of people during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Though Sahir was egoistic by nature, probably due to his zamindari background, he was a compassionate man and felt for others, often neglecting his own needs. This nature reflected in his poetry which wrote as he aged. With different periods progressing, Sahir narrated various ages, which is not very common in many writers' style. Kahat-e-Bangal (The Famine of Bengal) talked about early maturity, while Subah-e-Navroz (Dawn of a New Day) spoke about the conditions of the poor. He was one amongst the few Urdu poets who illustrated his views towards the Taj Mahal in an entirely different manner.