Shaukat Pardesi

Sheikh Mohammed Irfan alias Shaukat Pardesi (Urdu: شوکت پردیسی, April 1924 – October 1995) was a poet, journalist and lyricist born in Malaysia, where his father Sheikh Sahib Ali had migrated from Maroofpur village in Jaunpur district of India. During the 1950's, Pardesi was associated with Urdu Daily Inquilab for some time and also edited the Film Times Weekly magazine. He published and edited an acclaimed monthly Urdu magazine titled Munna for children. His ghazals and nazms were published in almost all known Urdu journals and were recorded by His Master's Voice in the melodious voices of various famous singers of his time, viz. Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey, C. H. Atma, Anup Jalota, Dilraj Kaur, Shailendra Singh, Shyam Lala, Mukesh His father enrolled him in Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow to continue his studies. Subsequently, he was sent to the Mission School (now Raja Shri Krishna Dutt Inter College) in Jaunpur, where he completed his middle school education. Although Pardesi's father, Sheikh Sahib Ali, built a new home in Jaunpur and settled there permanently, he did not succeed in arranging any regular source of income for the family. Reserves began to deplete, and financial hardships became the new reality for the family. In January 1943, Shaukat Pardesi married Husnaara Begum. Thus, Hafiz Akhtar Ali's own circumstances warranted a supporting hand to look after his farming and wealth. The mutual needs of both made their match perfect, but it did not last long. As a result, in 1950, Pardesi left Jamdahan for Mumbai. His poems were printed in the Urdu journals Shaaer Mumbai, Nerang-e-kheyal Lahore, Shamaa Delhi, Beesween Sadi Delhi, Bano Delhi, Khilauna Delhi, Gagan Mumbai, Naya Daur Lucknow, Pyam-e-Taleem Delhi, Tahreek Delhi, Aajkal Delhi, Jamalistaan Delhi, Shiraaz Karachi, Mashraqi Aanchal Delhi, Saaghar Lahore, Saboohi Lahore, Tabassum Hyderabad, Kahkashaan Mumbai, Shoa-ein Lahore, Mashhoor Delhi, Ittehaad Mumbai, Nikhat Allahabad, and others. Tohfa-e-Itfal: Published in 2011 and contains Pardesi's poems which he wrote for children Mizrab-e-Sukhan: Published in 2012 and comprises Pardesi's nazms and geets Saaz-e-Naghmabaar: Published in 2015 and contains Pardesi's ghazals, qataats and rubaaees Mazameen-e-Shaukat: Published in 2015 and consists of articles reflecting some aspects of his personal life and literature.

Filmography Pardesi's association with the film industry was limited and relatively unnoticed. He wrote songs for three films, namely, Khubsoorat, Ghulam Begam Badshah, and Shaheed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh that were sung by Mohammed Rafi, and Asha Bhosale. In addition, he wrote dialogues for Ghulam Begam Badshah and Jhansi Ki Rani.

Non-film Songs A number of Pardesi's ghazals and nazms were recorded by Saregama in the voices of some of the famous singers of his time. E.g.,Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey, CH Atma, Anup Jalota, Dilraj Kaur, Shailendra Singh, Shyam Lala and Mukesh. In particular, his ghazal "Hairan hoon aei sanam ki tujhe aur kya kahoon" in the voice of Manna Dey became popular.

Awards and recognition

Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi Award (2014) to Tohfa-e-Atfal Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi Award (2016) to Saaz-e-Naghmabaar Research work on Shaukat Pardesi by Habib Saifi in the form of a book entitled Shaukat Pardesi Fikr-O-Fan Ke Aiyene Mein published in 2017.